Alumni Spotlight: Meet Justin McArthur!

I work for Staheli West Inc., an agricultural machinery manufacture. I currently handle all marketing efforts, public relations, human resources, and employee development programs.

The MAPC program has been a key factor in how I came to do what I am doing. I started as a marketer, making ads and videos – something I had limited experience with prior to the MAPC program. As I learned more at school, I was given the opportunity to apply those things. I have since made more videos and ads (of course) but also put on a few events, helped with interviewing and hiring of employees, handled new employee orientation/training, and currently do a leadership/communication training with our employees twice a month. Without the courses I took as part of the MAPC program, I would not have been asked to complete these other projects. Not only did it give me the skills I needed to add value to the business, it also gave me credibility with management and co–workers.

The faculty, especially Dr. Matt Barton, have been crucial to my success. I learned applicable skills and theories, but was also given to opportunity to carry out work projects and school projects at the same time – often they were one in the same. On several occasions I approached faculty members in search of advice on work related issues.  They didn't have to help, but they did because they understood that the MAPC is  professional degree and that helping me outside of coursework was ultimately helping me become a better professional.

One quick story: In the Spring of 2014, while I was preparing to graduate, Staheli West began having personnel issues – some related to accountability, others to a general lack of communication. It was to the point where the owner was preparing to hire a consult to come help solve the problem. He approached me and said, “you’re about to be a master communicator, right?” I explained that I was about to graduate with a Masters of Communication. After joking, he asked me if I would conceive and implement a plan to help everyone “get along and talk to each other.” It took a few months, and is still a work in progress, but it is better than it has been in the past. Thanks to the things I’ve learned at school, I am contributing to Staheli West in a way that no one else here can. There is no doubt that the MAPC program helped me, and as a result Staheli West, become more professional.