Reaching Out in New Digital Directions 

As of the spring 2025 semester, the English department has its own Instagram profile. Under the handle isu.english, the account broadcasts and advertises events, courses, projects, and other news to an audience of, at the time of this writing, 101 followers. The goal of the English department presence is to “appeal to the younger audience, that Gen Z audience and the upcoming Gen Alpha,” claims project leader Jessica Jorgenson Borchert, the associate teaching professor in technical communication who took charge of the initiative.

According to Jorgenson Borchert, the account isn’t a direct recruitment tool. “It’s more of a retention tool.” But she acknowledges that students thinking about applying to Iowa State would look us up on social media. At the moment, the account’s target audience is majors in the English department who are currently enrolled at Iowa State, with prospective students who are considering the university being a secondary target.

Jorgenson Borchert aims to prioritize engagement before anything else, advertising events and working with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) in order to get existing students involved with department initiatives across campus. “I get this question a lot when I speak with prospective students: It’s ‘What clubs do you have?’ or ‘What are students doing in terms of internships?’” she maintains. “They really are looking for community.” She explains that one of the biggest draws to any college campus is the on-campus community. The Instagram page is meant to foster and highlight that community, which, in the long run, will bring in more students.

Now that the foundations are set up, Jorgenson Borchert plans to stay on track, focusing on ways to further drive engagement. On her task list is course advertisements, ones that showcase the new or experimental courses that the English department offers, such as the trial run of English 2230X, Read Like a Boss, a course centered on developing business acumen, which debuts in the fall 2026 semester. She also hopes for more collaborations with LAS in marketing both its events and the English department’s events within those LAS events.

But overall, the plan is for the English department’s Instagram account to stay the course. The Instagram will also be maintained by student interns. as well as Jorgenson Borchert who sees the Instagram as another way to connect students to internship experiences.