Digital communications arts senior Clara Commons is bridging her interests and creating her own community of peers in marketing and creative spaces
Clara Commons attending the National Association of Broadcasters Show in April 2025
By Jessica Florescu, CLA Student Writer - January 30, 2026
From early on, Clara Commons was forging her creative path in Missoula, Montana. Art club president, yearbook photographer, and a Starbucks barista, keeping busy was an understatement. What consumed most of her time though was being an active member of her high school’s speech and debate team, traveling around Montana crafting speeches and giving presentations to panels of judges on topics such as emotional intelligence, and the country's obsession with constantly being "busy."
When deciding on where to attend college, finding a degree program that could fit all of her interests and experience in communication, art, and multimedia was a challenge. Commons began looking at schools in Oregon, “just far enough away from home,” and was drawn to the digital communication arts (DCA) program at Oregon State’s College of Liberal Arts. The program’s blending of art, business, marketing, and multimedia, a combination of “hard and soft skills” noted Commons, provided a plethora of potential career options for after graduating. She also really wanted to gain new perspectives and experiences that differ from her upbringing in Missoula.
Commons said, “It was really hard to be away from my family and twin sister in an environment where I didn’t really know anyone, but it was encouraging that so many new people coming to college felt the same way. I loved my campus visit and even had the opportunity to speak with freshman year advisor Tam Ward.”
Her first class in the School of Communication, Interpersonal Communication (COMM 218) with Senior Instructor Erin Cook, who still remains one of her favorites, followed by the many courses she took with Instructor Alina Padilla-Miller, including Pre-Production (NMC 380), Documentary (NMC482), and Viral Content (NMC 418).
Going back to the 2000s, a chosen handful of DCA students have had the unique opportunity to intern at the annual National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas. In 2025, Commons, along with a few other DCA students, was chosen to join Padilla-Miller in Las Vegas as an intern, working behind the scenes to help production crews record and broadcast the conference worldwide.
“It was so much fun to be able to attend and see how a convention at this scale works,” said Commons. “In addition to meeting so many interesting people, ranging from a person in sports marketing at ESPN all the way to different olympians and magicians.”
Outside of DCA, Commons has been heavily involved in Greek Life and student media on campus. Although she didn’t fully know what being a part of Greek life would entail at the start of college, she is grateful for the opportunities that it provided her with. Joining Chi Theta Phi, a design/creative academic sorority, early on, led to now serving as vice president of public relations for her chapter, as well as president of the Collective Greek Council (CGC), which oversees five academic or interest-based organizations. As part of the CGC, Commons has had the opportunity to present at workshops hosted by the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life and speak at OSU President Murthy's residence, as well as the annual Greek Awards and Greek Senior Send Off. In June 2025, Commons attended the Association of Fraternal Leadership & Values (AFLV) conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, with other CGC council officers to build on their leadership development skills.
Simultaneously, Commons is also a marketing associate for Orange Media Network (OMN). In this student-employment role, Commons manages OMN’s marketing campaigns from start to finish, including budgeting, planning, presenting, and executing events across campus and social media posts promoting PRISM and Beaver’s Digest. PRISM, OSU’s student-run arts and literature magazine recently received a first-place Pinnacle award for Literary Magazine of the Year for its most recent issue, Roots.
“I know a lot of people say this, but try to be a part of clubs and Greek life while at OSU,” Commons said. “I’ve met some amazing friends and gained some incredible leadership skills. There are so many options to be a part of groups that value similar things as you.”
As a full-time college student with a lot of extracurricular activities, Commons shared that time management can be difficult when trying to branch out while still wanting a balanced school-life schedule. One of her biggest tips is to set boundaries with yourself, and for her that has meant leaving Friday’s open in her schedule to use for things she enjoys. Aside from that, Commons says that an Outlook calendar is something that she “lives and dies” by and has been a helpful tool for her.
After graduating from OSU, Commons hopes to find a job that blends her creativity with her marketing skills, and is still deciding what that will look like.
For students pursuing the DCA program, Commons advises, “try to connect with as many people in the major as you can. The DCA major is very hands on and requires a lot of collaboration with others in and outside of class. The networking in the program has the potential to lead to so many new opportunities.”