by Tyler Bassinger
“Apply for EVERYTHING.”
If someone can say they practice what they preach, it’s Abby Meyer.
The Lincoln native and two-time UNL graduate isn’t one to set limits for herself. Take a snapshot from any given moment in Meyer’s jam-packed career, and you might see her managing a client’s account at an ad agency, editing a segment for Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom,” producing a livestream of a Husker soccer game, creating social media content for a folk-pop band, or helping with video production at the U.S. Swim Trials.
After earning undergraduate degrees in advertising and elementary education in 2013, Meyer completed her master’s degree in UNL’s Integrated Media Communications program in 2017. She credits her teachers and counselors at UNL for setting her up for success.
“My biggest takeaway from my interactions with UNL professors and mentors was their confidence in me and my abilities,” Meyer said. “By focusing on how I could grow and building my confidence thanks to the encouragement of fantastic professors and mentors, I’ve been able to pursue and receive amazing opportunities in the industry.”
Meyer has made the most of her current opportunity. As a web content/social media specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, she’s emerged as a thought leader on social media use in higher education, despite less than three years on the job.
In fact, Meyer recently wrapped up a weekend as the social media correspondent at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Social Media Conference in New Orleans, where she spoke about live event coverage on social media and running CASE’s Instagram and Snapchat accounts.
As the campus social media expert at a nationally-recognized institution, Meyer educates, counsels and supervises those running departmental accounts across the university, in addition to managing UNMC’s primary accounts.
Her instructive instincts and varied skills make her a natural when it comes to sharing knowledge. She’s spoken at three national conferences dealing with social and digital media in higher education in the past year alone.
“I am proud to share what I've learned about managing social media at a university and help others reach success in their own social media initiatives,” Meyer said. “You have to be your own best advocate and confidently pursue what makes you happy. That’s definitely something I have taught myself since receiving my bachelor’s that has been crucial to my success thus far.”
Even as an undergraduate, Meyer was pursuing rewarding activities – as she puts it, “applying for everything.” She was a part of UNL’s National Student Advertising Competition team that won the national competition in 2012, worked at HuskerVision for five years and participated in Jacht Club. She also interned several places, including Swanson Russell and Sandhills Publishing.
“These experiences gave us students a taste of the real world,” Meyer said. “They supplemented my classwork well, as I was able to apply what I learned in the classroom.”
Even with her UNL education complete, Meyer continues to recognize the value of her time at the college.
“CoJMC is one of the premier journalism and communications schools in the country, and I feel honored to have received both my bachelor's and master's from there,” she said. “I have mentioned CoJMC in job interviews in and out of Nebraska, and I can tell it's highly regarded within the industry.”
There’s no doubt Meyer’s CoJMC experience has served her well in the past and continues to pay off today. True to her spirit, she’s taking on another new challenge.
“I recently accepted a content manager position at Barkley, an advertising agency in Kansas City,” she said. “I'm looking forward to managing the content for clients' social media there, as it’s an exceptionally creative and collaborative environment.”
“I know my CoJMC experience set me on the path to this fantastic opportunity!”
