We caught up with Joslyn (Dalton) Ammar in 2016. She earned her degree at Nebraska in 2009. It is exciting to see how she built on her Communication major working at ESPN and founded her own company.
1) During which years were you a student at Nebraska? I attended UNL from 2004-
2009, taking a 5th year due to red-shirting as a track and cross country student-athlete.
2) What have you been doing since leaving UNL?
Upon graduation, I pursued my MBA and Master’s in Sports Business Management from the DeVos Sports Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Although my focus was on working for a sports marketing agency, while a graduate student, I met one of the original founders of ESPN’s SportsCenter who was visiting our program as a guest speaker. Nine months later I moved to the East Coast to help launch espnW, ESPN’s first business focused on female athletes and fans!
After my first year at ESPN’s world headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, I took an exciting new role as the chief of staff to ESPN.com’s senior vice president of content. With about five years of experience at the media company, I decided to grow my corporate leadership experience and became the vice president of digital marketing for a small video content company. Within a year, I was able to branch out and start my own company, JMar&Co, which is a branding boutique for start-ups and transitioning businesses.
3) Why did you choose a major in Communication Studies? My father was a professor at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, so I naturally started freshman year intending to pursue the pre-med path. However, my father lost his battle with cancer during my first week on UNL’s campus. The circumstances mixed with being a scholarship student- athlete expected to perform well on the track and in the classroom were extremely challenging for me. In an effort to adjust my major to something that came more natural for my skill set, I discovered Communication Studies. Writing was becoming a meaningful outlet for me during the grieving process and this particular major provided space for me to write, read and speak through my thoughts.
4) We have a focus in the undergraduate program to teach students about three capacities: Advocate, Negotiate, and Relate. How has your communication degree helped your life and career?
Being a Communication Studies student cultivated my passion for creating and marketing compelling content that moves people to action. I remain fond of instrumental professors at UNL who forever changed my life by introducing me to the concept of advocacy, negotiation and relation. For example, Dr. Jordan Soliz’s classes helped me explore issues of race, gender and socio-economic division as well as assimilation and familial dynamics. All these aspects funneled into my first job at ESPN where my responsibility was to help create a business that advocates for female influencers, athletes and fans. Furthermore, since life is one negotiation after another, my communication degree equipped me with scholastic tools that continue to anchor my negotiation style to this day!
5) What is a favorite memory of your time in Communication Studies at UNL?
My favorite memory is spending time during office hours with professors who took the time and energy to analytically process and dig into my writings. I had so much to say between my heart and my mind, and it’s as if these teachers helped me navigate through my thoughts.
6) In what ways can alumni support our depart- ment and students?
Expanding the pool of financial and career opportunities for hard-working, dedicated students experiencing unique circumstances during college life is near and dear to me. I also think a mentorship program where seniors are linked with specific alumni for weekly 1:1 and perhaps face-to-face job shadowing could be a helpful idea (this may already exist!). Last, inviting alumni to be distinguished speakers for classrooms is always something I suggest because this had the biggest impact on setting my course to ESPN!
7) What advice do you have for current undergraduate students in our department? Your professors are the boss, your peers are your colleagues, and your assignments are your tasks and responsibilities. Carry yourself in such a way that you're training your mind to gain “real-world” work experience while in the classroom. This will help you internally build your professional narrative while developing soft skills reflective of how well you work with others. Your personal dynamics/tact/charisma with others will more often than not determine the limit for your success regardless of how smart you are. Try to get the kinks out while in college instead of your first few jobs!