Mentor Spotlight

Mentor Spotlight: Erin Curtis-Dierks
We’re highlighting Jayhawks who serve as mentors to fellow alumni and students to celebrate National Mentoring Month.

Connect with Erin on KU Mentoring+.

ALUMNI, CAREER, HOMEPAGE NEWS, NEWS

Erin Curtis-Dierks is a communicator, project manager, and marketer. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1997, and has worked in a variety of sales, promotions and communications roles throughout her career.

 

Erin was the director of communications for the KU School of Music from 2005-2013 and later worked as a senior media researcher. Currently, she is senior accounts director for Firesign Marketing, one of the nation’s only marketing agencies solely devoted to the legal industry, where she helps law firms build credibility and clientele.

 

Erin is happy to chat with prospective students, or help fellow Jayhawks with choosing a major, workplace issues, or questions related to parenting and your career.

What do you do at your job? What do you enjoy about it most?

At Firesign, we create and manage marketing plans for our law firm and legal tech clients. We are a small but mighty agency, so we all wear a few hats, but as Senior Accounts Director I act as the overall marketing project manager while also creating and executing marketing campaigns, and I contribute to business development efforts.

 

I love meeting new clients, listening to their marketing needs, creating a customized marketing plan, and ushering them through the marketing process. It’s so fulfilling to help grow business for our clients.

How has being a Jayhawk helped your career?

My first job out of college is a direct result of being a Jayhawk; my college advisor connected me with my first position. Living in Chicago I actually ran into quite a few Jayhawks, as Chicagoland boasts a nice alumni base.

 

And coming back to the present time, my boss, the CEO of Firesign, is a proud KU graduate herself and we talked quite a bit about KU basketball during my interview. Needless to say, being a Jayhawk has had wonderful advantages.

What advice about preparing for a career would you give a college version of yourself?

Internships: if you can secure one or more during college, do it. And do them well. Get excellent references. This has been a huge advantage for me personally for my career. Plus you meet some really cool people along the way.

 

Connect with your fellow Jayhawks. You will be blown away at the number of folks who will end up helping you throughout your career because of a healthy Jayhawk network.

 

Finally, if you aren’t sure exactly what you want to do with your degree when you graduate, that is okay. Try different things and see what fits best. You learn so much in all your experiences and trust me, you’ll apply all these learnings to everything you take on.

Need a mentor? Want to serve as a mentor? KU Mentoring+ is open to students, alumni, faculty and staff, and friends of the University of Kansas. Professionals who are looking for opportunities to connect with KU and provide assistance to Jayhawks are also welcome. Learn more about KU Mentoring+.

More Headlines

Giving
KU Alumni Association Creates Lifelong Connections and Prepares Future Leaders

KU students like Shayslyne Campos make meaningful connections every day thanks to KU Alumni Association programs like the Student Alumni Network and KU Mentoring+.

Jayhawks For Higher Education
Encourage legislators to invest in higher education

KU is asking the Legislature for stable base funding to enable KU to keep tuition steady for students and parents, and to ensure students have the support services they need to succeed.

Career
Copy the Leader: Sarah Frazier

Sarah Frazier, j'94 g'24, manages operations for six radio stations in Houston. We sat down with Sarah to learn what leadership means to her.

Career
Copy the Leader: 2024 Year in Review

As 2024 comes to a close, we take a look back at the advice we heard this year from KU alumni leaders.

Jayhawks Give Back
KU Alumna Raising Hope and Funds for Child Cancer Research

What began as a family fight against cancer led KU alumna Kim Stanley on a personal journey of hope and advocacy for children’s cancer research.

News
Jayhawks support their communities with KU Cares Month of Service

Jayhawks in eight different cities came together to give back for the KU Cares Month of Service this November.

Driving with Jayhawks
Driving with Jayhawks: Allen Fieldhouse and KU Gateway projects

Get an inside look at the newly renovated Allen Fieldhouse and updates to the KU Gateway District project on this episode of Driving with Jayhawks!

Career
Copy the Leader: Fred Neis

Fred Neis, N'93, G'97, is a Senior Partner in Health Advisory at Korn Ferry. We sat down with Fred to learn what leadership means to him.

Driving with Jayhawks
Driving with Jayhawks: Watson Library Centennial

Carol Smith, Dean of KU Libraries, joins us to discuss the centennial celebrations around Watson Library, and the future of libraries at KU.

Welcome to the University
of Kansas Alumni Association

Your membership in the KU Alumni Association is the single most powerful way to make all of KU stronger, including the value of your own degree. Through your membership, the Association: