User:GRVital

Born into a family that placed a high value on education, my background includes degrees in communications, with interest in interpersonal, mass media, and organizational communication. Currently applying my experiences and skills in supportive roles for the administration of universities ( presently in Pennsylvania, previously in North Carolina, and Illinois), I find I have an excellent vantage point from which to observe, describe, and prescribe strategies for management of mass media and organizational and human communications, especially among colleges and universities.

Always tempted to pursue a doctorate in Communications, I have been satisfied to navigate various positions in art, commercial art, education, public relations, and institutional, organizational, and small business image building.

Don't expect to see a movie about my life, but instead of those around me. My father, a decorated WW II veteran, became a "community organizer" and lawyer in Chicago after passing the bar exam on the first try, then completing his juris doctorate at the University of Chicago Law School, in that sequence. A forerunner of Barack Obama in the Chicago area, his friends and colleagues included pivotal figures in law, regional politics, and community relations like Justice Allen Freeman, Mayor Harold Washington, Father George Clements, John Stroger, Dempsey Travis, and others. My mother, a quieter person, devoted herself to her community by serving as a nurse, first in the Army, then on staff at hospitals in Chicago including Provident and University of Chicago hospitals.

Inspired by their examples and perspectives, as an educator, I have helped groom exceptional scholars and business professionals–among them two student body presidents. As a photojournalist, I dedicated my focus on the lesser-known stories and events I've witnessed. As a communications and PR professional, I have offered my skills to businesses and organizations that could not afford to hire a professional staff to tell their stories and improve their images. As a community activist, I have dedicated much effort to refocusing the attention of community residents and supporters to positive and constructive efforts, including scholarships, community clean-up, financial literacy, economic development, and self awareness.