For Samantha Donohue ’18, communication is key to success at her new position as a project manager with Epic, a health software company. Much of Donohue’s responsibilities will include traveling to hospitals to assist medical professionals in better understanding and using Epic’s software.
Donohue compares her future employer to large and innovative companies like Google. She explains, “It’s a huge company. I think there are about 10,000 employees on a contained campus. So, it will be nice starting with a lot of other people my age - - new college graduates.”
As a creative writing and cinema and new media studies double major, Donohue felt at ease with the interview process. Donohue explains that parts were fairly straightforward, with initial contact made over the phone and over the online platform, Handshake.
Majors: Cinema and Media Studies and Creative Writing
Hometown: Summit, N.J.
High School: Summit High School
As Donohue advanced through the interview process, however, she found herself at the Madison, Wisc. campus giving in-person presentations to prove her skills as a public speaker. The hiring managers asked her to prepare a 10-minute presentation on any topic of her choosing. Donohue elected to lead a small workshop on mindfulness, meditation, and chocolate. “It was to show how you can really meditate with anything. So, we tasted chocolate and focused,” she explains.
As Donohue prepares to make the move to Wisconsin, she reflects on what she will take with her from the Hill. Of particular relevance to her new career, Donohue points to her experience working with the Digital Humanities Initiative on campus as a unique asset. As a video intern, she has gained experience in website design and collecting oral histories from residents of New Orleans. She feels this has prepared her for her new role, as she will be expected to connect with new communities weekly.
As for her work at Epic, Donohue predicts, “I think learning the technology and learning to work with other people will be a major asset. I look forward to learning to work with people from different careers and backgrounds I’ll meet.”
Donohue feels that this position will fit into her long term goals one of two ways. “I’ll either keep working for Epic or be interested in working in communications for hospitals...Even if I went back toward something I had been doing at internships, like going the marketing route, I think having the experience working with technology will be applicable anywhere,” she said.
