Building a Career as a Graduate Assistant
By Dejahnae Thompson
September 17, 2026
Chinaza Okechukwu, Graduate Instructional Assistant
Less than a year after finishing her master’s degree at Texas State University, Mabel Mba was back in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, but this time she was standing at the front of the classroom.
Before becoming a full-time university lecturer, Mba spent two years working behind the scenes as a graduate instructional assistant (GIA). Grading assignments and answering emails might be what people picture when they think of campus jobs, but in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, assistantships are turning graduate students into leaders who are job-ready.
Mba graduated from the Digital Media Communication master’s program in December 2025, and she now teaches Strategic Social Media Communication, Media Writing, and Career Professionalism. Her journey from graduate student to instructor of record, and eventually into a full-time teaching position, shows how the assistantship works as a direct career pipeline rather than just another bullet point on a resume.
From January 2024 through August 2025, Mba worked alongside faculty, assisted with public relations courses, and guided undergraduate students through multimedia storytelling projects. During her assistantship, she prepared course materials, graded student assignments, used technology to instruct in the classroom, and assisted professors with lectures.
“Being a GIA gave me a strong foundation for my transition from graduate student to instructor of record, and now to my current role as a lecturer,” Mba said.
Learning how to use tools used in the industry such as WordPress, Canva, Figma, and Flourish while working as a GIA gave Mba practical experience that she now brings directly into her own teaching. She uses those platforms in her classes today so her undergraduate students can bridge classroom theory with hands-on technical skills.
“Graduate classes gave me the academic foundation, but being a GIA taught me how to actually apply that knowledge in a teaching setting,” Mba said.
The assistantship also taught Mba how to connect with students from backgrounds who learned at different paces. She learned to explain complex concepts clearly and adjust her lessons whenever students needed extra support. Balancing graduate coursework with teaching responsibilities was challenging, but Mba said the experience helped her become more adaptable and more confident in professional spaces.
“I would absolutely encourage current SJMC graduate students to consider a GIA position because it is an investment in your professional development, not simply another responsibility to add to your graduate school experience,” Mba said. While an assistantship does not guarantee a job right after graduation, Mba’s path illustrates how teaching, project management, and training in technology can translate into a career.
The School of Journalism and Mass Communication is intentional in creating these career stepping stones. According to the department guidelines, SJMC integrates graduate assistants directly into instructional, media production, public relations, research experience, and other career interests to give students supervised professional experience while completing their degree (SJMC Graduate Assistantships, 2026).
Dr. Amber Hinsley, the graduate instructional assistants coordinator for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said the school generally has about 12 GIAs each year. The department aims to have six new assistants and six returning assistants to keep a steady balance between incoming students and experienced peers.
“We feel like it’s a good deal for students who want to be getting some kind of work experience and be getting paid while they’re also getting their graduate degree,” Hinsley said.
Sometimes the role pushes students into leadership sooner than they expect. Hinsley said GIAs occasionally deliver guest lectures or step in to lead classes when faculty members travel for conferences or research. She recently had an assistant teach two classes while she was away on university business. “It was really helpful to have a GIA who had knowledge of what I needed covered in those two classes that day,” Hinsley said.
Faculty members review an applicant’s background when making assignments, often placing students with media production or studio experience where their strengths can support lab courses. For instance, some GIA jobs are based in Live Oak Hall, where assistants work with broadcast studio equipment and help train undergraduates. Working in the studio gives assistants a chance to master hands-on production gear while teaching those same workflows to younger students. “The best way to learn something is to have to teach it,” Hinsley said.
While Mba’s path proves where the assistantship can lead after graduation, current students are navigating that growth right now.
Chinaza Okechukwu, a second-year student in the Digital Media Communication master’s program, previously worked as a senior cabin crew member for Fly ValueJet, an airline in Nigeria. Moving from international aviation into an American graduate program meant navigating a whole new country, academic system, and professional environment all at once.
Her assistantship became the space where she learned to navigate those changes. Okechukwu works with SJMC faculty, mentors, undergraduates, and helps coordinate departmental communication projects under tight deadlines.
“Being a graduate assistant in SJMC has taught me things no class has prepared me for,” Okechukwu said.
Beyond her regular classroom duties, Okechukwu was on a student media team covering South by Southwest in Austin. Her trend analysis report gained attention and was featured on the official South by Southwest LinkedIn page. “These are not hypothetical GIA assignment, they are proof of what I can do,” Okechukwu said.
“Being in the room is not enough. You have to actually show up in the room,” Okechukwu said.
Showing up means turning daily department tasks into long-term professional authority. Whether stepping in front of a lecture hall like Mba or preparing for international leadership like Okechukwu, these students prove that an assistantship can build the foundation for what comes next in your career.
References
SJMC Graduate Assistantships. (2026, February 17). Txst.Edu. https://sjmc.txst.edu/programs/graduate-program/sjmc-graduate-assistantships.html
