M.A. Degree Contributes to Career Success for Alumna Working for Scholastic, Rachel Ray Show, Watch What Happens Live and the Clinton Foundation Alumni Profile
Meet Bridget Benjamin
- Job Title & Employer
- Director of Social Media and Special Projects, Scholastic
- Major/Program
- Media Communication-M.A.
- Graduation
- 2010
- College Activities
- Teaching assistant for broadcast journalism
- Scholarships
- Graduate assistantship
- Hometown
- Mickleton, N.J.
- High School
- Kingsway Regional High School
- Now Living In
- Jersey City, N.J.
- Hobbies & Interests
- I love to read, play tennis, golf and catch up on all the latest Netflix series.
"I chose the M.A. program because I wanted to further enrich my skillset in journalism and mass communication research ... From writing and creating engaging copy and applying my research background to social quantitative and qualitative data, this program provided me the skills I needed for my career."
Highlight your career path since graduating from Point Park University.
I’m incredibly grateful for having the opportunities to work in various industries, ranging from education and entertainment companies to nonprofit organizations. After graduating from Point Park’s M.A. program, I started working on TV shows like The Jeremy Kyle Show, Rachael Ray Show, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and Yahoo!'s The Thread. In each role, I was in charge of producing the program’s social and digital media content and strategy.
In 2016, I was impacted by our current world and election and took a job as senior communications manager at the Clinton Foundation. There, I had the honor and privilege of a lifetime to lead the Foundation’s digital and social communication strategy and engagement. Additionally, I also helped to launch the first-ever Presidential podcast with President Bill Clinton called Why Am I Telling You This?.
In 2019, I joined Scholastic as their director of social media and special projects where I lead the social strategy, podcast and digital marketing efforts for our Corporate Communications team.
What are your job responsibilities?
At Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, I work as the director of social media and special projects. As a senior member of the Corporate Communications team, I serve as a key strategist by leading company-wide digital initiatives, driving innovation and leadership by working collaboratively with business units to create and execute social media campaigns. Additionally, I also serve as producer of our Scholastic Reads podcast that gives parents, teachers and educators a deeper dive into the joy and power of reading through author and expert interviews.
You and your colleagues recently launched Scholastic Bookshelf on Instagram. Tell us more about your role on that project.
For 100 years, Scholastic has provided stories and information that help children understand current events and contemporary issues; first as a classroom magazine in 1920 and today as the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and educational materials.
This year, our centennial year, we launched a new resource called the Scholastic Bookshelf on Instagram, to help parents and teachers answer kids’ most pressing life questions with the power of story. We are always seeking new ways to connect kids with the stories that help them better understand themselves and the world around them, and the Scholastic Bookshelf is the latest continuation of this 100-year-long mission.
We know that while 61% of parents and teachers often use stories, books and articles to help have conversations with children, they are turning more and more to advice on social — roughly 3 in 4 millennial parents turn to social media for parenting advice at least 3-6 times a week. Based on that research, we wanted to help meet parents and teachers where they are. With a few simple swipes on Instagram, parents and teachers gain access to excerpts of powerful content and an invitation to discover related stories on scholastic.com. With a ride range of topics like anxiety, empathy, bullying, imagination, as well as timely topics like race, diversity and even illness, we can help parents and teachers answer the question “How do I talk to my child about ... ?”
As part of my role, I helped to lead the content strategy, influencer marketing outreach and our owned channel approach. In partnership with our external agency and our entire team at Scholastic, we were able to gain more than 11,000 followers in two months, gained more than 80,000 engagements, reached millions of Instagram users through our unique and engaging content and gained local and national media coverage.
What factors made you choose our M.A. program?
I chose the M.A. program because I wanted to further enrich my skillset in journalism and mass communication research. I felt my undergraduate program provided a strong background in television and film, but I knew the M.A. program at Point Park could teach me more about journalism and communication research methods. Additionally, the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant where I could help more students learn about the incredible power of journalism and multimedia was also very appealing. From writing and creating engaging copy and applying my research background to social quantitative and qualitative data, this program provided me the skills I needed for my career.
What advice do you have for prospective graduate students considering Point Park?
Take the time to make a campus visit and speak with current professors and students within the program. Point Park is in the vibrant downtown district so not only will you have access to a world-class education, you’ll also be in the heart of a thriving city with internship opportunities at leading companies and organizations.