Canadian Wild Turkey Release.
Photo courtesy oftThe National Wild Turkey Federation.







Wild Turkey Release.
Photo courtesy oftThe National Wild Turkey Federation.

A Job You Can Enjoy
Brian Dowler ’04


IN 1999, THE YEAR THE EURO was established, Bill Gates’ personal fortune surpassed $100 Billion dollars, due to the increased value of Microsoft stock, baseball great Joe DiMaggio died and Napster made its debut. Wikipedia, where I found the above information, hadn’t even been created, and I was finishing my senior year of high school, scared and wondering what I’d do for the remainder of my adult life.

I landed later that year in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications, positive that I would become an outdoor writer documenting my adventures in the wild. I was only four short years away from the “real world.”

My, how differently things unfolded. At the time, we (print and broadcast students in the  SOJMC) believed that true journalists didn’t practice public relations – they wrote and edited for respected newspapers, broadcast on National Public Radio and stared blankly down the barrel of a camera mounted on some video operator’s shoulder.

Today, starting my seventh year working for the same organization, my calling is to create and retain members at a nonprofit conservation organization called the National Wild Turkey Federation, where I am the membership marketing manager at our national headquarters located in Edgefield, South Carolina. The job is a far cry from journalism, but the perfect fit for a passion that consumed my life prior to my career – hunting and wildlife conservation. The story below is how I got where I am today and how you, too, could land a dream job if you plan early and work toward your goal.

To say that I had a master plan that landed me where I am today would be an egregiously false statement. I worked hard throughout college to learn how to communicate, played just as hard, and did everything I could to earn money for rent, books and all the other things students are still facing. But one day I realized I was running out of time to fulfill my internship obligation. Later that semester, an internship was brought up during my Parthenon class one day as Ralph Turner, Ph.D., told us that it was a paying internship - in public relations. I was surrounded by students with a print focus, but no one showed any interest in the internship with the Nick J. Rahall, II, Appalachian Transportation Institute. It sounded interesting to me, especially the “payed” part!

An application and interview later, I was ready to start at RTI as one of two new interns. Nearly two years later, as graduation loomed, I had learned a lot about communicating with media members, creating content for their use and what it takes to become visible on their radar. I enjoyed crafting messages to put a positive spin on what some of the best engineers at Marshall were doing and how the transportation initiatives would benefit the residents in the Appalachian Region, and for that matter, the entire country. I learned that a career in public relations was, indeed, for me. I also learned that having an interest in a subject matter made work go by much more quickly – some days writing press releases and working on newsletters were extraordinarily slow. I wanted something more!

When I started my final semester at Marshall, I knew I had to move on. I had never considered leaving West Virginia, my home and a place I miss each day. But, there were no careers in the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade. If I wanted to pursue my passion, a change in venue was necessary. With the blessing of my supervisor, I spent a small portion of my time at RTI searching for a place to begin my professional career and learned that the National Wild Turkey Federation had a public relations specialist position waiting for me. I just had to convince them they needed me.

When you want something, take it (within the limits of the law)! I applied, followed up with the hiring supervisor, continued to follow up, and made an effort to put myself in the same room with him. I voluntarily traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for the NWTF’s National Convention and Sport Show to have lunch with him. Shortly after I landed an official interview and started working for the organization two weeks after graduation day.

I’ve been with NWTF for seven years. Each year has brought new responsibilities taking me from a PR Specialist to a supervisory role as PR Manager and finally to my current role in membership recruitment and retention as our Membership Marketing Manager. I credit my growth as an employee to two very obvious (to me) reasons: first, a quality education; the second, a passion for the arena in which I work.

Each day I’m surrounded by a group of coworkers and volunteers who share the same desire. We work to generate the dollars necessary to improve wildlife habitat and pass on our hunting heritage and I believe my efforts have helped in both arenas. At the end of the day, my job is a pleasure and I look forward to many years in this industry. Being passionate about my job has made a tremendous difference in my success and my quality of life, I hope you’ll find a job you can enjoy as much as I have.