As recent School of Journalism graduates tackle the job market, frustration and uncertainty can set in. But the alumni pool is full of successes, many of whom just recently walked the halls of Ernie Pyle Hall.

Most attribute their success to persistence and the advice of past professors. Three trace their success directly to one of their classes with professor Holly Stocking.

Kelly Phillips
Kelly Phillips used her 2005 degree to gain a highly-competitive position at the magazine Better Homes & Gardens.

“For the job that I have, they had more than 1,000 applicants,” Phillips said. “There are so many people who want to do it, and so few jobs. You just don’t have the ability to be choosy.”

An internship with Teen People helped put her ahead of the pack, as well as experience at the Indiana Daily Student.

She admits that the job is not ideal, but keeps the length of her career in perspective.

“If you’re in your dream job at 23, where are you going to go from there?” she said.

The job, editorial assistant, consists of writing, researching, testing products and going to conferences, as well as duties like sending mail and keeping track of payroll.

She attributes her success at her job largely to her classes at Indiana University, particularly those with professor Holly Stocking.

“The level of work that she expects out of you is right on the professional level,” she said.

A lot of getting a job, however, is being persistent and determined, Phillips said.

“If you have a goal of something you want to do, move or go there or get yourself in there any way you can, even if it’s not the way you expected,” she said. “I think it’s unrealistic to expect you can be handed a job. I spent a lot of money on plane tickets, a lot of time on job Web sites.”

Stephanie Frasco
Whether she knew it or not, Stephanie Frasco, another of Stocking’s students, took Phillips’ advice. A native of Los Angeles, she returned West after graduating in 2005 and started her own company, a searchable database for celebrity fashion, complete with celebrity interviews and red carpet-style updates. All of the dish can be found at www.whatcelebswear.com.

“The Web site is a collaboration between me and another person,” Frasco said. “It’s a lot of work at first, getting contacts, having people trust you, giving you what you’re looking for. It takes awhile to get it going, but it gets easier once you do.”

Frasco says this sense of persistence comes directly from Stocking.

“Whenever I think ‘Oh my God. I don’t know what to do.’ I think about Holly Stocking,” Frasco said. “She would call us bulldogs and make us growl. She would say we could do anything.”

Stocking remembers the two former students, and the rest of their classmates, with fondness.

“They were part of a remarkable J201 class,” Stocking said. “They were, and still are, all bulldogs.”

After J201, Frasco took an online journalism class with Stocking, which directly helped her chosen career, learning the difference between traditional and online media and how to create a Web site.

“Everything that I learned from the J-school helped me once I got in the real world,” Frasco said. “Basically, they train you like its army training and you’re ready for anything when you get out.”

Frasco is also ready to share her wisdom. A recent addition to her online world is a video advice column, at www.askejean.com.

“All my friends would always come up to me and ask advice on how to deal with boys or how to deal with fashion,” she said. She took the hand of IU alumna Jean Carroll, who has writtene an advice column for Elle for about 15 years, and started submitting her own columns.

Elyse Hershenson
Elyse Hershenson, another 2005 graduate, also used the expertise of a connection she made while at IU to help her in her career. She said a professor she had for broadcast classes, Lee Giles, provided fresh newsroom advice, having just retired from one himself.

“He said ‘Here is what news directors are going to be looking for,’ and that really helped in making a tape,” Hershenson said.

She also gained first-hand experience with an internship at WISH-TV in Indianapolis, a move she said is integral to success in journalism. However, she remembers the balancing act between classes and working.

“I think it’s hard in college,” she said. “Obviously you want to learn, but in this profession you have to be out there doing it.”

And sometimes that still doesn’t make the cut. With a tape and an internship, Hershenson spent six months after graduation looking for a job.

“It’s hard and it’s frustrating and it’s easy to just kind of tell yourself, ‘OK, maybe I’m not that good,’” Hershenson said of the job search. “But you just have to be persistent.”

Eventually Hershenson received a reporting job with WTWO in Terre Haute, Ind. After three months, she was promoted to morning news anchor. She uses the name Elyse Evans professionally.

Hershenson is another IU grad who learned persistence from Stocking, via the ways of a bulldog.

“Being a bulldog is just going after what you want, not giving up, digging for your story,” Hershenson recalled of Stocking’s mantra.

“On the last day of class, she got down on her hands and knees, howling,” Hershenson said with a laugh.

In her experience, Hershenson said the lesson of Stocking holds true.

“You’ve got to be a bulldog in this business and keep going,” she said.