Robyn Kirsch is seeking new employment and provides her contact information and online profiles. She has experience as a reporter, editor, social media manager, and photographer for newspapers and magazines. Her skills include writing, editing, layout design, and use of publishing tools and technologies. She demonstrates strong communication abilities, news gathering and research skills, and the ability to handle multiple tasks. Kirsch provides examples of her published work and awards. She also lists previous work experience in customer service, sales, healthcare, and administrative roles in addition to her journalism experience at the O'Fallon Progress newspaper and Straight Up Magazine. Kirsch provides education details and a letter of recommendation from her current editor praising her work.

1. Robyn L. Kirsch
404 North Front St., Okawville, IL., 62271 H: (618) 977-5113 C: (618) 980-5544
robynkirsch84@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RobbieLynnK
Twitter: @BND_RobynKirsch
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/Robyn L. Kirsch
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/rlkirsch/ (Robyn Kirsch)
Summary
With a goal of obtaining new employment with an established company, I hope to bring a
multitude of skills I've learned over the years to the table.
I am a motivated and personable individual offering leadership skills and expertise in
presenting news, feature, education, business, health, sports, crime and human interest
content in different platforms. Utilizing ethical, moral standards and contemporary
principles govern my decision making in a face-paced environment. With focus and
commitment, I excel at staying ahead of the curve while maintaining professional
integrity.
Additionally, I've succeeded in developing story pitches, presentations, feature articles,
short stories, editorial pieces and in-depth investigative pieces. Often strong technical
command of the English language and familiarity with a wide range of writing styles has
led me to success. While news gathering, communication and fluid writing skills are a
strength, so to are copyediting, layout skills and in-depth knowledge of news gathering,
research and publishing tools and technologies. In my position at the O’Fallon Progress,
a weekly newspaper publication of the Belleville News-Democrat, I am one of two of the
editorial staff members with the other being my editor. In my capacity as a news reporter,
online publisher, social media manager, copy editor and layout designer, it is required of
me to juggle several tasks simultaneously with stable time management skills. My work
experience is not limited to a professional office setting as I have also held positions
ranging from commission sales to fast-food and dine-in food service to customer service
in different fields such as wholesale furniture sales, health care and administration,
management in a retail setting, administrative assistant, data entry and processing of
accounts to senior home care to gardening and horticulture work. While I am a seasoned
professional with a down-to-earth personality, I seek out challenges and always put my
best foot forward. Building rapport with associates is of paramount importance when
vying for professional prosperity; in so far as, I may be given an opportunity to
demonstrate my skills and contribute to your organization’s mission. Feel free to call me
at (618) 980-5544 (cell) to arrange an interview.
Thank you for your time—I look forward to learning more about this
opportunity!

2. Sincerely,
Robyn Kirsch
Highlights
First-rate reporter and editor MS Office Suite (Excel, Word, etc…)
Photography background Deadline-driven in fast-paced environment
Firm grasp of journalistic ethics Non-linear and graphics/Ads editing
Online publishing Social media management
Publishing tools Copy editing and proofreading
Strong interpersonal skills Power point presentations Savvy
Libel laws Ethical integrity
Professional Timely
Advanced knowledge of QuarkXPress 4-9 Use of fax, scanners and copy machinery
Advertising & Marketing experience Adobe Suite
Team player Self-motivated
Editing newsletters, ads and photos Primary archiving & filing
PeopleSoft, Kronos knowledgeable Type 40-45 words per minute
NewsGate/News Director; CCI Layout Champ
Accomplishments
Awarded the Elmer C. Broz for Achievement in Journalism Award in April 2012
Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville Mass Communications program.
Wrote and published an award-winning piece on Illinois Video Gambling in Best News
Story category in the 2014 Southern Illinois Editorial Association Best Newspaper
contest titled "Jackpot?"
Wrote and published an award-winning piece on Citizen Police Academy training in
Community Service category in the 2014 Southern Illinois Editorial Association
Best Newspaper contest titled "Citizen Academy (column)"
Reported (written) and published hundreds of print and online pieces ranging from
various beats such as crime, education, municipal government, features,
business and human interest since 2011 to current day.

