Turning a Commencement Milestone into an Evergreen Recruitment Story
Feature Writing · Content Marketing · Multichannel Strategy
The Challenge
The inaugural graduating class of Harvard Chan’s first fully online degree program presented a timely news opportunity—but also a chance to address a question prospective students would continue to have long after Commencement: Could an online program still deliver a connected, engaging Harvard experience?
My Role
I reported, wrote, and photographed a feature that transformed a one-time Commencement milestone into an evergreen storytelling asset. I conducted interviews with program leadership and graduating students, developed the editorial angle, and shaped their perspectives into a story designed to serve both immediate news coverage and longer-term recruitment communications.
The Approach
I approached the story with a central theme in mind: that an online degree could offer flexibility without sacrificing meaningful connections among students and faculty. Interviews with members of the inaugural class reinforced that direction, providing firsthand examples of how students built relationships across countries, continued working while pursuing their degrees, and integrated their education into their professional and personal lives.
Rather than focusing solely on the novelty of the School’s first fully online degree, I used the students’ experiences to illustrate what participation in the program actually looked and felt like.
The Impact
The finished story extended well beyond its original role in Commencement coverage, becoming a versatile communications asset for multiple audiences and channels. It supported recruitment marketing for prospective students, appeared in newsletters to broader Harvard Chan audiences, and gave students and faculty a published story they could share through their own social networks.