Thomas Kuegler ’15 came to Messiah with a major in marketing as he was drawn to the creativity involved in the field. Surprisingly, his current career path gears toward the field of journalism and creative writing. Kuegler works as freelance writer for The Huffington Post, The Surge and The Odyssey Online. His typical responsibilities include pitching story ideas, researching new topics, writing engaging content and marketing his work after it is published. Regarding his switch into the field of journalism, Kuegler said that like many other college students, his interests kept changing throughout his four years at Messiah and even after college. He found that a college degree doesn’t seal his fate, and there is a variety of ways to break into a field with the proper ingenuity and persistence. However, Kuegler didn’t struggle with deciding between marketing or writing—the real battle was between the independence of working from home and the routine of a traditional eight-hour job. He said that he is a very independent person, so the thought of determining his own schedule and working from home appealed to him very much. Plus, writing and marketing go hand-in-hand a lot of times. Kuegler has written website copy for certain businesses around the world, which is marketing, and also dabbled himself in content marketing. “To boil it down, my decision really rested on two things: my entrepreneurial spirit, and the need for me to express myself through the written word,” said Kuegler. “While a life of creating and executing marketing plans sounded fantastic and challenging, a life of routine and containment sounded equally unappealing.” Talking about his time at Messiah, Kuegler said that Messiah has helped shape his person as he is today. His time at Messiah was, unfortunately, a difficult time when he struggled to find himself, his calling and his ideal career path after college. Yet, on the bright side, the struggle helped reveal things that he could learn about himself. “Sometimes, and I think everyone needs to hear this: college is difficult,” said Kuegler. “You’ll feel alone, as I did sometimes, and you’ll feel lost. But thanks to those struggles I grew more in my four years at Messiah than any other time in my life.” With that being said, Kuegler wants to emphasize that college isn’t supposed to be easy. Students may cry when their parents leave for the first time and may feel defeated at midnight studying for an exam, but these struggles help shape them, as much as they did to him. “They’re the reason I kept sending articles to The Huffington Post before finally getting accepted,” said Kuegler. “They’re the reason I got to interview the writer of a film that has meant so much to me all my life. They’re the reason why I’ve been able to push through and find success today.” For his future, Kuegler said that his plans are a bit ambitious—he wants to write a book detailing his travels, his journey and some of the lessons he has learned. He also wants to make his travel blog an authority in the field, as well as start his own online publication focused on giving advice to recent college graduates about relationships, life goals, job opportunities and performance productivity. What will Kuegler advise current students at Messiah? “Do what you’re afraid of,” said Kuegler. “Do the opposite of what’s comfortable. You never know where life will end up taking you.” -My Nguyen ‘17