Tell the readers a little about yourself: who are you?
My name is Kenny Timper and I’m a Raleigh native. I transferred to WPU in 2018 after earning my Associates at Wake Tech. I graduated from WPU in 2020 with a BA in English, and a minor in communications. I have worked primarily in the digital marketing field since.
How has Peace helped shape you and your career today?
During my time at WPU, I interned with a healthcare software development company and helped them write content for search engine optimization (or SEO). Before that, I had no idea what SEO was and was kind of blown away by it. It allowed me to lean into my creative side and write blogs and other marketing material – which I loved. But it also took me out of my comfort zone. I learned how to use tools like Google Analytics and leverage data from those tools to inform other marketing decisions, like what keywords and topics the company should target in future blog posts to get more readers and, ideally, make more sales.
Roughly a year after that internship and graduating from WPU, I got back into SEO by working at a small marketing agency in downtown Raleigh called Go Fish Digital. More recently, I started a job as a Senior SEO Analyst at an international marketing agency called OMD doing everything I just mentioned for household brands like Clorox, Hidden Valley Ranch, and more.
Without that internship through WPU, this might not have been possible, so I’m very grateful for that. Professors like Dr. Andersen and professor Maguire also showed me that there were so many possibilities career-wise with an English degree, and that helped me stick with it.
Are you glad that Peace became co-ed?
Peace became co-ed around the time I graduated from high school in 2012, but I didn’t go back to school for another 3 years, so I didn’t think too much about it. But I am glad Peace went co-ed, because I wanted to stay in the Triangle without having to go to a big school like NC State, and Peace was able to give me that. I also met my girlfriend, so of course, I’m a little biased.
What do you hope to see Peace do and accomplish in the future?
I hope they continue to receive feedback from students and make improvements. I’d like to see them expand and add in more majors and maybe even a Master’s program (should I ever decide to go back to school).