If you’re looking for a friendly face and a helping hand in the department of communication, look no further than Academic Administrative Assistant Suzanne Moskalski.

Moskalski received her bachelor’s degree in speech and theater with an emphasis on broadcasting from Missouri State (then Southwest Missouri State University) in 1984. For eleven years after, Moskalski worked as a director and producer in broadcasting, then spent another eight as an account executive in corporate advertising. But it was a desire to work in higher education that prompted a career change for Moskalski.

“I wanted to work at [Missouri State] because while working in the corporate world, I saw too many people without a higher education struggling to get good jobs, especially ones they loved. It really drove home the need for a college degree in today’s working world and I decided I wanted to help students achieve their college goals so they could get their degrees and accomplish their career dreams,” Moskalski explained.

February 1 marks Moskalski’s nine-year anniversary as the academic administrative assistant for the communication department. In 2019, she became an advisor to the department, on top of earning her master’s degree in organizational leadership. “As the COM admin assistant, my tasks are very diverse, even ‘teaching’ students non-academic things such as how to use office equipment, e.g., the copier, and computer programs such as Excel and Word—there’s a lot more to it than writing and saving a class paper,” says Moskalski.

“I love advising and working with the students and helping them in any way I can is my favorite part of the job. In fact, when the students are on break, I miss them very much and I am always so happy to see them return. They are the life of campus!” she adds.