Emily Legaspi Lucier ’97

I actually transferred to Hood in Spring 1995. I had been living in D.C. and taking classes at another university. After some time, I realized it was not a good fit for me and decided it was time for a change. I knew Hood College well as my boyfriend (now husband) had attended high school at the former St. John’s at Prospect Hall in Frederick and had some friends there. I also knew that the school had a stellar academic reputation and loved the campus and the city of Frederick. So, in the Fall of 1994, I applied as a transfer. As I was making a deliberate decision to start new, I was fully committed to Hood from the beginning. But I will say there was a defining moment that cemented my decision. I started that Spring with a light class schedule, as I was commuting back and forth from D.C. until I could find an apartment in Frederick. But I was still very uptight and worried about doing well and proving that I deserved to be at Hood. One of my classes was Communications Law, and I found myself stumbling as I was feeling so tense and insecure. Something in me finally ‘cracked’ for lack of a better word before the mid-term. I took the essay exam, and on getting it back was relieved to see an A with Professor Bertazzoni remarking, ‘Well Done!’ I proudly showed it to my boyfriend who while congratulating me laughed and said, “I was wondering when you were going to relax. Your Professor should have written ‘Finally!’ on this.” At that moment I knew that not only had I made the right decision, and that I would not just survive but succeed at Hood.

My internship with WUSA TV in D.C. was a door-opening moment for me professionally, as my time at Channel 9 has really served as the solid base of my career. Washington D.C.’s television stations are in the top ten media market rated by Nielson, making their local news channels very hot spots to get an internship. Thanks to training I had gotten at an earlier summer internship with Cable News 21 in Rockville, my background suited Channel 9 well. And I certainly was not the first journalism major from Hood to intern with a D.C. news station. I really enjoyed it, worked as hard as I could, doing whatever they asked, and even got to go out to conduct off-camera interviews a few times – once when Ringling Brothers Circus opened in the city and another time at a bad car accident. Towards the end of my internship, and very close to graduation, I was offered a job there as a production assistant. I took this opportunity to work as diligently as I could, getting into the newsroom as a writer in just under a year. And that is what really shaped my career from that moment on. Being a writer is all that I ever wanted, and I found that writing with my work being driven by the news and events of each day, combined with reading, researching and questioning, allowed me to hone my craft every minute that I did it. And we covered everything under the sun, with three major news events coming to mind as we covered them for months: President Clinton’s impeachment and the tragic deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy Jr. Every piece that I wrote was guided by the most important tenets of journalism: impartiality and objectivity. My plan was to stay in broadcast news and eventually move into producing newscasts but getting married and moving altered those plans. I went on to work in radio and eventually back to a newsroom at WDSU TV NBC6 in New Orleans, but found my goals had changed, and decided on a lateral move to work in public relations. Numerous journalists have moved into public relations as Directors of Communications, Press Secretaries, P.R. Specialists and my current position as their primary responsibility is to promote the good works and events of their organization to the media, while working hand-in-hand with them. In the end, I will always consider myself a writer first, always keeping in mind what I learned at WUSA TV at the beginning of my career. That dedication to hard work, focused on impartiality and objectivity will serve you well, no matter what your job is.

