Content creator earns education degree during pandemic

by Abby Davis

Teachers have the power to influence the minds and futures of their students and for Jena Dean, ’16, that responsibility is a privilege as much as it is a passion.

Dean is currently an elementary teacher at Pleasant Right Elementary School, located in the rural town of Easton, Kansas, where she teaches fourth grade. She began her teaching career in 2021 and is now finishing her second full year of teaching.

“It’s a very rewarding job because being in education you get to see the fruits of your labor every day,” said Dean.

Dean’s journey to becoming a teacher began at Washburn, with a BA in mass media and a concentration in journalism. During her time in college, she took every opportunity to gain personal and worldly experiences, such as joining student organizations and studying abroad.

Dean discovered her passion while completing her Washburn Transformational Experience in

Community and Civic Engagement, a program that allows experiences outside of campus classrooms. She spent her first two years at Washburn volunteering at Ross Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas.

“My time at Ross was a big part of why I wanted to become a teacher, but I didn’t really put the pieces together until I was a couple of years into my career in communications,” said Dean.

In the spring semester of her junior year, Dean took the chance to travel and study abroad. Having great support from the Office of International Programs, she attended Fachhochschule Vorarlberg, an art school located in Dornbirn, Austria. Dean studied editorial design and photography.

“The International House at Washburn was really supportive of me going and provided so much assistance and help,” Dean said. “It made it really easy to go because in a lot of ways, they did everything for me. Studying abroad changed my perspective on who I was and what I was capable of doing.”

As graduation neared closer, Dean began an internship with Page Communications, an agency in Kansas City, Missouri, which spanned her entire senior year. Shortly after graduation, in August 2016, she took a temporary job at Hotwire, a communications agency in San Francisco, California. Dean worked as a content coordinator for this global public relations company.

“I did a lot of social media and data tracking, working mostly with technology-based clients, like Dell, from all over the U.S.,” said Dean.

In January 2017, Dean moved back to her home state of Kansas and began doing freelance work for Gregory+Vine, a marketing agency. For four months, Dean did content creation, social media, and event planning for the company. After this period of freelancing, the company offered her a permanent position as a marketing assistant, but later promoted her to senior account coordinator. She worked at Gregory+Vine for almost three years.

“Something pretty interesting was that I got one of my clients from Kansas City, a chef, an opportunity to interview for the show Iron Chef,” said Dean. “I was there with him at the interview, and I prepared him on questions he may get asked, the ways he might answer, and things of that nature.”

At the end of 2019, Dean decided to go back to school in pursuit of a career change. In the spring of 2020, she began a year and a half program at Pittsburgh State University for a master’s degree in elementary education. As part of her degree, Dean student taught fifth grade at Basehor Elementary School, located in Basehor, Kansas. She graduated with her master’s degree in the summer of 2021 and began her first year of teaching at Pleasant Ridge Elementary subsequently.

Dean’s best friend, Maribeth Murphy, is an eighth grade Language Arts teacher at Washburn Rural Middle School, located in Topeka, Kansas. Murphy has been teaching for six years now, entering the world of education just a few years before Dean. While Dean’s career change was a bit unexpected, Murphy was excited for her friend.

“I wasn’t too surprised when she said she would be teaching elementary school because she’s had lots of experience working with little kids and has always enjoyed it,” said Murphy. “Jena builds relationships with her students through humor and honesty, which makes her a great teacher that students trust and want to do well for.”

Reflecting on her journey thus far, Dean appreciates Washburn for the opportunities she had and the experiences she gained during her four years. From her time at Washburn, Dean learned how to have productive conversations with people and how to prioritize – two essential skills for teachers and communications professional alike.

“Mass media is a fast-paced world, but if you find your groove it can be very rewarding,” said Dean. “Follow your passions and don’t be afraid to try new things.”