Designer tackles web design, gains skills

by Karli Bayliss

Every step beyond the graduation stage has been a growing opportunity for mass media alumna Hailey Mann, '20. In a job that requires some skills that were outside of her forte, Mann had to adapt in order to succeed.

She secured a job at Peterson Media Group, a small publisher in Topeka, Kansas, where she works as the publisher’s web coordinator and is one of its graphic designers.

“We run about seven different sites,” said Mann. “We put out magazines for associations and those magazines have accompanying sites where all of the articles and things are posted. So, I manage a lot of those.”

Ironically enough, building websites was one thing Mann didn’t know how to do when she graduated, along with other skills she now uses on a regular basis.

“I didn't build websites; I didn't know how to do any of that,” Mann said. “I taught myself almost everything I do every day. I didn't take video editing when I was at Washburn, but now I can video edit. I can animate things. I can do a lot of random stuff that I learned from Google.”

Mann said she is enjoying the variety of work she does in her position now.

“I like it; it's a small business, so there's a lot more freedom than there would be at another company,” Mann said. “My boss lets me do basically whatever I want if I'm like, ‘This is cool.’ I've just been able to grow really fast.”

Another reason why Mann said she has grown rapidly is because of her outlook on the learning process.

“You can learn to do anything if you try hard enough, and you just keep learning after school,” said Mann. “Some people come out of school thinking, ‘I'm done, I’ve got this, I don't need to do anything else.’ But that's not a good motto. Like, where’s the fun in that?”

Mann began her academic journey in 2012 at Washburn Tech, where she studied graphic design. She then transferred credits toward an associate of arts degree in design technology at Washburn’s main campus. In 2015, she decided to continue her four-year degree through mass media.

“[Washburn Tech] is a much different experience than the mass media department,” Mann said. The classes they teach are very heavy on software. You learn Adobe, and we got certified and stuff.”

Mann said she was able to apply her media skills in an organizational setting at Student Media. Here, she worked as the editor-in-chief of the spring 2020 and fall 2020 Bod Magazine. The skills Mann learned at Student Media have come in handy for the magazine work she does at her current job.

Regina Cassell, senior lecturer of mass media and director of Student Media, was the one who encouraged Mann to join Student Media.

“I just always liked her,” Cassell said. “She's got a good, strong set of skills. But I also liked her personally, too. She's a hard worker, and I knew that the magazine would be in great hands if she was to be in charge of it.”

This isn’t the only instance when Cassell led Mann to a job opportunity.

“My [current] boss reached out to Regina, and he was like, ‘Hey, we need someone to do this,’ and Regina gave him my email,” Mann said.

Mann was appreciative of this gesture. With the COVID-19 pandemic cutting her senior year short, it was difficult to find a job opening for what she was hoping for.

“There just wasn't a whole lot of what I felt like were good options, and I know other people who graduated with me struggled with finding jobs, too,” Mann said. “So I consider myself lucky with this job and that Regina decided to put my name out there.”