How do you know when to jump on a trending audio? How can students help with a college's social media strategy? What happens when colleagues can't understand why you don't want to put their flier on Instagram? Sarah Hernandez Herman, NCMPR's 2025 national Communicator of the Year winner and Arizona Western College's director of content strategy and development, shares tips, tricks and how-tos to help your college's social media presence grab just the right audience. She chats with guest host Stephanie Reyna, new media and marketing specialist at Saddleback College in California.

Patrick Stone remembers feeling a little out of his depth when he attended his first NCMPR conference in 2011. He was new to the field and attending with two long-time industry pros.

Fourteen years later, he is president of NCMPR. In this episode of "Can You Make It Pretty?", Patrick discusses being new to the industry, the importance of new members to NCMPR, why marketers need to make time to see their college's big picture and a whole lot more.

Patrick is from Cape Cod Community College in Massachusetts; and this episode's host is Patrick's fellow board member Matt Radcliffe, from Pikes Peak State College in Colorado.

For the last two years, South Puget Sound Community College in Washington has won District 7’s gold Medallion Award in Government or Community Relations Campaign. Kati Sagawa, SPSCC’s director of marketing & communications, discusses their most recent win, for the Billy Frank Junior Statue Project. The artist made the statue on campus, and it will be displayed in Washington D.C.

Marcom and PR is an industry full of creatives, and District 6 member David Steiman – who worked in the film industry before winding up at Pasadena City College in California – talks about his path to marketing director. He chats with guest host Andrea Rangno, director of marketing & public relations at Golden West College in California. This episode was taped live at the District 6 conference in Tucson, Arizona.

How can managers keep small teams engaged? How can they help staff avoid burnout? Dana Shaffer, senior creative manager for Purell, chats about leading small teams, plus how to oversee a major marketing plan pivot. This episode was recorded live at NCMPR's District 3 conference in Cleveland on Sept. 27, 2024; and it features guest host Jeff Julian, NCMPR's 2023-24 president.

The College of Lake County in Illinois won Best in Show at the 2023 Paragon Awards with “The Path to Better Care,” a graphic novel that promotes CLC’s healthcare programs. Marketing analyst Jessey Prugh and graphic designer Maddy Asma – who wrote and designed the novel, respectively – share how they did it and the community’s response.

Dr. Keith Curry, president and CEO of Compton College in California, discusses why DEI is everyone's job on campus, how to work with employees who don't want to take on the task -- and why it was so great for students when Kendrick Lamar popped up at this year's graduation ceremony.

St. Philip's College in Texas is the nation's only Historically Black College and Hispanic-Serving Institute. Adrian Jackson, St. Philip's director of marketing and strategic communications, shares how the college stays prepared to deal with a crisis – and how it jumped into action when it received a racially motivated bomb threat last year.

Virginia Moreland has been with Tennessee Board of Regents – The College System of Tennessee since 2012, and she attended her first NCMPR national conference the following year, in New Orleans. In 2025, the conference will return to New Orleans, for NCMPR's 50th anniversary – with Virginia as NCMPR president. In this Meet the President episode, Virginia shares why she's focused on getting new members involved, her love of pop culture ... and that time she was a McDonald's mascot.