South Union Township native to speak on leveraging social media at WVU
South Union Township native and lifestyle expert Amanda Mushro will offer career advice when she speaks at a West Virginia University Pioneer Session at 3 p.m. March 30 at the Erikson Alumni Center in Morgantown.
Mushro, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, is a WVU graduate whose job titles include Life Hacks expert and lifestyle/mom personality. Often appearing on national media, Mushro will share her experiences as she talks about “Branding Yourself and Leveraging Social Media.”
“I took something I was doing as a hobby and made myself a brand,” said Mushro, who writes blogs and provides guidance on her websites AmandaMushro.com and Questionable Choices in Parenting, and has been featured on “The Today Show,” “The Rachael Ray Show,” TLC network, Yahoo Finance and Washington, D.C., morning television shows.
Mushro will explain to her audience how they can “go beyond creating a resume, taking everything they learned in school and use social media to make connections and network.”
She said people can use a digital presence to land a job by marketing and selling themselves.
“It’s not just sending out resumes and hoping it catches someone’s eye. Create your own website or blog. Be forward thinking in your field. Let companies know what you’re passionate about,” she said.
A daughter of Tim and Kim Muchnok of South Union Township, Mushro graduated Laurel Highlands in 1998 and West Virginia University in 2002 where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and met her husband Aaron Mushro, who is director of Search and Analytics at HZ Design Group in Rockville, Maryland. The couple married in 2007 and has two children: Aaron Jr., 7, and Lyla, 5.
Mushro earned a teaching certificate from California University in December 2004 and taught school in Maryland before beginning her parenting blog as a hobby in November 2012.
Mushro’s pieces began being picked up by national websites, such as the Huffington Post and Scary Mommy. Her work has been included in parenting anthologies, such as “The Scary Mommy’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays” and “Motherhood May Cause Drowsiness.”
Mushro became a Today Show Parenting Team contributor and has appeared on the NBC morning television show several times in recent years. She also has a web series run by the TLC network called “Life Hacks,” which features short segments that can be seen in-between network shows and on its lifestyle website TLCme.
The Pioneer Session is the first time Mushro will speak at her alma mater.
“I’m excited. I love being a Mountaineer and a WVU alumni,” said Mushro, who noted that no matter where she goes, she finds someone with WVU connections.
Information about Mushro’s talk explained Pioneer Sessions at WVU are a way to celebrate alumni who are considered pioneers in their areas of expertise and careers, and a way to connect current students and alumni to facilitate learning and networking.
Mushro’s session is open to the public as well as WVU students and alumni.