| Harbert: |
Let’s start with your time as an undergraduate at Savannah State University. How did
that shape your early career choices? |
| McCoy: |
One of the foundational principles that I try to follow and guide my career choices
is, how can I help impact meaningful change in today’s world? When I started at Savannah
State, I thought that meant I’d be directing the next Spike Lee-oriented movie as
soon as I graduated. That’s what I envisioned I’d be doing coming out of college in
2011 with a B.A. in mass communication/media studies.
But that proved to be a bit unrealistic once I got a sense of what “mass communications
for good” actually means and what role the media plays in effecting positive change.
|
| Harbert: |
That sounds like an epiphany – was there an event or something else that happened
during your undergraduate studies that you can attribute to that realization? |
| McCoy: |
While many of my classes touched on these issues, I didn’t really understand the complexities
of it all until my junior year when I went on a tour of the local news station I’d
been watching and asked to shadow Mike Cihla, one of my favorite anchors, who I met during the tour.
He had gone through what it takes to break into the industry, knowing your path and
your story. I simply walked up to him after he spoke and said, “Can I come shadow
you?” At that point, I had never been in a newsroom. Yes, we had a studio on campus,
but it wasn’t being used for news, per se.
|
| Harbert: |
And he agreed? |
| McCoy: |
Yes, he did. And let me tell you, when I first walked into the newsroom, I didn't
know what was going on, but I immediately realized that the type of chaos I saw is
what I wanted in my life at that point. So, I just went in and worked for free for
as long as possible so I could learn as much as I could about the TV news business.
Oh, I knew a bit about production—how to put together a program, the inverted pyramid,
some of the foundations of communications, etc., but I didn't know how crazy, fun
and exciting news could be. |
| Harbert: |
So, what did you do there at first? |
| McCoy: |
I got to do a little bit of everything, including managing the on-air camera graphics,
the chyron system that runs along the bottom of the screen—all that. I got to run
the audio bus, and I got to work the really amazing St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Savannah.
All of that was cool, but what I realized I really wanted to do was to become a health
reporter on air. I wanted to do health communications because there are a lot of health
issues that run in my family on both sides and I felt that would also be a good way
to do what I ultimately wanted to do, which was to tell stories that help people.
|
| Harbert: |
How’d that work out? |
| McCoy: |
Not very well, unfortunately. I was told early on by the news director at the time
that I would not do well as a health reporter in the South for two reasons: First,
she said I looked young for my age (true…). But more importantly, she said that I
looked “too ethnic.” By that she meant “Black.”
So, I started as a production assistant, a job they now refer to as a “news content
specialist,” at WTOC in Savannah before moving on a year and a half later to a couple
of on-air reporter positions—first in Augusta and then in Columbus.
|
| Harbert: |
You then spent the next seven years on the “corporate” side of the mass communications
ledger, so to speak, right? —first at Goodwill, then at a bank, a memory care center
and a life insurance company. That’s a pretty broad spectrum—how did all that figure
into your decision to get an EMBA? |
| McCoy: |
I still harbored my original passion to identify, develop and report on-air stories
about significant events – especially those that progress knowledge and understanding
of the extraordinarily positive things happening in the world that all too often go
underreported. I felt I needed a deeper, more formal education into the financial
structure of the business in which I aspired to become a leader to make that possible. |
Harbert:
|
“Achieve Your Possible”—right? Can you tell us how your experience in Auburn’s EMBA
program helped you get to where you are today—specifically the “leading positive change”
assignment you credit for at least a portion of your most recent career success? |
| McCoy: |
Back in November of 2020, Dr. (Joe) Colazzo and Dr. Stan Harris gave us all a “leading
positive change” assignment, and I talked about my vision and desire to be a part
of the NASA or the SpaceX PR team within the next five years. I wanted to lead a launch
broadcast as a member of one of those teams. That was the ultimate mission I had—to
be at the table where decisions are made, to equip myself with the tools to get me
there and to look beyond my own biases and limitations to attempt the impossible.
That assignment helped advance my career path forward at a much quicker pace and with
more determination.
The result? I applied for an opening at NASA and accepted a public affairs officer
(PAO) position there in August of 2021 and started in November. I hosted my first
live engagement as a NASA PAO on Instagram Live discussing climate change across ecosystems of scale.
|
Harbert:
|
In closing, what would you like to say to prospective EMBA students about your decision
to choose Auburn’s EMBA program? Something we haven’t touched on yet? |
| McCoy: |
Auburn’s EMBA program has been instrumental in my own growth—both personal and professional—since
I enrolled and joined our EMBA cohort. To answer your specific question, the value
of our EMBA cohort deserves a little more recognition here—it isn’t “just” about the
classroom or field trip components, as important as they are. The members of our diverse
cohort played an equally important role in my success as well as the success of my
cohort colleagues. |
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