Kristen Kelley
Kristen Kelley
During Kristen Kelley’s freshman year, she took the standard speech communication class, which proved to be anything but standard. The instructor, Kim Klingbell, was so enthusiastic about the School of Communication that she inspired Kelley to learn more about what the major could offer. Kelley ’06 decided that Public Relations was a “perfect match for my personality and talents.”
Kelley said she came to Illinois State with no specific career aspirations, but with the knowledge that Illinois State had the broadest array of studies with the best reputation of the state public schools. She visited campus and discovered “it was a good fit for me.” While on campus, Kelley learned of the service sorority, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, from a Watterson Towers neighbor who was “very enthusiastic about the good work that they do and the sisterhood opportunities it offered.” Kelley joined the sorority and promoted St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and the Easter Seal’s Foundation by fundraising, volunteering and mentoring. She also participated in fundraisers for the Normal Children’s Discovery Museum and served for three years as a volunteer for the Town of Normal’s Haunted Trail.
On campus, Kelley worked as an intern for the School of Communication’s annual Antique Show fundraiser. She said she developed relationships with many Communication faculty members as a result of that internship along with her membership in the Public Relations Student Society of America and her participation with the Cubs on Campus event. Two faculty members who were helpful to Kelley in her service activities were Doug Jennings and Tom Lamonica.
After graduating from Illinois State, Kelley started her “five-year professional plan” and put her education to the test in her first job on the public relations team for Walt Disney Theme Parks Worldwide. “From large-scale international press events, to creative writing, to basic public relations administrative tasks, it was a terrific and exciting place to begin my career,” Kelley said. She noted that she also did public relations work for Disney Cruise Line and was on the business-to-business side raising awareness of the business programming and convention opportunities available at all the parks. “It was a great place to take what I learned at Illinois State and really develop it into my career.”
Kelley said one of the major highlights of the Disney job was working there during the launch of the Year of a Million Dreams campaign, which included a two-day international press event showcasing everything the Disney Company had to offer for the year. “It was a huge learning experience, working with media from all over the world,” she said.
After her job with Disney, Kelley moved back to the Chicago area and went to work for GolinHarris, one of the largest public relations agencies in the world. She is involved in the consumer brands sector, learning “anything and everything about the public relations world—a big change from being focused on one sole entity.” Kelley said her colleagues are really energetic, and she is learning from different people with different backgrounds in the public relations world.
After her move to Chicago, Kelley reunited with friends from Illinois State and lives downtown with fellow alumnae Katie Koselke ’06 (psychology) and Stephanie Dombek ’06 (biology). She said she is busy traveling and exploring everything Chicago has to offer. Kelley intends to update her campus connection by returning to Illinois State soon to visit her sister, Courtney Kelley, a junior biology major.
Kelley said her five-year professional plan has evolved along with the growth in her tastes and talents to the point that “it is almost impossible to see where I will be in 10 years.” She said she hopes to “be in a career where I can express myself creatively and continue to grow for the 10 years following that. Happiness and passion are far more important than how big a paycheck is.”
