It’s graduation time in Middle Tennessee! To all of the MTSU graduates, Navigation says congratulations!
Being located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, it’s no wonder why Navigation loves MTSU. In fact, more than half of our employees hail from the Blue & White. With so many Blue Raiders in the office, we’d like to reflect on what MTSU means to Navigation!
Community – on and off Campus
Navigation’s Social Media Manager Jessica Carmack graduated from MTSU in 2017 with a BS in New Media Communications and a minor in Marketing. Jessica speaks highly of her time as a mass communication student and the community that shaped her college experience…
“It was really great to have a sense of community inside my major, on and off campus, with my ‘New Media family’! Some of my best friends were formed in classes while learning about Podcasts and SEO writing! I can’t thank this university enough for professors like Todd O’Neil, Carla Swank-Fox and Jeff Brown that invested in our major and cultivated a passion in their students for what we do.”
Worth-While Classes
Alisha Heavrin is the Marketing Director at Navigation and graduated with a BS in Digital Media / Marketing in 2016. When asked about her time at MTSU, Alisha said that the marketing classes she took from Dr. Troy Festervand were her favorite.
“(Dr. Festervand) really got how to lecture and teach to apply marketing in real world scenarios. I learned more from his courses than possibly anywhere else in my education at MTSU. He understood the demands of being a nontraditional student going back to school and already working in my industry of choice — and he made my commitment to his class so worth it.”
Life Long Relationships
Our Office Manager, Jennifer Price Hidalgo and Video Production Director, Jacob Clever also graduated from MTSU.
Jacob graduated in 2015 with a degree in Electronic Media Production.
He fondly reflects on his time at MTSU when speaking about meeting his wife in a general education class…
“My favorite times at MTSU were all the memories I created with my friends and meeting my wife. I met my wife in speech class and our professor, Stephen Decker, is also a pastor and actually was the pastor who officiated our wedding!”
Jennifer graduated with an English Degree. She grew up on the campus to a great degree because her parents received their Master’s Degrees from MTSU and her mother worked there for several years.
Impactful Professors
Navigation’s Web Projects Manager, Kari, graduated in 2014 with a degree in Fine Arts with a Concentration in Painting and a minor in Graphic design. During her time at MTSU, Kari was taught by many art professors whose teachings made a lasting impact on her…
“I can’t speak highly enough of my art professors (at MTSU). Sisavahn is still in my head when I paint telling me to sit up straight, to use the right size brush, pay attention to the shapes and shadows, and to keep my palette organized. She made us banana pancakes on critique days and was really straightforward about what we could do to make our work better and was good about pointing us in the right direction if she didn’t know or have the info we needed.”
Life Direction
Senior Web Developer John Edmondson, graduated from MTSU in 2013 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design with a focus in Interactive Design.
“I went to MTSU to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and I came out of school with an occupation and a map for who I wanted to be. The experience I had at MTSU has made me proud to be part of a school that today is still giving tools to more people who need a little direction.”
Bat Boy to Business Owner
Last but not least, our Owner and Creative Director, Christian Hidalgo, was the MTSU Baseball team’s batboy in the late 70’s as a teenager under legendary coach, John Stanford.
“While I never attended MTSU, I did learn a lot of great life lessons while warming up pitchers in between innings – such as, no matter how much it hurts when you’re 13 and catching a college pitcher that throws 85-90 mph, you never, never cry or show pain.”
Navigation love’s MTSU
We have so much to be grateful for thanks to MTSU here at Navigation. To all the graduates this May, we say congratulations! It truly is Great to be from Middle Tennessee!