About Me

My name is Chloe Cook and I am currently a senior majoring in Advertising and Public Relations with a minor in Marketing. I was born in Charleston, West Virginia, and was raised in a very small town named Oceana in Wyoming County, West Virginia.

Huntington Becomes Home

In the Fall of 2018, I moved to Huntington, West Virginia to begin my academic career at Marshall University. Since then, I have either stayed in Huntington through the summer or worked full-time at a remote location for seasonal jobs. This has provided me with incredible opportunities to learn personal independence and responsibility.

My High School Experience

In high school, I often had to push myself outside of the classroom to have access to opportunities to help me reach the level of higher education. Coming from a small town with limited resources, our education availability and opportunities were often limited. This created educational gaps between schools in the state and the district I attended high school in. After seeing the disposition between other opportunities, I began researching leadership and learning opportunities outside of the classroom. I soon became involved with Youth Leadership Association and the West Virginia Governor’s Honors Academy.

These two programs pushed me to seek the world and careers outside of the small town I was raised in. Looking back, the West Virginia Governor’s Honors Academy was one of the most pivotal moments of self-discovery at that time. Until attending the three-week program, 5 hours from home, I had not considered leaving southern West Virginia and expanding my horizons. The experiences I had there changed my perspective on my future and potential careers.

My Marshall University Experience

My experience at Marshall University has been an incredible journey of growth personally and professionally. Coming from a rural Appalachian area, I did not have much access to the resources available at Marshall University or the Huntington area in general. Due to this difference, coming to Marshall just after I had turned 18 years old was indeed a culture shock. While there were different difficulties I did face during the adjustment, I quickly started to become involved in student organizations and began seeking leadership abilities on campus. Once my involvement at Marshall began, my overall experience and morale towards the university grew immensely. I began feeling a sense of home on campus. This was the connection and sense of community I was looking for in my search for a college. Since then, my Marshall experience has grown into many organizations on campus. I am currently serving as the Press Secretary for the Student Government Association, the Ritual and Public Relations Chair for Delta Zeta, as well as being involved with the Strategic Campaigns Club and the Marshall University chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America.

Work Experience

My work experience has been diverse in some areas. My first job was working as a summer staff member for a camp. The job helped me see the importance of being well-balanced and well-rounded in different areas of the workplace. Following this, I had 2 jobs working in foodservice. In the field of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, I have held three internships communicating for nonprofit organizations.

Career Experience

My career mission and goals
- My overall mission and career goals for myself stem back to the root of Public Relations; to create mutually beneficial relationships for companies, organizations, and all publics. My focus of this is directed towards Appalachian scholarship and opportunity programs and funding. Along with this, I would like to upkeep a side business of Public Relations freelance consulting and event planning for local and small businesses.

My major and minor
- My major is Advertising and Public Relations with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Marketing.

Work experience
- My work experience in the field of Public Relations including a range of nonprofit organizations such as religious organizations, mental health initiatives, and history preservation.

Technical skills, soft skills, leadership abilities, and talents
- My skills include Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, copywriting, design thinking, organization, and leadership delegation.
- My leadership abilities include keeping tradition alive, advising with respect, delegating tasks, being responsive to immediate issues, compassion, organizing events and assignments, and being a team player.

Community involvement and service
- Through my experience at Marshall University, I have volunteered through service organizations I have previously or currently am involved with. Some of these examples include a service trip to Cochabamba, Bolivia in April 2019. Through this experience I gained a greater understand of service through compassion and service, rather than complex relationships and conversation. This was a challenge and a learning curve I was able to gain understanding of through the language barrier of different cultures.