East Central University alumna Sarah Jones has always been drawn to telling stories about people. That is why she wanted to a journalist. The Byng High School graduate enrolled in mass communication at ECU in 2011. She selected the college because it was close to home and family and offered affordable tuition.
“Originally, my plans were to go to ECU for my general education classes and then move to a larger university for my journalism classes,” Jones explained. “After I started school I realized that the university classes were challenging, and my professors were extremely knowledgeable about the industry."
She quickly decided to stay at ECU. Jones filled her free time with activities that complemented her career choice. She worked on the college’s yearbook staff and as an intern for the ECU marketing and communications department for four years. She gained journalism experience by working as a reporter at the local Ada radio station, KCNP.
Jones took different creative classes, like design and layout, photography and writing, but when she discovered film class, it was love at first recording. “It was the first time I had ever used a video camera and I had no idea what I was doing,” Jones recalled, “but I recognized its power to see and hear emotions as people told their stories.”
Jones graduated from ECU in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in mass media. She works
as the social media creative producer with the Chickasaw Nation where she creates content, usually short videos and graphics, for the tribe’s media platforms. She recently helped promote two films, Te Ata and Chickasaw Rancher, that feature Chickasaw heritage.
She recently took home a Nextgen Under 30 Media/Public Relations Award from a statewide event which honors those, under the age of 30, who are already making an impact in their young careers by demonstrating talent, drive and service to their communities.
“I had never considered social media or videography as a career choice, when I first went to college,” Jones said, “but I love what I do. My college experience opened my eyes that you don’t have to be good in just one area and that there are many ways to tell a story.”
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