Isa Madath '24: Writing Studies Alumni Spotlight
Isa Madath: Say it with Confidence
By Lucy Bikahi
No one knows marketing like a professional writing student. Hear me out!! Or, if you won’t be hearing me out, hear Saint Mary’s alum, Isa Madath ‘24, out. Currently working as Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group’s Marketing and Programs Manager, Isa, an English and Dance double major, as well as Professional Writing Certificate recipient, is proving how valuable professional writing is in the real world job market. Since taking on this role, Isa has completely shifted the tone of the company in terms of marketing and on social media, giving them a more distinctive voice and increasing engagement.
Developing the Tone for the Marketing Team
Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group (ITLG) is a nonprofit business center which provides businesses in the Tri-Valley (Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Danville) with the opportunity to network and grow. As a newer company, they had a mission but not the most defined voice or tone, which is where Isa was able to come in and utilize her professional writing knowledge, gained while completing the certificate at Saint Mary’s.
“I went in and I said, I think what you're doing is really important. I don't think there's a very clear tone to the company and I would love to help that with my skills from the professional writing program,” Isa said of her experience starting at ITLG. Because of the Professional Writing Certificate, she was able to identify what the company needed to go to the next level and is now working with that company by utilizing and putting those skills to use.
In terms of specific projects, Isa is particularly proud of the increased engagement the company has garnered since she took over. She was inspired by the way that Saint Mary’s puts The Scoop on Instagram in an interactive format. “I love how St. Mary's moves around. You can click on everything. And so I implemented that with our company and our engagement is up. People are viewing the stories about our partners. People are buying tickets to our events,” Isa explained.
Utilizing Tone Guides and Voice Charts
By utilizing different tone guides and voice charts, a skill practiced through the professional writing program, she was able to craft a unique and targeted voice for ITLG’s social media page. Isa first began developing her skills with tone guides and voice charts in her professional writing classes. She became even more adept in utilizing them when writing her professional writing thesis, in which she critiqued TMZ and their “flash writing” style of reporting, as seen on social media outlets such as Snapchat. On these outlets, TMZ is notorious for publishing short, accessibly written, and highly questionable/speculative stories which are presented to the audience as fact. This was yet another project that Isa was particularly proud of, as she really got to flex her skills as a professional writer.
Creating Identity as a Professional Writer
There are many important takeaways from the professional writing program, the most notable being the pride of being able to walk away from college confidently able to say that you are a professional writer. Being able to look at a company and its language and instantly have an idea on how to build upon that framework is a skill and Isa’s work is displaying how the Saint Mary’s Professional Writing Certificate sets its students up to do that successfully. “I would say the most valuable takeaway from the Writing Studies Program are the relationships but also being able to say I am a professional writer. Nobody is confident in their writing anymore. So to have a professional writer on the team is so valuable,” says Isa, continuing with, “It shows that you care about your craft.”
Lucy Bikahi ’25 serves as a professional writing intern in the Writing Studies Program at Saint Mary’s College.