King prospers at Kansas governor’s office

by Rhyan Cropper to director of appointments.

Originally born and raised in Satanta, Kansas, a rural town in the southwest part of the state, Melissa King, ‘20, now works alongside Gov. Laura Kelly, arguably, the state’s most influential politician.

Early in her college career, King built an impressive resume of internships that helped her gain the experience and skills to be competitive.

“I started on Governor Kelly’s campaign in 2018, which is how I got introduced to her and her team and then after the election in 2018, I interned for the Kansas Senate for a session,” said King. “Fast forward to the fall of 2019, I started as an intern in the governor’s office and eventually came on full-time in January 2021.”

King graduated with a double major in mass media and political science and her career has blossomed since at the governor’s office as she was recently promoted

In her current role, King continues to use the skills she learned in college to help her succeed.

In King’s new job, she is in charge of overseeing the entire appointments office for the governor, where they work with about 200 state boards and commissions. King and her team also coordinate the appointment process for all of Gov. Kelly’s political appointments.

“Most of my days consist of interviewing, recruiting, and attending internal meetings and preparing people for Senate confirmation,” said King. “That is where a lot of my mass media skills come in handy.”

At a young age, King had an interest in media so when she started at Washburn, she went directly into studying mass media with a concentration in journalism. However, after taking Intro to Mass Media, she ultimately decided to pursue public relations to complement her political science major.

“I felt that pursuing a concentration in public relations would be a better fit for me because I was also interested in politics and government,” King said. “I thought that PR would balance nicely with political science. Studying PR and political science at the same time was a good balance for me and gave me the skills I needed to be successful in my career field.”

Kristen Grimmer, an associate mass media professor, had King in many public relations classes.

“First of all, she is an incredibly smart person,” Grimmer said. “She was super hard-working and the assignments she turned in always went above and beyond.”

Throughout King’s time in mass media, Grimmer reflected on the years of having her in class and a core memory stood out to her that demonstrates who she is as a person.

“It’s not necessarily a happy memory, but in spring of 2019, Melissa was in my public relations class along with student Dwane Simmons and that was the spring that he was murdered,” said Grimmer. “It was really hard for all of us, but I remember Melissa being like this pillar of support for her classmates.”

Grimmer remembers how King’s empathy helped her fellow classmates and friends persevere through it.

“Not only is Melissa an amazing professional, but she also showed compassion and poise during a time that was hard on everyone,” said Grimmer.

Grimmer made sure to keep updated on King’s progress throughout her internships.

“During her internship with the governor right before she graduated, I spoke to her intern supervisor there and he told me how much he loved working with Melissa because she was motivated and always took the initiative,” Grimmer said. “So, I wasn’t all that surprised when she was offered a job with the governor right after graduation, but that’s who Melissa is - a shining star.”

Grimmer credited much of King’s career success to her hard work and dedication throughout school and her internships.

“All of that work that she’d put into each internship and class gave her the extra edge,” said Grimmer.

King has gained several versatile skills while working in the governor’s office such as timemanagement, handling a high- volume of work, and being able to work in a fast-paced, stressful environment.

Choosing a favorite aspect about her job was difficult for King as she looks forward to going to work every day.

“One of the best parts of my job is getting to work with such an amazing team of very talented people,” said King.

King shared her advice for mass media students preparing to begin their careers.

“Network as much as you can, apply for as many internships as you can, and don’t get discouraged because a lot of it is who you know,” said King.

Grimmer expressed her admiration for King’s notable achievements.

“I’m just so proud of everything she’s accomplished, and I’m proud that I had a small role in that,” said Grimmer. “It’s always very exciting when I see how successful students are because I know it is well deserved.”

King revealed her future career plans and doesn’t intend on going anywhere anytime soon.

“I definitely want to stay in government because I love getting to work on behalf of the people of Kansas and that joy never fades,” said King.