My Bridgewater experience was so worth it, and I donate back to BSU when I can. If you can, give back to another Bear.
Liz (Meagher) Cooper’s impressive career working in media and communications started as an undergraduate at Bridgewater State.
“I was able to test out a bunch of hands-on communication classes to help me figure out which direction I wanted to go,” the 2001 Bridgewater graduate said. “I initially wanted to go into radio, but a professor pulled me aside and said, ‘You’d be great in TV,’ so I took a TV production class and, well, it all fell into place.”
During her senior year, Cooper landed an internship working for Boston’s WBZ-TV, Channel 4.
“It was a dream come true for me,” she said. “Here I was working with people that I had seen on TV, and now I was in the newsroom with them.”
The experience opened doors. The next leg of her journey was in the newsroom at WFXT-TV, Boston’s Fox affiliate. Working at first on the assignment desk, over the next 12 years she worked her way up to segment producer, including for the Morning Show and even booked celebrity guests such as Kevin Bacon.
After working with Fox 25 for more than a decade, Cooper decided it was time to try something new and switched gears, working for a public relations agency before moving onto communications director for the administration of former Gov. Deval Patrick.
Since then, she’s stuck with the public relations side of the field, working at Massachusetts Bay Community College for nearly 10 years, and these days serves as the associate director of public relations.
What does she like best about working in higher education?
“The students, I just love working with the students. They keep me feeling younger than I am,” she said.
More importantly she likes unearthing students’ stories and sharing them with the world.
“I love highlighting the amazing things people are doing that you wouldn’t otherwise know about,” Cooper said. “Everybody has a story to tell. Meeting people, getting to know the students, it just excites me.”
Her storytelling skills were recently recognized by the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations who honored her with the 2024 District 1 Communicator of the Year.
“It’s extremely meaningful to me, I was blown away, truly humbled by it all,” she said.
As she looks back at her career, Cooper recognizes the seeds of inspiration were planted as a student at BSU. It was the support of professors and mentors like Dan Darcy, who at the time worked as assistant director of activities in Greek Life and today is director of Alumni and Student Engagement, who helped propel her.
“Dan was always available to everyone. He helped us all navigate Bridgewater. He was such a cheerleader, and I found that I didn’t want to let him down,” Cooper said. “Dan made a huge impact on my life in how I lead and make myself available. He helped me become a good listener.”
If she were able to offer BSU students some of her own advice, it would be to put your best foot forward and work hard.
“Experience all that college has to offer. You’re only there for four years, maybe five, it goes by so quickly so make the most of it. Use the resources there,” Cooper said. “Make mistakes, don’t be afraid to fail. Mistakes help you grow and make you stronger. Brush it off and move forward.”
And, Cooper added, don’t forget to stay in touch with BSU post-graduation.
“Stay invested and connected. A lot of alumni have a lot to offer and can help you get involved,” she said. “My Bridgewater experience was so worth it, and I donate back to BSU when I can. If you can, give back to another Bear.”
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