Staying ahead of the curve by employing alumni (and faculty) awareness

Taking a tour of MSI Communications' trendy new office can feel a lot like visiting a tech startup new to Alaska. Located in downtown Anchorage with a stunning view overlooking the Chugach Mountains, the marketing agency's new space boasts an open layout ideal for collaboration and for supporting a technological workflow.

The move from their previous home in midtown Anchorage was a necessary one after MSI's expansion caused them to pour over into the suite across the hall and eventually rise to the floor above, spreading out the team and making collaboration a challenge.

By that time, the agency's founder, UAA journalism and public communications (JPC) alumna and MSI president Laurie Fagnani, B.A. '86, was already a pro when it came to moving in order to accommodate the agency's success, having done it twice before.

When Fagnani established MSI in 1995, she already had a career in advertising. After the birth of her daughter, Fagnani began MSI as a home business to pick up the occasional contract without having to go back to work full time.

It didn't take long for Fagnani to continue expanding her family and her business. Around the same time she had her second child, a son, MSI got its second employee, Fagnani's sister. The siblings picked up a few more contracts and moved into an actual office, thus kicking off the agency's pattern of relocating to keep up with their growth.

"The real turn came when my sister had to leave and I had to decide if I was going to build this business. It was too much for one person but not quite enough for two full-time people," recalls Fagnani. "Sometimes you have to make the leap and trust that you're going to go there."

In the years since Fagnani decided to make that leap, MSI has successfully positioned itself as the go-to agency for Alaska's resource industry. In order to best serve their clients, she stresses the need to bring in people who have an intuitive understanding of those industries.

"Some of the key drivers of our economy - oil and gas, tourism, transportation, mining, Native corporations — that's our niche," explains Fagnani. "What we have found is when somebody grows up in Alaska and attends the university, they have a much keener sense of those industries and markets."

Of the 20 people who work at MSI - which includes one remote employee in Fairbanks - one-fourth of them have a UAA connection.

Similar to Fagnani, some of her fellow Seawolves share the same degree. Associate creative director Tara Storter, B.A. '02, and account executive Keith Baxter, B.A. '06, are both graduates of the JPC program, albeit with slight variations.

Whereas Fagnani's focus was on advertising, Storter's emphasis was on graphic design. Baxter, however, was more interested in studying journalism from a political and sociological perspective. Despite the differences in what brought them to the JPC program, all walked away with solid footing from which to build their marketing and communications careers.

"The journalism program was a lot of fun and a fantastic platform," shares Storter. "I wanted to do design back when there was no market for that in Anchorage, but there was an advertising component and public relations, so it did give me a good foundation."

"I thought it was great how much community integration UAA had," adds Baxter. "The professional staff would always make these opportunities for us to meet with community leaders at different functions and events. As a student, I found it to be very enriching and I appreciated them taking an interest in us that way."

Even UAA's non-JPC graduates have a place at MSI. Just ask history alumna and account executive Colleen Bailey, B.A. '18. While her knowledge on World War II and the rise and fall of the Soviet Union may not translate directly to her role in the agency, her excellent researching and writing abilities do.

"I'm the outlier in terms of the usefulness of my degree," admits Bailey. "But I know how to research a subject until I know everything there is to know about it. Then I can write from that level of expertise. So that's been really helpful, just honing my writing skills and making things better for clients and nerding out with them."

According to Bailey, when she started at MSI, it had been nearly 10 years since her last class at UAA due to life's familiar tendency to get in the way. But once at the agency, her supervisor encouraged her to go back and finish her degree.

The value MSI places on education is reinforced with web developer Bryan Meshke, affectionately nicknamed "the professor" around the office due to his other role as adjunct professor of web development at UAA.

"I've been teaching almost as long as I've been here. Both of them happened at the same time. It was even a condition of my employment. I told them that I was going to need to take an hour or two on these days to go teach a class," recalls Meshke.

Regarding Meshke's balancing act as a professor and "the professor," Fagnani considers it a great asset to her company, reasoning that his secondary position pushes him to stay ahead of trends. Coupled with her observation that Alaskans who attend UAA sometimes have greater insight into the state's industries, it's clear that Fagnani views education with high esteem.

Looking back at Fagnani's own time at UAA and how it shaped the formation of MSI, it's easy to see why.

"It's a competitive market, and you have to show up every day with your A-game, and that's all about being ahead of the curve academically," she says. "I feel very fortunate that we have the university, and I really feel like I got the best degree. My journalism and advertising with business marketing, they were just cohesive and truly allowed me to be successful. I use those every day in growing my company, and it gave me an excellent foundation."

Written by Matt Jardin, UAA Office of University Advancement