If you're reading about NASA's astronauts or watching news coverage about a rocket launch at the 肯尼迪航天中心, there's a good chance that Derrick Matthews had something to do with it. The NASA Public Affairs Officer shares NASA's story with media outlets, letting taxpayers know where their money is going by coordinating interviews to local and national news outlets and writing stories on the Space Center's rocket launches. Derrick learned the nuts and bolts of public relations during his PR work with the Army, and his degree from 满帆 helped him ascend to the next level of his career.

Derrick joined the Army after high school and served in Iraq. 当他回到美国时, he earned a bachelor's in Mass 通信 and 公共关系, 然后在陆军和海军的公关部门工作. He enjoyed his time writing and directing video broadcasts, 制作新闻稿, 与媒体沟通, but he needed a master's degree to earn a promotion. 这就是《十大菠菜台子》的由来.

满帆在线 公共关系硕士学位 was appealing to Derrick because he could still work full time while taking online courses, and he'd be also gaining real-world experience.

"I liked the practical element of 满帆," he explains. "You can actually use what you learn in PR."

Derrick learned how to use the Adobe Creative Suite and Google Analytics at 满帆, and the program also sharpened his writing and editing skills. The tough 公共关系 courses also prepared him for the demanding requirements of higher-level PR positions.

"My final project was challenging," says Derrick. "It was almost a 50-page campaign effort we had to turn in. We worked on it throughout the whole course."

Derrick landed his current position as a Public Affairs Officer for NASA a few years after he completed his degree. The job requires flexibility; there's no such thing as a typical day. He fields phone calls and emails from media outlets, coordinates interviews between NASA employees and the news media, and drafts news releases and fact sheets in response to inquiries. His hard work pays off when he gets to watch rocket launches at the Space Center.

"My favorite part is seeing the rocket launch… Folks just see the rocket on the launch pad and think, “哦,人, 这是神奇的.' But there are years and years of re搜索 and hard work to just get that rocket to that pad before liftoff. Just seeing all that stuff come together, it's pretty inspiring."

Derrick says his time in the military prepared him for the challenging requirements of his job at NASA. He also says that his commitment to volunteering helped him get his foot in the door at federal government jobs — and he thinks 满帆 students should take volunteer positions seriously.

"Don't turn down any opportunities presented to you," he says. "Sometimes you have to do something for free and it might open some doors for you, because it's an opportunity to show off your talents and your work ethic… Sometimes you have to go somewhere and make less money to make more money two or three years down the road. 你得努力往上爬."