Ashley Kincaid β14 transferred to Shenandoah for her senior year, but quickly fell in love with the faculty, staff and students. βSU is a great school with great students and their Mass Comm./English department taught me wonderful lessons that I have been able to apply within my field,β said Kincaid. One of her fondest memories during her time at the university was being a writer for the student newspaper, The ‘Doah.
Kincaid is a marketing and digital communications specialist for in Winchester, Virginia. In this position, she is responsible for all social media accounts, the website, photographing products, e-blasts, press releases and graphic design. Kincaid also owns the freelance business, , which offers graphic design, public relations consulting, social media strategies and social media advertising services. Prior to working for Winchester Equipment, she was a graphic designer, marketing assistant and marketing communications specialist.
The most rewarding experience of Kincaidβs career so far has been traveling to Germany three times when working for .
In 2015, Kincaid created the Type4me project where she creates black and white artwork to help spread awareness about the black and white thinking prevalent in trauma victims and those who suffer mental illnesses. She volunteered at The Laurel Center in Winchester, Virginia, and studied psychology while in college, so she wanted to do something that would combine all of her interests together.
βI think itβs important to go into the psychology aspect of it, because black-and-white thinking happens after trauma. Before trauma, most people think in areas of gray, where you might have something bad happen in a day, but it doesnβt make the whole day bad. After youβve experienced severe trauma β like domestic violence victims or people who have PTSD, those types of things β itβs very hard to see the shades of gray,β said Kincaid.
Kincaid believes that the knowledge and skills she received at Shenandoah allowed her to obtain jobs in her career field. While working for Associate Athletic Director Scott Musa as a work study, she gained skills in designing and communications for the athletic department. Kincaid also did an internship with the Winchester City Hall/Welcome Center, where she learned more communication skills that included event planning and promotion.
Kincaidβs advice to students is: βTo get involved in the surrounding community in ways that can benefit your career. Volunteer or freelance as much as possible to establish a firm background in the field. Never stop learning and growing.β