Earlier this year, Liv Moore, a student pursuing her Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) at the University of Nevada, Reno’s College of Business, delivered a TEDxReno talk on giving back professionally.
Moore, a 2017 graduate from the Reynolds School of Journalism, always hoped to one day be at the point in her career to give such a talk and had no doubt what her topic would be. Speaking for TEDxReno gave her the opportunity and platform to share how she thinks providing professional opportunity is a responsibility.
“Giving back is the most important thing to me,” Moore said. “As I get further away from the college arena, where help is around every corner, I realized that giving back professionally is actually less common than I would have ever expected.”
During her undergraduate studies, Moore received life-changing scholarships, which allowed her to quit her job to focus on opportunities more aligned with her career aspirations. Right before graduation, she received a job offer in her dream career track.
“As hard as I had worked, it seemed everyone was telling me to land my dream job would be a one-in-a-million shot,” Moore said. “I swore I just needed someone to take a chance on me. Fortunately, I met that someone.”
The desire to provide opportunities to current students led Moore to establish the Liv Moore Scholarship for Strategic Communications in 2021, which is available to journalism students with a public relations emphasis.
Along with investing in current undergraduate students, Moore continues to invest in herself after almost six years in the public relations industry. Moore began pursuing her EMBA online through the University’s College of Business in 2021.
“I always knew I wanted to get my master’s, and I knew how important that business background would be,” Moore said. “I did my undergrad at Nevada, so Nevada was not only the clear choice based on pricing, curriculum, professors and the prestige of the program but also my only choice. I would only go to Nevada.”
Moore is expected to graduate with her EMBA in August 2023 but has already seen the benefit of the program in her career.
“You come across something nearly every day in the workplace and you realize that now there is either new knowledge to be applied or a deeper knowledge,” Moore said. “What we’re learning applies to any career, any aspect of business at all, and that’s what makes the program so successful.”
Moore encourages all professionals to invest in others, especially those just beginning their careers. She hopes to foster a culture of paying it forward to support new talent to create thriving industries.
“Each of us exists in our proudest moments because someone else saw us and lifted us,” Moore said. “Now it’s time to be that someone for someone else.”
