At the time of this interview, Joy worked as a Media Relations & Marketing Associate at the American Enterprise Institute. Then, Joy served as an Account Supervisor at Ketchum before entering her current position as Account Supervisor for JPA Health.

Alumni Spotlight: JOY FAN, Media Relations & Marketing Associate at the American Enterprise Institute 

Life at UVA and since graduating: 

Joy graduated from the University of Virginia in 2017 with degrees in Economics and Art History. While at UVA, Joy was the president of the Rhapsody Ballet Ensemble while she pursued her personal interests in business and art. Some of her favorite economics courses were Money and Banking and Environmental Economics, although she enjoyed several public policy-focused economics courses.

She currently works at the American Enterprise Institute. She serves as the liaison between the press and over 30 AEI scholars in economic, financial services, tech, and healthcare policy.

What are your job’s responsibilities?

• 35% is pitching to reporters–sending research to print and broadcast reporters
• 35% fielding media requests (connecting scholars to media)
• 30% staffing media crews and events, updating media contact database, tracking press interactions for analysis later

Joy’s tips for students:

• Reach out to alumni–they always have good insights to share if not more help
• Don’t forget your resume and cover letter serve as writing samples 
• Get as much writing experience as possible. Almost every job requires good writing skills, whether it be in the form of a report or memo, or even just as communication between colleagues