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Alumni Engagement
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Professor Rebecca Hains, PhD ensures her media and communication (MCO) students thrive— not just by hoping for their success, but by taking action to support them academically and personally.
Rebecca has made annual philanthropic gifts to Salem State for well over a decade. Her support has helped to fund student travel abroad, the Salem State Food Pantry, the Career Closet, and a variety of scholarship funds.
“Faculty members here know that anytime there’s an opportunity to help our students, we can make a tangible difference,” she explains. “We see the direct impact that every single dollar has, and that perspective informs my giving.” Every day, she and her colleagues witness the effort, resilience and sacrifices their students make to complete their undergraduate education—and in addition to her charitable giving, she has taken many steps to support students in her department and beyond.
“Many of our students don’t have someone at home who can help them navigate higher education,” she explains. “They need professors who understand their situations and respect the complexity of their lives. I find my advisees thrive when I help them with their unique needs and professional goals.”
For example, to help ensure a quick professional start, Rebecca successfully advocated for creating an internship coordinator position in her department, to help source high-quality internships that align with students’ professional interests. With approximately 95 percent of media and communication majors completing an internship, this work is meaningful and impactful.
In addition, after returning to campus from her Fulbright Scholarship in Krakow, Poland, she launched MCO’s first faculty-led study travel course offering. This past May, Rebecca and student Vikings explored the media, culture and politics of Poland and Czechia in person. Rebecca crowdfunded about $2,500 to defray students’ travel costs.
“Many of our students have had limited travel opportunities,” she explains. “It’s an honor to work with the wonderful team in the Center for International Education and help make this experience possible. It will broaden students’ horizons and increase their global awareness.”
She says, “If we meet students where they are, we can make a tremendous difference in their lives—in the classroom, in the world and in giving.”