3. Experience
O’Fallon Progress weekly newspaper, Belleville News-Democrat publication
Since January 2013 to current
Reporter
Investigate, report/write all news including local government, crime and court, business,
education, features, investigative pieces, breaking and feature news. I also assist with
layout design and copyediting, as well as, am an online producer for the weekly
newspaper's website and all social media outlets. Office acumen and administrative
responsibilities are easily handled with finesse and positivity. Completed my internship in
summer of 2012 in the BND newsroom.
Dec. 2013 - Oct. 2014
Straight Up Magazine, metro-east monthly publication
Contributing Writer
Freelance writing for the monthly privately owned Straight Up Magazine gave me the
opportunity to meet people on a more intimate and casual capacity in the cultural, music,
art and events scene of the local niche metro-east region. As in all my roles as a writer
and reporter, dualistically I shoot my own photography and video.
Dec. 2012 - Jan. 2013
Chiro-Med, Ltd.
Clinic Associate
Responsible for handling the front office, in so far as I greeted, checked in, facilitated
treatment between various therapies, checked out, handled record keeping on the
Chiro-Touch patient computer system, answered phones, collected payments and
checked patients out. This position required a high level of memorization, following
protocol, consistent training, maintaining and facilitating rapport between patients,
providers, therapist and the doctors.
Education
2012 Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville (SIUE), 2012 Bachelor of Science
Major in print and online journalism; Minor in historical studies
Coursework in print and online journalism; videography production; advertising and
marketing; graphic design; media law and policy; and, layout and design production; and,
English and creative writing
Worked in paid position at the university newspaper The Alestle reporter, managing news
editor and opinion editor from 2011-2012.
2009 Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC), 2009 Associate of Science

4. Phi Theta Kappa member; took karate and yoga classes the entire time; and, had
coursework in English, journalism, history and was heavily involved in the SWIC theater
department by holding leads in various productions.
LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION:
July 29, 2015
Re: Robyn L. Kirsch
To whom it may concern,
As Editor of the O’Fallon Progress newspaper, I have worked as Robyn’s supervisor
since June 16, 2014.
And during that time, she has been an exemplary employee on many levels.
For starters, Robyn’s work is consistently clean, with very few spelling and grammatical
errors. Her stories require little editing and flow smoothly and are extremely easy to edit.
In addition, Robyn’s productivity always has been steady and consistent. Not to mention,
she takes many of her own photos that are a big benefit to the paper, while also
performing many other “behind the scenes” duties that perhaps go unnoticed, such as
website updates, making sure each story on the website has a photo, finding file photos
on deadline, assisting me with layout ideas, editing pages before they get released,
compiling the police and fire calls, which takes considerable time, and the like.
To that end, Robyn is an experienced reporter. She has great sources and clearly knows
how to perform her job at a high level. Just as important, Robyn is very reliable. Her
stories are finished on time. Any time I have asked her to complete something, it gets
completed without me having to tell her twice and without complaint.
Robyn also is very reliable with outstanding attendance. When she going to miss work
due to an illness, she communicates that with me clearly so I am not left guessing. She
works weekends and nights, too, covering events. I also can say Robyn works very well
on her own with little supervision needed. She’s a self‐starter, generating her own story
ideas, while also having no issues with taking suggestions. And, also worth noting, Robyn
gets along very well with all her colleagues.
Simply stated, Robyn has been a pleasure to work with. She has had to endure a great
deal of change at the paper since I arrived, including, of course, working with a new Editor,
helping compensate for a long-time who retired and was not replaced, learning a totally
new editorial system and helping assist me learning the position—all while maintain a
positive, upbeat attitude. Moreover, Robyn has been and is a tremendous asset to the
Progress. And I would highly recommend her for employment with your company.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at (618) 239‐2688 or
(618) 580‐5545.
Sincerely,
Garen A. Vartanian
Editor, O’Fallon Progress

5. References:
Tammy Merret, SIUE adjunct professor and director of Alestle newspaper
(314) 780-0159 or tmerret@siue.edu
Paul Seibert, Publisher/owner Straight Up Magazine
(618) 977-5185 or phcseibert@yahoo.com
Garen Vartanian, Editor O’Fallon Progress
(618) 239-2688 or 580-5545 or gvartanian@bnd.com
Debbie Arell-Martinez, Director O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce
(618) 632-3377 or director@ofallonchamber.com
Dr. Benjamin Laux, Owner of Chiro-Med
(314) 616-5939 or (618) 235-3200 or chiromed1@aol.com