Class of 2026: Megan Reese finds her voice as face of Virginia Tech social media

Name: Megan Reese

College: College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Major: Multimedia Journalism

Hometown: Damascus, Maryland

Plans after graduation: Becoming a program consultant for the Linking Lives Study Abroad program in Lugano, Switzerland.

Megan Reese didn’t originally think she was going to pursue a career in media. She didn’t even have Virginia Tech on her radar when she started looking at colleges in high school.

Now, four years later, she’s become the face of the university on social media.

Finding a path in journalism

Reese initially thought she was going to follow in her mom’s footsteps and pursue a career in nursing, but after taking a journalism class as an elective during her sophomore year of high school, she discovered a passion for writing. She created a personal blog — themissmegs.com — to continue writing outside of class. She’s continued to post stories on the site throughout her time in college.

Eventually, Reese became editor-in-chief of her school’s student newspaper, continuing to explore her love for writing and journalism.

“I really enjoyed guiding our writers and editing their stories, and I thought maybe it could be a career path for me,” Reese said.

Between how much she enjoyed being an editor and writing for the blog, she realized she wanted to pursue journalism as a career, and began looking at programs all over the country. 

“I had this gut feeling and I had never felt that anywhere else,” Reese said. “I could never shake the feeling that Virginia Tech was where I was supposed to be, and I didn’t really know how to explain it.”

Face of Virginia Tech social media

Near the end of her freshman year, Reese was contacted by Jackson Sirbaugh, who was her mentor in the School of Communication’s first-semester experience class designed to help students acclimate to university life. He asked her if she would be interested in working as an intern with the university’s social media team. Sirbaugh is a social media coordinator for Virginia Tech.

“I initially turned it down because I didn’t think I was cut out for it,” Reese said. “I was a journalism major. I knew nothing about social media marketing.”

Sirbaugh continued to encourage her to try out the role, and she started the internship position at the beginning of her sophomore year. 

Since then, Reese has been the central face of Virginia Tech’s social media channels, appearing in videos and marketing content. 

“I don’t even want to call it a job, because it never feels like a job,” Reese said. “I’m so lucky to be the social media assistant.”

The role has given her the ability to learn all facets of social media marketing, giving her experience creating effective content for the larger Virginia Tech audience.

“What people see are the interview videos and all the fun content I get to make, but where I feel like I’ve grown the most is in things I had no experience with, like graphic design, making Instagram carousels and copywriting,” Reese said. “Being in meetings with people in our office has helped me become a more confident person and teammate and that’s what this job has given me the opportunity to do, not just run around with a microphone.”

Reese started taking digital marketing classes when she joined the social media team and appreciated how her coursework and the role responsibilities intertwined. The experience has helped her see the different career paths she can pursue after graduation. 

“This job has shown me what I could do with storytelling and marketing,” Reese said. “There’s so many opportunities out there. My boss, Kate Adkins, was a multimedia journalism major, and now she’s the associate director of social media [at Virginia Tech]. Her mentorship and guidance has shown me how many opportunities there are out there.”

Being a Hokie

Reese’s experience with the social media team has given her the chance to connect with Hokies all around campus with whom she may not have interacted otherwise.

“I love the job because I love Virginia Tech,” Reese said. “I love getting to know all the people on this campus. And with this job, I’ve had the opportunity to really get to know Hokies that I may not ever see passing by on my way to class. That’s really the joy of the job, getting to know these Hokies.”

Experiencing Virginia Tech’s culture and community firsthand has had an indelible impact on Reese.

“It honestly took the job for me to see how truly special the community is here, from doing things like the 3.2 Run for Remembrance, being on the [football] field and seeing Lane Stadium light up when 'Enter Sandman' starts playing,” Reese said. “I graduate with sadness, but with a sense that I have a lifelong commitment to this place. Your subscription doesn’t just expire because you graduate. I know I can come back next year and in 10, 20, 30 years, and I will still feel the same way about this place, which is really special.”