{"id":4573,"date":"2024-07-08T15:49:29","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T15:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/?p=4573"},"modified":"2026-02-19T19:51:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T19:51:31","slug":"community-outreach-coordinator-utilizes-her-online-communication-masters-to-inspire-action-on-water-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/community-outreach-coordinator-utilizes-her-online-communication-masters-to-inspire-action-on-water-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Outreach Coordinator Utilizes Her Online Communication Master\u2019s to Inspire Action on Water Pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sacramento-based community outreach coordinator Jeanette Huddleston believes skillful communication can change the world. She sees the impact of communication every day in her job, where she helps communities around Sacramento protect local waterways and preserve California\u2019s beautiful oceans, rivers and streams for future generations. As a community outreach coordinator, she plans workshops and events, conducts youth outreach, runs public awareness campaigns, and empowers her neighbors to take action on water pollution and preservation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Huddleston\u2019s passion for how communication can inspire action is what led her to go back to school for her master\u2019s degree. She felt that a master\u2019s program could equip her with the tools she needed to make a bigger impact in her career and open new opportunities in the future.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI wanted to use my degree to engage with the community in Sacramento about water pollution,\u201d Huddleston said. \u201cAnd I wanted to open the door to more leadership opportunities down the road.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Purdue University\u2019s online <a href=\"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/online-program\/ms-in-communication\/?utm_source=purdue_news&amp;utm_medium=pressrelease&amp;utm_campaign=graduation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Master of Science in Communication<\/a> stuck out to Huddleston for multiple reasons. First, Purdue\u2019s program was affordable. She was impressed by Purdue\u2019s record of keeping undergraduate tuition rates frozen for 13 consecutive years and felt Purdue offered the best education at the best value. She was also impressed by the variety of relevant courses Purdue offered and the career focus of the curriculum. Additionally, Purdue\u2019s online program gave her the flexibility she needed to work toward her goals without sacrificing her other responsibilities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFlexibility is important to me,\u201d Huddleston said. \u201cAs a busy working professional, I wanted a program that would work with my family life and career life.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"purdue-home-video-embed \">\n        <div class=\"section has-none-background has-padding-top-small has-padding-bottom-small\">\n        <div class=\"container is-16by9\">\n            \n            <div class=\"purdue-home-cta-card purdue-home-cta-card--horizontal purdue-home-cta-card--video\">\n    <div class=\"image is-16by9\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"purdue-home-background-image\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/LquORDigiJ8\/maxresdefault.jpg\" \/>\n            <\/div>\n    <div class=\"flex-container flex-container--align-center lyt-playbtn\">\n        <button class=\"playbtn\">\n            <span class=\"cta-link purdue-home-cta-card__link\">Watch Video<\/span>\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"cta-icon cta-icon--play\" src=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/themes\/purdue-home-theme\/imgs\/play_icon_gold.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        <\/button>                                       \n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"iframe-container is-sr-only\">\n        <div class=\"youtube-video\" id=\"LquORDigiJ8\" data-title=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LquORDigiJ8?rel=0&#038;autoplay=1&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;mute=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Purdue\u2019s program, Huddleston struck a balance between working full-time and investing in her education. Purdue&#8217;s dedicated support staff were always there to help her find time for assignments and work through the program at her own pace, and her courses kept her interested by teaching relevant skills that she could immediately apply to her career.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of Huddleston\u2019s favorite experiences in the program was her social media course, where she learned how to communicate and engage with her local community on Instagram and Facebook. As a community outreach coordinator, Huddleston needs to be able to connect with different audiences, and the course helped her craft messages around water preservation that will reach new audiences and grow organically.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[This course] will help me connect with my audience in meaningful ways,\u201d Huddleston said.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Huddleston, pursuing a master\u2019s is about making a personal investment. In addition to taking courses that will help her career, she has increased her confidence and proven herself as an expert communicator. Though going to school and working full-time is stressful, Huddleston says being able to celebrate the small victories with her support system makes it all worthwhile.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGoing back to school shows that I\u2019m hardworking, committed and able to invest in myself and the future,\u201d Huddleston said. \u201cMy advice [to other online students] is to make sure you make time for yourself and your family and practice self-care. Celebrate small victories and never forget your \u2018why?\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now that she\u2019s graduated, Huddleston looks back on her experience and describes it as one of the best decisions she\u2019s ever made. She recommends Purdue to anyone looking to expand their career horizons and challenge themselves. She says her understanding of communication has grown exponentially, and she looks forward to using her newfound skills to inspire action on water pollution in Sacramento and beyond.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you\u2019re looking for a top-notch education that\u2019s relevant to your career, Purdue University is a great choice,\u201d Huddleston said. \u201cIf you\u2019re looking for great tools and strategies that can be applied to your career, Purdue\u2019s a great choice there as well.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/online-program\/ms-in-communication\/?utm_source=purdue_news&amp;utm_medium=pressrelease&amp;utm_campaign=graduation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Purdue\u2019s online master\u2019s in communication<\/a>, visit the program\u2019s webpage.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sacramento-based community outreach coordinator Jeanette Huddleston believes skillful communication can change the world. She sees the impact of communication every day in her job, where she helps communities around Sacramento protect local waterways and preserve California\u2019s beautiful oceans, rivers and streams for future generations. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4654,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"area-of-study":[],"person":[],"class_list":["post-4573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-1.jpg",854,480,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-1.jpg",854,480,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-1.jpg",854,480,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-1-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-1.jpg",854,480,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-1.jpg",854,480,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-1.jpg",854,480,false],"rt_custom":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-1.jpg",854,480,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"RM Barton","author_link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/author\/barton53\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Sacramento-based community outreach coordinator Jeanette Huddleston believes skillful communication can change the world. She sees the impact of communication every day in her job, where she helps communities around Sacramento protect local waterways and preserve California\u2019s beautiful oceans, rivers and streams for future generations.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4573"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9776,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4573\/revisions\/9776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4573"},{"taxonomy":"area-of-study","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area-of-study?post=4573"},{"taxonomy":"person","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/person?post=4573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}