In describing my workday here at the VMHC, there are just a few things that are the same about each one. One of the first things I do each day is to look for all articles and news about the museum online, which can come from multiple sources. I keep track of these so we can gauge how our work, events, exhibits and more are getting to the public. I then move on to the museum’s Twitter account as I oversee and maintain it. Social media is of course a key element in reaching out and communicating with the worldwide audience. I follow this up with looking over the museum’s Facebook page as it pairs with Twitter and often has lengthier comments and conversations. Beyond this, my days are all different and driven by the museum’s current events and exhibitions, as well as those coming soon or even months ahead, as our marketing team carefully plans our promotions with other teams here. I must also consider the news of each day, how that could affect the museum, and any possible requests from the media. In my position, I stand ready to receive requests from reporters at any time by phone or email and must respond as soon as possible. Regarding the pandemic, I think that the one thing that has affected my work strategies and methods is the ability to plan into the future. As I said earlier, our marketing team is meticulous in planning promotions, but COVID-19 and events all over the country changed that drastically. As it is impossible to know what might happen, you take each day with an open mind, ready to tailor your work and goals as necessary. I will say that when everyone across the nation was sent home to quarantine months ago and our museum had to close, we all managed to work around this with much success. Through Zoom meetings, emails, and conference calls, we worked with the many teams at the VMHC to promote a vast amount of online educational resources for students, parents, and educators. These included virtual tours, webinars, lectures and more that were enthusiastically received by the media and public at large. The museum also began a brand new collections campaign called ‘Share Your Story’, which recognizes that all Virginians are making history every day as we adapt to the effects of a global pandemic, confront inequalities in our community, and make countless personal decisions that shape the future of our Commonwealth. This is founded on our belief that history is not just cherished past, it is right now. The VMHC has been collecting and preserving documents, images, and objects that will help future generations understand our present at VirginiaHistory.org/ShareYourStory. All this online programming has a special spot on our website at VirginiaHistory.org/athome. It’s amazing and inspiring to me that all of this sprang from the pandemic, and owing to its success, will continue on as another integral piece of the work the museum does in its mission to serve the citizens of this Commonwealth and to preserve the history of all Virginians.

All the successes that the museum achieves in promoting our exhibits to the public relies upon the great knowledge and creativity of all of the teams at the VMHC. There is no rote method that is taken, but each exhibition is first overseen by one of our Curatorial team, who leads our promotional efforts. One of our current exhibitions, “Agents of Change: Female Activism in Virginia from Women’s Suffrage to Today” was the most recent exhibition we promoted to the public before the pandemic which was very successful and an excellent example of true team effort. VMHC Museum Collections Curator Dr. Karen Sherry was leading our promotions, and a member of the Advancement team suggested an excellent idea. She had seen a historic photo from 1915, which was of the Equal Suffrage League of Richmond. The photo is an iconic one of the women’s suffrage movement in Virginia, with 17 women standing in front of a car in Richmond’s Capitol Square, and two banners behind, one with League’s name, the other ‘Votes for Women’. Her thought was we could recreate this historic photo as a key image for our exhibition as we honored the centennial of the passage of the 19^th Amendment. Our teams spent weeks looking for women throughout Virginia who all could consider ‘changemakers’; a group of contemporary women who would represent and capture the dynamism and diversity of female activism in Virginia today. We ended up with a group of 27 women who captured this dynamism and diversity perfectly; the first woman to represent Virginia in Congress, a leader of the Women’s March in Richmond, the Executive Director of the Take Back the Night Foundation, and an American Idol finalist to name just a few. We also saw to the logistics of this photo shoot, ensuring we could use Capitol Square, scouting the location for the best time to shoot based on weather and natural light, looking for an antique automobile for the group to pose with, creating new banners, how and when to assemble the group, getting them to the site, considering delays for weather and ensuring direct and clear communications to the media for coverage. On the day of the shoot, surrounded by photographers and reporters, I felt an incredible swell of pride that our efforts led to this moment that felt historic itself, and that we could honor all Virginia suffragists in such a poignant way. When the exhibition opened about a month later, we unveiled the finished photograph as ‘Today’s Agents of Change’ in a special ceremony at the museum, with all the women in the photo, media, members of the VMHC and the Governor of Virginia’s wife, First Lady Pamela Northam to toast all in attendance. It was quite a moment to say the least. This is just one example of the extraordinary work that is achieved at the VMHC, and I am honored that I can be a part of it. As to the question if I could help market any museum or exhibit what it would be – that is a tough one! I have been fortunate enough to travel around the country and abroad and have seen many incredible and beautiful exhibits, so I am not sure where I would begin! I suppose if pressed, I would have to go back to my earliest memories of visiting museums, and that would take me to the Smithsonian. Growing in up in Northern Virginia I remember my family and school fields trips there, and my favorite was (and still is) The Museum of American History… somehow prophetic considering what I do now. There is a tinge of the familiar and wondrous there, from the collection of the ballgowns of all the First Ladies, to Dorothy’s ruby slippers. If I had to pick one exhibit to promote, it would probably be when they moved and reassembled Julia Child’s home kitchen to the museum, as I am a long-time admirer of the woman who changed American cooking forever.

