How to write compelling student stories - An interview with Giovanni Santana

Those who tell the stories rule the world, and if we had more storytellers like my latest guest on the Marketing Tales Show, the world would be a better place.Meet Giovanni Sanata, a Writer at the University of Florida Online's marketing department.Giovanni earned his Bachelor of Science in Advertising at The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and recently received his acceptance letter to join CJC's Mass Communications Masters program.Go Gators! 🐊After earning his undergraduate degree, he worked several marketing jobs until he found his calling at UF Online in 2021.As a CommuniGator, he mainly focuses on telling compelling student stories to spotlight the resilience and grit of current students and alums of UF Online.He has a way with words that takes the reader on a journey -- a hero's journey -- to a time gone by.His style evokes emotion and paints a picture of the protagonist at life's crossroads, motivating even the most reluctant higher-ed skeptic to reconsider their decision to forgo their postsecondary education.Many UF Online students are non-traditional learners with tremendous life experiences who realized at one point or another that they want to continue their education."Whenever we see an opportunity that highlights how [students] overcame adversity and are still pursuing their degree, that's what we know will make for a great story," Giovanni says.Spotlighted students are either referred or discovered by the UF Online marketing team.Once a connection with a student is made, Giovanni schedules the interview, records it, listens to it several times, and pulls quotes that resonate not only with him but also with his audience.With the initial notes gathered, he creates a story frame, then digs deeper and crafts a narrative that will honor the student."When students come back to me and tell me: 'You really did my story justice, and I hope that someone else gets to resonate with it as well,' that right there tells me I did a good job," Giovanni says.His biggest advice to aspiring storytellers is to be flexible."You may want to be a writer in a specific niche, but sometimes getting your foot in the door as a writer pretty much anywhere can be a great start, and that can help you get to where you eventually want to be," Giovanni says.He also stresses the importance of networking and building relationships."A big part of marketing and public relations is who you know," Giovanni says. "It's very important to surround yourself with like-minded individuals and build a strong network."If you want to broaden your network, connect with Giovanni on LinkedIn.If you're a current student or alumnus at UF Online and want your network to know your story, contact Giovanni and ask him how to get featured in an upcoming student spotlight.To learn more about higher-ed storytelling, watch the episode by clicking the link in the comment below.Until next time. ✌️