Historically, marketing and communications have been viewed as a luxury for student success teams. But as distractions for students multiply, practitioners simply can’t afford not to embed strategic MarComm into their work.
I presented “Marketing as a Means of Connection: Bridging Digital Outreach with Live Student Engagement” at the 2026 Jesuit Student Success Network Annual Conference, flipping the traditional script on higher-ed marketing and reframing it from an impersonal promotional tool into an active driver of student connection and belonging.
I was selected as the sole speaker from the Fordham Career Center, and my session was one of three breakouts representing Fordham University among the 28 international Jesuit colleges and universities.
Digital outreach and traditional student programming measure the exact same core metric—engagement— priming communications to serve as an extension of offerings, not just an advertisement. When aligned thoughtfully, MarComm becomes a vital mechanism for connection, belonging, and cura personalis (care for the whole person).
Beyond content strategies, we explored (free!) tech-forward tools that allow resource-constrained teams to streamline workflows, improve accessibility, and gain real-time insights into student needs.
A huge thank you to the teams at Fordham University and the Jesuit Student Success Network for making this opportunity possible!
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