While you asked for one professor, I have three responses to this question. The first two would be the professors who I identify as mentors, and they are Professor Donna Bertazzoni who was my advisor at Hood and Professor Al Weinberg. Both were such supportive role models to me that I could not pick between them. From the beginning, Professor Bertazzoni took special care in guiding me through my time at Hood. I remember our first meeting in her office, as she was very clear on advising me on my best course of action. Being a transfer student, and older than your typical undergraduate, she wanted me to look at my class schedules in a very disciplined way. To plan a path of my academics at Hood with purpose that would keep me moving steadily forward without dawdling to graduation. And she helped me forge that path without ‘mercy’ if you will. I had moved to Frederick the summer of 1995 and began full-time that fall. So now it was time get down to business. I remember while we filled my following semesters with a careful eye, they were completely full, non-stop, no nonsense and quite challenging. But her master plan for me was brilliant, because while I spent almost my entire two years at Hood working hard through weekends, summers and late nights, my last semester was nearly free. Just one last class and my thesis in Communications to concentrate on. Considering that I was interning at WUSA TV in D.C. that semester this was perfect, and her foresight as my advisor about this was spot on. If I ever needed her help, she was just a meeting or phone call away, about anything I needed. Her help and guidance were invaluable. Professor Weinberg kept an eye on all the Communications majors, someone I would consider a mentor to every one of us. My first class with him was Feature Writing, and while I remember being nervous, he was quick to put me at ease, and I found that this genre of writing fit me very well. I am glad this was the first class I took in my major, because his belief in my skills and talents as a writer from the get-go was critical and played a large part in my achievements at Hood. Both also continued to be a support to me after graduation, when I had married and moved in New Orleans. The job market being much different there, I even considered graduate school at Tulane for a time, and they both sent recommendations right away when I asked. Still being able to call on them for help meant a great deal. The final mentor I must mention would be all the women I attended Hood with and saw in my classes every day. I was astounded at how incredibly smart, motivated, and competitive everyone was – but in the best way. These women were determined to always do their utmost, to make their mark and have their voices heard. I loved that we were always trying to out-do each academically, because there was no animosity attached to it. This was what being a ‘Hood-lum’ was all about – standing out to be your absolute best. Professors Bertazzoni, Weinberg and my classmates allowed me to realize that my decision to choose Hood and to choose journalism were absolutely right pre-graduation, and this irreplaceable support kept me grounded and striving professionally post-graduation – through many changes in the field of Communications, the recession of 2005, a plethora of world events and upheaval - to bring me to where I am today. And I am most grateful.

I would advise that they seek training, experience, and knowledge in every area of the field as possible. While that sounds vague, being able to do a bit of everything well is what it is all about now. For instance, in local TV news now, reporters show up to interview you with a camera and lighting all by themselves. No cameraperson is usually along – it is not done anymore. That reporter sets up the shot, gets rolling, does the interview, then goes back to the station, edits their piece to be sure it hits deadline and gets on the air all their own. This is even the case in Washington, D.C. now, as I’ve found that many reporters I worked with at Channel 9 ended up retiring as they simply couldn’t make these new changes that are now the norm in broadcast journalism. I was quite surprised by it all as some of the favorite folks I worked with were camerapeople and editors. But the consolidation of skills and responsibilities for broadcast journalists has edged out these professions, and some veteran journalists along with them. Assume that you need to be proficient in as many areas of the field as you can so as not to find yourself in the same place. Have a presence on social media that you update daily and several times a day. Get technical training to operate a camera, take videos and edit them after. Know how to write a script for any video and storyboard it as well. Join professional organizations to keep up with the latest trends and always be networking as your colleagues can be a great asset. When you start in any job, look for a professional mentor for help. As a young writer I did, specifically asking an Executive Producer at Channel 9 for her support and advice and I could not have gotten into the newsroom without her help.  Write everyday… blog, tweet, keep a journal, whatever works – it is your craft and the absolute basis of this profession. If you cast your net wide and acquire all the skills and training you can, you will make yourself invaluable - and no one will be able to edge you out.