Spotlights
Great Starts: Kaitlin Foley ’23
Great Starts: Kaitlin Foley ’23
From time to time, we like to showcase a new SNC grad who’s entered the workplace or grad school. Success stories like these are pretty common. In fact, 95 percent of SNC's Class of 2022 alumni who responded to a survey said they were employed, in grad school or doing service work within nine months of graduating.
Hometown: Muskego, Wis.
Degree program: Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Political Science
Plans after graduation: Kaitlin has joined the Green Bay Packers as a public affairs professional.
How did you find your way to St. Norbert?
When I was really young, I dreamed of being a Packers cheerleader. That was my first introduction to the college. (Editor’s note: St. Norbert College and UW-Green Bay teams cheered at Packers home games until 2020.) Then when I went for a tour, I ended up falling in love with it because it had the programs I wanted to study, the campus was just beautiful, and I felt at home. From my first conversations with my admission counselor and faculty members I spoke with before enrolling you could tell everyone cared about each other, and that community aspect really appealed to me.
My family jokes that even though I did not become a Packers cheerleader, I ended up at St. Norbert and found my way into the Packers organization one way or another.
How has SNC helped you grow into your profession?
I’ve always been intrigued by writing and messaging, the way intangible ideas flow through society. I’ve always been a strong writer but my communications classes, like Writing for Media and Strategic Communication, have really strengthened those writing skills and taught me how to write different things for different people. And being the editor of the newspaper under the guidance of Dr. Mark Glantz (Communications & MS) has been a hugely impactful experience. It has been a cool journey collaborating with my peers and faculty to transform how the paper interacts with the SNC community, and it’s given me a lot of creative freedom, too.
Dr. Glantz exposed me to new opportunities and pushed me to try new things. He was always there to listen to me ramble about different life goals. Initially, I wanted to go to law school, then I wanted to go to graduate school and then I bounced around to a whole bunch of different things, and he always humored me and would help me find information about a particular path.
I also got the opportunity to do an independent study with him my junior year and I presented at the Undergraduate Research Forum. My research won an award; it was about visual communication in politics, which was kind of the marriage of my two majors. Stacy Wanta with the Honors Program was also a huge help. Whenever I’d feel overwhelmed by work or school, she’d offer me guidance and say, “It's okay, you’ve got it.”
What is your role with the Packers?
I write press releases and media advisories, help with press conferences and work with media personnel. A big part of the role is forming relationships, writing talking points and reports for other departments about media coverage and periodically writing articles for Packers.com. I interned with them last July. Dr. Glantz reached out to me with the opportunity. I applied not really hoping for much, but as I went through the interview process, I found I really wanted the job, and then I ended up getting it. I’ve truly adored every part of my experience so far, so I’m very excited to move on to a full-time role.
