Eliza Steely has been carving a new niche for herself with her BA in Writing Studies and BBA in Marketing from UMD. Steely has recently completed a Master of Science in Analytics & Systems from the University of Bridgeport, and it’s been a great time to check in on her life and work since graduating.
Eliza’s job titles don’t look like she’s spent more than a decade as a writer, but she lives and breathes using writing everyday. “Senior Demand Generation Marketer,” “Marketing Manager & Sr. Project Manager,” “Account Coordinator & SEO Copywriter.” Eliza describes her current work with passion: “Writing and storytelling are at the core of my impact in every organization I’ve been a part of. Being able to take a complex and often confusing topic or piece of data, and transform it into something digestible, comprehensible, and actionable has set me apart from others in similar roles, and allowed me to transform marketing initiatives in dozens of organizations. I have always worked on teams with remote employees, and have shifted to a remote position with COVID as well, which has shoved my ability to communicate via writing into the spotlight, and saved me from quite a few headaches!”
She’s only just begun, though -- with her new MS degree, doors open -- but writing is still part of her professional path. “Writing will always be central to my career. The ability to effectively communicate cross-functionally, to synthesize mountains of data into a concise presentation, and to capture the attention and interest of target markets all boils down to how well I can write. My MS degree just allows me to translate that skill into the field of data as well.”
Writing is also part of her personal path. She journals daily about her reading, from a list of books that she recommends to you, too: “The Book of Joy (Douglas Abrams) has transformed how I find joy and happiness in my everyday life; Tribe of Mentors (Timothy Ferriss) is an inspirational accumulation of advice, tips, quotes, and insights from all walks of life that can help impact yours; A Life Without Limits (Chrissie Wellington) - coming from someone who can’t run a mile, reading the story of an Ironman champion was a healthy reminder “can’t” is a self-imposed fallacy; Creativity Inc. (Ed Catmull) because I’m fascinated by all things Disney & Pixar, and there’s a decent amount of advice to extrapolate into your own life; and finally Crucial Conversations (Patterson, Granny, McMillan, Switzler) has helped me navigate tough, uncomfortable, or unnatural conversations in both my personal and professional life.”
For more information about Eliza and her work, visit her LinkedIn page.