Her Story
About Valerie
Valerie Gruest serves as Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She completed seven years in academia, culminating in her current role after finishing her PhD in June. Gruest earned a Master's in Technology and Society from Northwestern University in 2021 and a PhD in Media, Technology, and Society from Northwestern University. She also holds a certificate in digital marketing from Cornell University. Her areas of specialization include strategic communication, media psychology, health communication, and sports communication. Gruest attributes her success to skills developed as an Olympic athlete, including dedication, discipline, and the ability to sustain long projects, along with guidance from her PhD mentors. She belongs to the International Communication Association, the National Communication Association, the Latin American Studies Association, and the Association for Internet Researchers. She serves as Athletes Committee Chair for Panama Aquatics, as a member of the World Aquatics National Federations Relations working group, and as an artist affiliate with the World Olympians Association.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Valerie
01What do you attribute your success to?
In my background, I'm an Olympic athlete, so I believe that all the skills that I learned through athletics and aquatics truly prepared me for the long days, the long projects. And a passion for what you're doing and putting yourself wholeheartedly in the work that you're doing, believing in the people that you work with, creating the best environment for everyone. I attribute a lot of that as well to the incredible mentors I had during my PhD who truly shaped my way of thinking.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My PhD advisor told me that every day that you go do work in academia, you're living your dream, kind of, with the best job in the world. You should approach that way with everything that you do, and finding joy in the little things, and always leading with curiosity, and always leading with welcoming others' voices into the conversation. And that's proven to be the best advice, for sure.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Believing that you belong there. It's still such a male-dominated field. Throughout my PhD, even now as an assistant professor, I'm traditionally the only woman in the room. Believing in yourself, believing in the hard work that you've put in, not being afraid of voicing your opinions, sharing new ideas, taking up space. Being that voice for others, creating opportunities for others, being the best mentor that you can.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There's so much work to be done still, particularly as we think of interdisciplinarity across different fields in academia, how we're creating knowledge in different ways. Taking advantage of the opportunities with new technologies arising. My research is understanding how humans use technologies and how they're impacted by them. It's a constantly changing field that always has new questions. Challenges: resources are still very limited especially depending on the region. It's very important for young scholars to not get discouraged, finding ways to do meaningful work that doesn't require that much funding, getting creative.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Dedication, discipline, honesty, integrity, backing others as well, and collaboration is the most meaningful value. Always leading with that.
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