Graduate Profile: Katie Mitzner-Dagenais
Katharine “Katie” Mitzner-Dagenais has gone from being a broadcast journalist to managing public relations for a Los Angeles hospital.
She credits her program of emphasis major in mass communication and the liberal arts education at Alma College for the ability to pursue a wide variety of careers.
“My major provided me with a broad cross section of communications courses and the chance to study communications and ’media’ from a philosophical, theoretical and critical perspective,” the 1998 graduate says. “The Alma faculty made sure I received a well-rounded education that taught me about more than just broadcast media. Today, as I pursue a career in public relations, I thank them for that foresight.”
Mitzner-Dagenais interned at the ABC affiliate in Miami, Florida and the CBS affiliate in Lansing during her time at Alma. Those internships led to a job in broadcasting as soon as she graduated.
"The four years I spent at Alma shaped my life and my professional career in monumental ways I never could have imagined. Looking back, I am incredibly thankful that I found a place as exceptional as Alma. "
During her broadcasting career she worked as a news reporter in Lansing, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Flint. She has since relocated to Los Angeles, California where she now handles public relations for Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center. She recently earned her master’s degree in communication management from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication.
“I always felt confident that Alma would be the gateway to my future and would provide me with diverse experiences during my four years on campus,” she says. “Alma is committed to encouraging its students to be individuals, to set high goals and to achieve greatness.”
While at Alma, Mitzner-Dagenais was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority, the Alma College women’s soccer team and the Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honorary. A recipient of a music scholarship, she also studied classical piano and gave piano lessons.
“The four years I spent at Alma shaped my life and my professional career in monumental ways I never could have imagined,” she says. “Looking back, I am incredibly thankful that I found a place as exceptional as Alma.”
