FINDING HER PATH AND HER PASSION

As a legacy, Laura Yoder DeCoste ’94 grew up outside of Cleveland and enjoyed visiting Muskingum with her family, including her mother, Cheryl Wertman Johansen ’65. When it came time to look at colleges, she visited a few but knew Muskingum was where she wanted to be.

Now the chief communications officer at Harvard Medical School, Laura never could have imagined this is where her path would lead. When she arrived at Muskingum, she was sure she wanted to be a high school English teacher, so she initially majored in English and education.

“I really loved the mix of professors and courses in the English Department,” Laura recalls. “The mentorship and guidance I received both in and outside of the classroom was fantastic. In particular, I learned so much from Dr. Donna Edsall, who was so knowledgeable yet approachable—and fun and quirky in the very best way.”

When Laura learned the State of Ohio was offering a comprehensive teaching certification in English, theatre, and speech communications, she chose that path. The program was very prescriptive, which is how she became introduced to journalism.

It was also how she was introduced to Dr. Edsall, who was the advisor for the Black and Magenta and the yearbook.

In addition to her journalism class, Laura began writing for the B&M and eventually became sports editor and then co-editor-in-chief her senior year. Based on that experience, she decided that instead of becoming an English teacher, she would go to graduate school for journalism.

Having visited Boston during a volunteer work trip with her youth group while in high school, Laura fell in love with Boston and decided to apply to Northeastern University for graduate school. She was offered an assistantship working with the student media groups—including the newspaper, yearbook, radio station, and literary magazine—which paid for her tuition and provided a stipend.

“I was a bit nervous about going from a small college in rural Ohio to a big school in an urban environment, because I didn’t know what to expect,” said Laura. “The journalism master’s program ended up being relatively small, so that felt very familiar to me. And once the classes started, I felt well prepared and that I could hold my own.”

Though she had hoped to write for magazines following graduation in 1996, her path shifted once again when one of her graduate school projects turned into a job offer as a public relations specialist for the Boston chapter of the Girl Scouts. Working at a nonprofit organization enabled Laura to try new things and apply her skills; however, it also helped her understand that public relations wasn’t what she wanted to do as her primary job.

She moved to a new position at the Pine Street Inn, the largest provider of housing and services to homeless individuals in New England. In her first two jobs, while she got a taste of marketing, she was the sole practitioner, so there were limited opportunities for growth and advancement. She continued to look for opportunities to grow her skills at a larger organization and took a position as a marketing manager at Ernst & Young.

“Throughout my career, relationship building has been such a key piece,” said Laura. “But, I wanted to either be in nonprofit or in higher education, being a part of organizations that truly make a difference.”

As her career progressed, so did her opportunities to work her way up into leadership roles, where she began managing teams. She also took time to reflect and decide what she wanted to do and the kind of role she wanted. At DanaFarber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, Laura was able to combine her passion for helping others with her leadership goals. She started as a writer there in 2002 and by 2006 was named director of the 18-person development marketing team, a position she held until 2010 when she was named executive director of advancement communications and marketing at Boston College.

“I love organizational thinking and strategizing about how teams should be structured,” said Laura. “How does our structure align with the priorities of the organization, how are we balancing proactive versus reactive activities, and how does the model I helped to build in past roles adapt to this organization?”

The relationships she made led her to Harvard Medical School in 2012 when a former Dana-Farber colleague recruited her to lead development communications and events, and eventually donor relations.

In fall of 2019, she was asked to serve as the interim chief communications officer for the school, which ultimately turned into a permanent position following a nationwide search. She already knew everyone on the team based on her previous role, so she was confident she could do the job. “I was most anxious about the public relations and crisis and issues management aspects of the job, as well as what it would be like working so closely with senior administrators,” reflects Laura. “I experienced some impostor syndrome and questioned whether I had the right skill set for the job and whether people would trust me and value my recommendations. I quickly realized that I didn’t need to be intimidated and that I was not alone. I had a whole team of people working with me and colleagues to support me along the way. Plus, I’m competitive and have always loved a good challenge.”

In reflecting on how Muskingum prepared her for where she is today, Laura credits both her liberal arts education, which exposed her to so many topic areas and potential fields of study, combined with what she learned from her classmates who had different backgrounds and experiences from her own. She also noted the numerous opportunities to engage, gain leadership experience, and find out what you like and don’t like.

Her advice to young alumni is to follow your interests and don’t turn down opportunities just because there’s an element that might test your skills or confidence. She also says it matters who your boss is, and it’s always best to stick with people you can trust and who have your back.

“Never lose sight of your next move or where you want to be. And don’t forget you always have a choice. Don’t stay somewhere so long that you get burned out and become bitter,” Laura says. “Finally, try things out of your comfort zone … you might actually find that you end up liking it.”