Alicia Davis will soon to close a 4-year chapter to begin a new one. In May 2021, she’ll graduate from Olivet Nazarene University with a degree in Public Relations & Strategic Management. In addition, she’s minoring in Spanish. To fellow students and faculty, she’s known as Alli. The community has witnessed her involvement as a member of ONU’s softball team, a tutor for the Academic Coaching Center, and an intern for ONU’s Office of Development. No doubt, Alli has written herself in Olivet history.
Alicia’s Prologue
Looking at the beginning of her story, she grew up in a tight-knit family. With her parents, two brothers, and grandparents, her home was full of love. Her family’s passion for their Christian faith and sports brought them together.
“We all played baseball, basketball, or softball growing up. We’d all play basketball in the driveway. I’d play catch with my dad. We all loved sports,” Davis said.
When Alli was younger, she fell in love with storytelling. Her favorite hobbies were reading and writing. She enjoyed digging into any fictional story she could get her hands on. She particularly enjoyed fantasy and sci-fi genres.
“From the time I was in grade school, I used to say I wanted to be an author,” she admitted.
A call to adventure
Fast forward to August 2017, Ali started a new chapter. She attended Olivet Nazarene University as a freshman. From the beginning of her time at ONU, she knew she wanted to minor in Spanish. But she had no idea what she wanted to major in. Her major was undecided.
During her search for a major, Alli spent her time taking gen-ed classes and experimented with ONU’s various majors. She also, spent time playing with Olivet’s softball team. At the peak of her search, a teammate recommended taking a sneak peek at the Communication department.
She sat down with the communication department chair at the time, Jay Martinson.
“He walked me through all of the communication majors, what you would do, what kind of jobs you can get, and he led me to PR,” she said. By the end of Alli’s freshman year, she declared a PR major.
Alli joined ONU’s softball team during her freshman year. She has played through all 4 years of her college career. (Photo credit: Hunter Overholt)
The Climax
Within her first few weeks in public relations, Alli was thrown opportunity by opportunity. From learning the values of PR to smaller things like social media calendars, she gained a lot of experience. “It was definitely a learn as you go kind of thing. But I’ve really enjoyed this major, and I think I’ve definitely picked the right major for me,” Ali says.
One of Alli’s favorite things about her major is how her writing and storytelling skills come in great use. This skill served her well during her internship at Olivet’s Office of Development. She wrote various articles targeted towards Olivet alumni and donors.
Content Alli was involved with (Contributed by the Office of Development) includes:
Alumni Spotlight – Britten & Emma Wolff
Alumni Spotlight – Ali Mickelson
Alumni Spotlight – Yonda & Gretchen Abogunrin
January 2021’s Young Alumni Newsletter
“Alli is incredibly gifted at taking an idea and turning it into content and is creative; she makes the abstract tangible. She has a natural gift for discerning where the emphasis lies in an idea. I will miss her.”
Cara Champlin – Development officer / Alli’s supervisor
Happily Ever Beginning
With her Olivet chapter almost at a close, she’s ready to move on to the next chapter, but she will always look back fondly. To anyone entering their Olivet chapter, Alli said, “Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone, especially for the introverts out there. Build up your friendships. Be genuine about it. Don’t only go to people when you want a job.”
To learn more about Ali’s Olivet chapter, listen from Ali, herself, in the audio clip below.
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