Department of Public Safety
Communication and Marketing Assistant | October 2025 - December 2025
In this role, I’m finding new and creative ways to connect with the community and make safety messages more engaging. I design graphics and create content for the Department of Public Safety’s social media accounts, including Instagram, Facebook, and X, to promote awareness and encourage safe habits.
Since this is an active position, I’ll continue sharing my latest designs and campaigns here as they go live.
"If You're Reading This"
“If You’re Reading This…” is a student-run mental health initiative at Syracuse University that invites students, faculty, and staff to write anonymous letters of encouragement. My role was to bring the Department of Public Safety into the project in a thoughtful, human way. I facilitated an officer’s participation, developed the messaging and story angle, and guided the content capture to ensure the activation felt authentic, empathetic, and aligned with the project’s mission of reducing stigma. The goal wasn’t to spotlight DPS, but to show shared vulnerability and strengthen community trust through honest storytelling.
Real reactions from students, showing how the campaign helped humanize officers and positively shift perceptions.
Safety Digital Communications
I created a safety tip series for the Department of Public Safety that covered topics such as pedestrian awareness, and break reminders like locking doors and unplugging electronics. One post in the series performed exceptionally well and received higher-than-average engagement, showing how clear visuals and practical messaging can make safety information more relevant to students.
Spotlight
Winter Weather Preparation Series – A multi-graphic social campaign offering practical tips for navigating northern winters, including safe driving, smart travel, bundling up, and emergency car kits. The series drove 1,213% more total engagement on Instagram (including 675% more likes) and 370% more total engagement on Facebook (322% more likes) than typical posts, showing exceptional reach and audience impact.
Reflection
My time at DPS has been one of the most meaningful parts of my growth as a communicator. I really appreciated that my creative storytelling was accepted and encouraged by the upper staff. It gave me room to try new ideas and learn how thoughtful messaging can shift how people feel about an organization that plays such an important role on campus.
I learned how to read and interpret analytics through Sprout Social, keep a consistent brand look across campaigns, and communicate serious topics in a way that students would actually connect with. I also gained a much deeper understanding of what campus safety really involves.
One of the biggest challenges, and also one of the most rewarding, was finding authentic ways to help reframe how students view DPS officers. I worked on personifying officers and showing the human side of their jobs, and I am especially proud of getting DPS involved in the If You’re Reading This initiative. I think it mattered for students to see officers participate in something vulnerable and uplifting, because it reminded everyone that they are people just like us.
Throughout my time here, I received thoughtful feedback that helped me grow both creatively and strategically. Every project taught me something new about design, communication, and how to build trust with an audience. I am leaving this role feeling more confident in my abilities and more aware of the impact that honest, human-centered communication can have on a community.
