Leckrone Communicates for Manchester

Abby Thatcher

Recent Manchester graduate Chloe Leckrone has recently filled the position of Communications Specialist in the Office of Strategic Communications. Leckrone works closely with Anne Gregory, the director of Communications and Media Relations.

Leckrone writes press releases for events and activities on campus. They also handle writing for different achievements from students or faculty. They handle most of the writing around big announcements at Manchester.

They swap writing and editing with Gregory, depending on who’s available at the time to do what. “One of us will usually write a press release and then have the other edit it,” Leckrone said. “I focus more on the advancement sides of things while Anne does more media relations and stuff with the president’s office. I’m doing a lot of writing for things that go out to alumni.”

Recently, Leckrone has been working on the alumni magazine, which hasn’t been published on paper since 2019, due to complications from COVID-19. The magazines were all physical copies that would be mailed to past graduates. “The person who worked here before me was in charge of the magazines,” they said. “And now that’s been handed over to me, which felt a little daunting at first because, I worked for the Oak Leaves for two years, so I knew how to handle a newspaper, but magazines are totally different things.”

Leckrone reports that the magazine is going well so far and the new edition should be out in mid-December. However, this time it will be totally online, making it free and available to everyone. They hope that this will also make the magazine easier to navigate. “The theme is all about the Manchester Bold campaign,” they said. “We’ve got a lot of cool stories in there.”

Leckrone attended Manchester and studied English. While in the department, they took two journalism classes, meaning they wrote for the Oak Leaves for a year. They also co-edited for the paper for two years. “It definitely helped a lot with my writing and editing skills,” they said. “It definitely equipped me to be more confident reaching out to people and interviewing them.”

They continued, elaborating on their experience: “Coming in, I was so quiet, so reserved; I was terrified to talk to people. I felt like they would think that I was putting on this act and it would be almost embarrassing to go and interview my professor, like I had any idea what I was doing. But getting the practice and doing it over and over again really helped me build confidence skills.”

Leckrone also believes that the paper made them a better writer. “The things that you’re writing are going out to such a potentially large audience,” they said. “You really have to pay attention to details when you’re editing. I think all of that definitely helped me get this job.”

Before getting their current job, Leckrone didn’t know what they wanted to do after school. “My last semester was really a lot of spiraling,” they said. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I didn’t have any plans lined up.”

They spent their last semester at Manchester doing some of what they do now, but on a much smaller scale while interning with Gregory. Gregory was the one to encourage them to apply for their current position. Leckrone is incredibly thankful for Gregory’s support.

Leckrone has spent most of their life around campus, growing up just down the street. They have connections with students and professors, and both of their parents went to Manchester. Leckrone’s father, Mike Leckrone, even works on campus in Alumni Relations.

“That’s also been an adjustment,” they said. “Since I write so much for alumni, I’m emailing my dad. It’s still weird. I don’t know how I’m supposed to address him.”

Leckrone has been recently adjusting to post-college life, and was scared that they wouldn’t know what to do with their time. “I never really had free time,” they said. “When I’m not in class, I’m at work or I’m doing homework or I have clubs.”

Now, when work is done, they’re just done for the day.

Leckrone now spends their days baking and biking. They want to write more creative things that they don’t get to do at work. However, at times it just feels like they’re working more. “I’m trying to build more of a routine for however long,” they said. “Like 20 minutes every day doing more creative writing. That’s always been in my mind, and that’s what I always envisioned myself doing.”

They didn’t choose journalism until they got to Manchester, and had originally planned to become a playwright.

Leckrone’s favorite book is the play Angels in America by Tony Kushner. It is set in the 1980sin New York and follows a group of friends during the AIDS epidemic. The play shows how the men navigate their lives as they or their partners are diagnosed with AIDS. Leckrone enjoys the different dynamics and relationships. “It’s one of the most important pieces of literature that’s ever been written,” they said.