By Bri Brands  

Jake Mayer uses the skills he learned as a double major in journalism and cinema in CLAS to oversee the student center in the Adler Journalism Building, and provide marketing and communication support for the school.  

During his undergraduate years, Mayer spent as much time with a camera as possible, which led him to work as video editor and digital producer for WHO 13 in Des Moines, Iowa, and as a social media coordinator for The Right Stuf, Inc.  

After moving back to the Iowa City area to be closer to family, Mayer knew this role was a perfect fit for him. 

"I loved my time at school, and it's easy to market for something you enjoy," he said.  

Now, he spends his days monitoring interactions on social media posts, making sure the student center is running correctly, monitoring the production schedule of the social media channels, and overseeing the two podcasts put on by the school.  

"Interacting with students is something that brings me a lot of joy," he said, adding how he helps them get internships and make connections. "Helping them get to where they want to be is the most fulfilling part of my job." 

Actively applying all the skills he learned in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SMJC) in his work is what Mayer likes to call, "proof of concept." 

"A dream marketing team would have a person specialized in each role, but I do all of it. I know all the skills," he said. "I don't get the luxury of knowing just Adobe Photoshop—I have to know the full suite. The technical knowledge is vast." 

As a former journalism student himself, he highly encourages any department who is looking to bolster their social media presence to hire a journalism major.  

"All of these young people, myself included, have been around social media for quite a while, but [at SJMC], we teach them how algorithms work, how to maximize the content—all the brass tacks," he said.  

Although he loves the small, day-to-day aspects of his career, he particularly takes pride in working hands-on with students each year as they produce a livestream in The Daily Iowan TV studio to raise money for the school during One Day for Iowa. 

The livestream is largely student-run, but Mayer oversees the production schedules and ensures that videography logistics go off without a hitch.  

Outside of his time spent at work, Mayer enjoys being a card-carrying member at FilmScene with his wife, filming different visuals he finds interesting in daily life, and playing in his pop punk emo cover band, Sad Dads.