While working on her class projects as an undergraduate history major, Casey Davis didn’t realize she was paving the way for her future career at Public Broadcasting Service.
After Davis graduated from the University in 2012, she landed a job with PBS on a history show called “American Experience,” which details and analyzes instances in history through a documentary series. The show has aired for 25 years and has featured thousands of historical events, including a look back at the War of the Worlds radio broadcast Orson Welles performed nearly 75 years ago.
Davis is the special projects assistant for the show and has worked on digital projects as well as served on the show’s web team.
She has also worked with developers to create an application called “Mapping History.” This free app produced by PBS allows users to interact with historical instances that have happened in different places in the U.S. by selecting a dropped pin on a map.
Davis has also served as the show’s temporary web producer. During this time, Davis managed the social media account and blog for the show, she said.
Davis received her undergraduate degree in history and her masters at the School of Library and Information Science. Davis said the field experience she gained in her classes put her ahead of competitors.
Projects she did in class not only served as a grade but also gave her material to build a portfolio for the future, Davis said.
Looking back at her experience in college, the class assignments were what helped her most to get a good job, Davis said. Though projects may seem unimportant or just a grade for another class, she said University students can use what they do in class to build a résumé.
Davis also encouraged students to get involved with student chapters or even national associations in their fields to make connections. These connections can make the difference between getting a job or not, Davis said.
University students can conduct their own research and present it at national conferences to establish themselves as someone who is actually doing work within their area of interest, she said.
The most important piece of advice Davis said she could give University students was not to forget the University and the people who guide students to what they become. The professors and advisers in their courses become their colleagues in the future, Davis said.
“We did a lot of projects and at the end of the class we had something to show for it.”