Samuel Nobile '25: Writing Studies Alumni Spotlight
The Importance of Consistency and Versatility: Lessons from a Marketing and Communications Writer
By Lucy Bikahi
Versatility and consistency are everything in writing. Just ask Samuel Nobile, a student writer for the Saint Mary’s Marketing and Communications department. Throughout the past few years Sam has written numerous stories about students on campus while also completing his English major, Art Practice minor, and Professional Writing Certificate. “I do articles. It's been more short form content in the past year or so. I’ve always interviewed people for almost every story I've written,” Sam says, explaining the type of writing he has been doing. He has written several stories for the Saint Mary’s website where the primary content comes from the subject of the piece. Sam interviews them and then edits the interview, leaving the final, published product primarily in the interviewee’s “own words,” which is aptly the name of the series of articles.
He has also done more in-depth pieces covering topics such as the Saint Mary’s rugby team traveling internationally to London and Ireland and student leadership on campus. In his most recent published piece, he will be talking about his Jan Term experience on a trip to Salinas focused on immigration.
Storytelling and Professional Writing
Storytelling and professional writing compliment one another, as is seen in Sam’s current writing for the Saint Mary’s website. In terms of applying skills gained in the certificate, concision and tone are at the top of Sam’s list. “I think I've used [the professional writing certificate] in subtle ways. It's helped me get better at keeping things more concise and more professional sounding,” he explains.
Further clarifying the value of a consistent and professional voice, Sam says, “You have to be concerned about tone…there's a consistency that the marketing office wants.” In a job such as his, where storytelling and marketing are combined, knowing what to keep and delete is essential. While all of an interview can be interesting, it can’t always be published in its entirety. That discerning eye for both tone and concision is developed through the Professional Writing Program, easing the process of crafting an article.
Writing for ARM of Care
In addition to his student writing job, Sam is currently in the Writing for Nonprofits course (WRIT 400), the final course needed to complete the professional writing certificate. Students in this course spend the semester interning for a local nonprofit and completing writing projects for them, giving them real-world experience in the professional writing world. He is currently working with ARM of Care, a nonprofit based in Walnut Creek that helps those who have been affected by human trafficking.
So far, his group has crafted a flier, brochure, company profile, and memo to guide the tone of future materials from the organization. “There’s a difference between like a corporate company and like a nonprofit like this, but either way they're both real life settings. So I think applying that has been cool,” says Sam, detailing his positive experience within the course.
Developing Different Skills
Courses such as WRIT 400 as well as WRIT 250 (Social Justice through Professional and Technical Writing), and the electives offered to earn the certification allow students to flex their writing muscles, aiding in their development of different writing skills. Within WRIT 250 students learn about memos, reports, UX writing, and voice charts. They can then build those skills further in WRIT 400, where they draft documents such as reports, white papers, and grants for the nonprofits they are paired with. The certificate details how professional writing has a wide range of styles within it; to use Sam’s wording, it’s “it's not limited to a specific industry so I think the versatility is really helpful.”
Professional writing, just like any other form of writing, is rooted in communicating with an audience, whether it be through traditional storytelling or through drafting a memo. “I think what professional writing has been most useful for me in is showing me that I have the ability to use writing in a more communicatory, professional sense that I didn't think I could before,” says Sam. The professional writing certificate emphasizes the importance of writing within the world as a form of communication, unveiling the importance of consistency and versatility when it comes to reaching an audience. Sam’s experiences of writing at Saint Mary’s, both in and out of class, exemplify that.
Lucy Bikahi ’25 serves as a professional writing intern in the Writing Studies Program at Saint Mary’s College.