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Can You Make It Pretty?

Can You Make It Pretty? is the podcast for community college marketers, communicators, and leaders. Your peers and other experts share their experiences, tips, and knowledge to help you do your job better – and hopefully make the day a little easier. Tune in the third Thursday of the month for new episodes.

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Marketing the Marketing Department to Ensure a Seat at the Leadership Table

Terri Giltner is NCMPR's 2025 Petrizzo Award winner, which recognizes a career of achievement in community college marcom and PR. Terri was CMO at the Kentucky Community & Technical College System for nearly 20 years, and she discusses the importance of data-driven marketing and how to market your marketing department to ensure it has a seat at the leadership table.

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Self-Care in Higher Ed Marcom? These Days?

Self-care has become such a buzzword in recent years, it's tough to look at the concept beyond drinking enough water and going for a walk. But in the last year, it’s become even more important for higher ed employees, who’ve seen their industry get really complicated: With the dismantling of the DOE and the canceling of billions in funding for research and key programs that support students,…

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Beyond the Social Media Trends: Tips & Thoughts from the National Communicator of the Year

How do you know when to jump on a trending audio? How can students help with a college's social media strategy? What happens when colleagues can't understand why you don't want to put their flier on Instagram? Sarah Hernandez Herman, NCMPR's 2025 national Communicator of the Year winner and Arizona Western College's director of content strategy and development, shares tips, tricks and how-tos to…

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The Importance of Young Creatives: Meet NCMPR's New President, Patrick Stone

Patrick Stone remembers feeling a little out of his depth when he attended his first NCMPR conference in 2011. He was new to the field and attending with two long-time industry pros. Fourteen years later, he is president of NCMPR. In this episode of "Can You Make It Pretty?", Patrick discusses being new to the industry, the importance of new members to NCMPR, why marketers need to make time to see…

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Taking Home a Campaign Gold

For the last two years, South Puget Sound Community College in Washington has won District 7’s gold Medallion Award in Government or Community Relations Campaign. Kati Sagawa, SPSCC’s director of marketing & communications, discusses their most recent win, for the Billy Frank Junior Statue Project. The artist made the statue on campus, and it will be displayed in Washington D.C.

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How to Move From Creative Maker to Manager

Marcom and PR is an industry full of creatives, and District 6 member David Steiman – who worked in the film industry before winding up at Pasadena City College in California – talks about his path to marketing director. He chats with guest host Andrea Rangno, director of marketing & public relations at Golden West College in California. This episode was taped live at the District 6 conference in…

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Keeping Small Teams Engaged and Excited

How can managers keep small teams engaged? How can they help staff avoid burnout? Dana Shaffer, senior creative manager for Purell, chats about leading small teams, plus how to oversee a major marketing plan pivot. This episode was recorded live at NCMPR's District 3 conference in Cleveland on Sept. 27, 2024; and it features guest host Jeff Julian, NCMPR's 2023-24 president.

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Using Grant Funds for Graphic Novels: The 2023 Best in Show Winner

The College of Lake County in Illinois won Best in Show at the 2023 Paragon Awards with “The Path to Better Care,” a graphic novel that promotes CLC’s healthcare programs. Marketing analyst Jessey Prugh and graphic designer Maddy Asma – who wrote and designed the novel, respectively – share how they did it and the community’s response. NOTE: CLC's enrollment in PATH-eligible programs saw a 36%…

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DEI Is Everyone's Job on Campus

Dr. Keith Curry, president and CEO of Compton College in California, discusses why DEI is everyone's job on campus, how to work with employees who don't want to take on the task -- and why it was so great for students when Kendrick Lamar popped up at this year's graduation ceremony.

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Multitasking, Project Management & Getting a Seat at the Leadership Table

Lisé Freking oversees the marcom staffs at two different Minnesota colleges: Dakota County Technical College and Inver Hills Community College. She's also NCMPR's 2024 national Rising Star of the Year. Lisé shares project management and multitasking tips, and how to get a seat at your college's leadership table. We also meet the new cohost of "Can You Make It Pretty?", Emily Ray, with Hopkinsville…

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