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Goodwill & Wellness Committee
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Communicators Outside the Lines Feature Series
This is the next profile in a series entitled
Communicators Outside the Lines: Better Yourself, Better Your Community produced by the CSC Goodwill & Wellness Committee. Read past profiles at
CSCommunicators.com/CommunicatorsOTL.
WE NEED YOUR IDEAS!
If you have any ideas for this series, which will revolve around CSC member volunteerism and health and wellness, please contact Goodwill and Wellness Committee chair
Jeremy Rosenthal, University of Texas Associate Director of Communications, at
jeremy.rosenthal@athletics.utexas.edu.
Emily McMillan: Survive, thrive and have a good time
Kansas State University, Director of Creative Services - Social Media
by Cody Soto – Baylor University, Director of Social Media & Digital Engagement // CSC Goodwill and Wellness Committee Member
Emily McMillan is a talented creative and communicator whose work has been consistently in the spotlight after an impressive year at Kansas State Athletics. Working at her alma mater following stops at the Big 12 Conference, Missouri State, and Evansville, she has thrived in innovating catchy, on-brand content on social media while also being persistent in growing K-State’s overall brand. What makes Emily even more impressive is her commitment to her personal growth and vision to create longevity in her career by also putting in personal efforts to pursue her hobbies outside of work. Here’s some great insight into Emily’s life as a creative and how she’s handled the successes (and bigger workloads) this past year.
Emily McMillan on field in the confetti after the Big 12 Championship football game
When did you know you wanted to work in sports or how did that decision happen?
EM: Coming out of high school, my basketball coach connected me with the K-State women’s basketball coach at the time. From that conversation, I found out working in sports as a career was an option. From day one at K-State, I worked as a student SID. I think the actual moment I knew I wanted to do this as a career was when the football team won the Big 12 Championship by beating Texas in 2012. Running through the field storm that night to record opponent quotes showed me how cool this job could be.
You’ve had great experiences from communications to digital and social media, so how have you continued to find growth throughout your career?
EM: Following what I enjoy and then making decisions to help me grow in that path. I’ve volunteered to work events to gain communications experience, challenged myself to make a new graphic every day for a month to grow my skills, and lived in the world of social media to learn how to tell my student athlete’s stories.
It’s also realizing
you are never done learning. Knowing that one skill will lead to another skill. I’m a good social media storyteller because of my communication experience. I’m a good designer because I know what is needed to tell the story. And all that helps me in my role as a Creative Director to tell the story of K-State Athletics.
You’ve had quite the busy year at K-State between your men’s basketball team’s season just finishing up in the NCAA Elite Eight and then your football team advancing to the Sugar Bowl after winning the Big 12 title in the fall. How have you tailored your content to help expand your brand reach during this huge stretch?
EM: Preparing for the moment is huge for me and having the conversations with the people that are doing the work, so we are all on the same page. If you don’t prepare for success, you are already 10 steps behind where you need you to be.
Be true to what got you there. With the men’s basketball run, we started a trend with the Lil Baby song in the locker room. But that is something that the team had been doing all year. We can’t change the identity of our account when we have the spotlight. We just change the access and the time spent to show off the authentic personality of K-State Athletics.
You work heavily in social media now. With the constant changes in trends and algorithms, talk about how you’ve navigated the constant changes at work.
EM: That is for sure the hardest part of my job because you can’t turn off your brain to what’s going on in the world. You must be as up to date as possible, but at the same time that is impossible.
For me, it’s about picking the moment. Does the current trend fit with our overall brand? How can we make that work for K-State? Sometimes it’s okay to say, “No, I won’t make a Taylor Swift TikTok” (that’s what my FYP (for you page) has been filled with lately).
Algorithms wise, it’s just staying up on the news. At the same time, algorithms will do what they do. It’s impossible to control what you can’t control.
With the amount of big moments you’ve been a part of lately, it can get overwhelming and exhausting. Can you talk about the highs and lows of working with elite teams and storytelling day in and day out?
EM: Experiencing your team win a conference championship or make a run to the Elite Eight is a magical experience and is something I will never take for granted. I always try to take a moment in the madness to realize what just happened.
However, pushing people through long hours and stressful situations can result in hot tempers and burn out. I try to remind myself throughout to control what I can control and have the backs of the people on my creative team. It is easy to get overwhelmed in the moment and for sure exhausting (I’ve slept for like three days after getting back from the Elite Eight). Planning for success and planning for the madness is how I combat that. Knowing the rough order of content coming out makes it easier to not miss anything. It lowers the stress level because everyone is on the same page.
How have you refilled your own cup throughout the year?
EM: Refilling my cup has become a big priority recently. I love working in sports, but it had started to define who I was as a person. A big thing that helped was I started going to therapy to learn skills to set boundaries and prioritize myself. I would recommend that to anyone.
It has helped me separate my identity and self-worth from my work.
I’ve also been prioritizing working out more. I trained for the Big 12 5K during basketball season. I loved the hour I could put my phone on do not disturb and focus on myself. But also signing up for a race helped my goal driven mind to keep myself going.
Also, giving myself grace whenever possible. Not beating myself up for having a messy house, or not going out on a Saturday night. This career is hard. It puts the body and mind through a lot, so giving time to recharge is important. Rest is productive!
Emily McMillan running in the Big 12 5K.
You also showcase some of your work life on your personal social media! Is it difficult to do both?
EM: I’ve branded my personal social media to reflect my work life kind of intentionally. I use it to elevate what my student interns are up to and what cool things I’ve been doing. I also try to use my personal social media to advocate for creatives across the board and show whatever audience I have the value of athletic creatives along with showcasing that women belong and sports and modeling what that looks like to the world.
Congrats on participating in the Big 12 5K Run in Kansas City – that was definitely a busy time for you. Do you plan on doing more races this year?
EM: Thank you! It was really fun and a mental health saver during crossover season. I’m for sure going to do more 5Ks in the future.
What advice do you have for CSC members who are experiencing a high workload but don’t know how to do anything about it?
EM: This is something I’ve had to learn quickly coming out of last season. The 2021-22 season was very hard for me. We had a complete turnover in our creative staff, and I was working 70-80 hour weeks in March last year. So, I had to make the choice to prioritize myself or find a new career.
What I found was I needed to focus on the things that made me a better employee. Because working that much was not sustainable. Not good for me or for K-State. So, I made boundaries like:
1. No one can take my self-worth away from me.
2. If it can wait until tomorrow, it will.
3. Not apologizing for things that are not my fault.
No one is going to tell you to slow down. Athletics is too fast paced and competitive. So, the only person that is going to help you… is sometimes you.
Put yourself first. It’s always worth it. And not selfish. Because at the end of the day it makes you a better employee.
But also speak up when you need help. Taking pride in being busy only hurts yourself. Ask for help. It’s not weakness.
What are you most looking forward to this summer?
EM: Hanging out with my cat Button more and going on vacation with my family in July to Alabama.
Finally, a fun question to end it with: if you could cast anyone to play you in a movie, who would it be and why?
EM: Jennifer Garner in the movie Draft Day. She is just a strong woman working in an NFL front office. She has a good scene telling off someone while also proving why she deserves the job she has. The fun answer is I have no idea.
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