# @msujschool on Facebook - **Type:** Image - **Original URL:** https://www.facebook.com/1588490806402984/posts/10156031746338666 - **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68589994-msujschool-facebook - **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/b56722ba93.jpg - **Posted:** 2018-10-05T12:00:00.000+00:00 ## Caption Today's #Five4Friday! # Five4Friday October 5 John Hill B.A. (1997) Vice President of Network, Techstars Q: Tell us about your journey from J-School to big companies like LinkedIn and Techstars... A: I have had a non-linear career path. I started out as a sports reporter and worked as an editor for a national sports magazine called Athlon Sports in Nashville, Tennessee. I migrated into business development in Gannett, before jumping into work at Michigan State University helping students and alumni find jobs as the internship developer for the university and as director for alumni career services. I utilized LinkedIn heavily in the latter role to help alumni find jobs and opportunity and ended up on LinkedIn's radar for those efforts. I became the Higher Education Evangelist at LinkedIn, supporting and promoting the products we were developing for universities and students, and ended up speaking at 187 universities and at 110 conferences related to Higher Education. Through those efforts, Techstars became aware of me and asked me to help them build the most effective entrepreneurial network in the world. It's been quite a ride. Q: How did your experience at MSU prepare you for this career? A: MSU afforded the perfect combination of social interaction, experiential education and, through Journalism, a codified approach to communication which have helped me find success in my various professions. Q: What advice do you have for J-School students who are seeking jobs and trying to figure out what to do after graduation? A; Jump off professional cliffs. The world rewards those who take risks in their careers. Additionally, build a network before you need it, so it's there when you do. Your relational currency will pay off long term. Connect with alumni in the positions that you want to get into. They can act as career sherpas. Lastly, dream big...life is short, go for the opportunities that stoke your passion and align with your mission. Q: It's Homecoming Week at MSU! When did you last get a chance come back and visit campus? How did it feel? A; My son just started as a freshman so we were on campus to move him in to the dorms in August. Always great to be on campus. I still get back to campus to speak fairly regularly to students. I'm a mentor at the Conquer Accelerator in East Lansing, which helps student entrepreneurs (mainly MSU students), build their own companies. Q: Your wife, MSU JRN grad Heather Hill, nominated you for our #Five4Friday. How did you two meet? A: We met in Journalism class. We eventually married on campus (Alumni Chapel) and both worked at the university - she was the Director of Communications at Broad College of Business. We absolutely bleed green! ## Stats - **Views:** 0 - **Likes:** 7 - **Shares:** 1 - **Comments:** 0 ## Tags five4friday --- Copyright (c) Gondola