The Interact team is celebrating our new Project Support Specialist and Media Prefs Lead, Rita Shakhbanova! In this blog, get the inside scoop on Rita and the latest Media Prefs news.
A Lifelong Learner and Trilingual Researcher!
“I’m passionate about education, so I’m really glad and excited to be in this field,” says Rita.
In fact, Rita is a lifelong learner. She originally hails from Russia, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in linguistics, focusing on English and Chinese. That’s when Rita’s love of research bloomed while writing her bachelor’s thesis, which required a lot of data crunching.
Rita also had the opportunity to study abroad in China before relocating to Madison, Wisconsin, where she earned an associate in marketing from Madison Area Technical College. During her time at Madison College, her data-driven passion took off.
“One of my favorite classes at Madison College was marketing research,” says Rita. “I am a naturally curious person, so I really like researching and gathering and analyzing data.”
A Research Tool Created with Care
Rita says she’s enjoying working with Media Prefs, Interact’s smart, simple tool for colleges to survey students and compare their local data with hundreds of thousands of responses regionally and nationally. Media Prefs spans nearly two decades and counting of community college research. So, when it comes to understanding the student journey for two-year college students, no other survey platform can come close!
“The more I learn about and use Media Prefs, the more I can see that it was created with such care,” says Rita. Whether you are a research whiz or a newbie, she says Media Prefs has super user-friendly data visualizations that are easy to share for informed decision-making. “It’s so easy and fun for both colleges and students to use it.”
Rita also appreciates that Media Prefs provides customizable promotional toolkits and even student emails to colleges, giving participants flexibility, freedom, and everything they need to promote the survey. Plus, with up to five custom questions, colleges can ask what matters most to them. Most of all, Rita loves that the tool’s design and layout are self-explanatory.
“It’s just so easy to use,” says Rita. “You get the idea of where and what everything is just by looking at it the first time.”
A Treasure Trove of Data
This past week, Rita has been helping one of our clients crunch Media Prefs data for their marketing campaigns, and she’s garnered some interesting insights.
“I’ve been comparing our client’s state throughout the past five years with other states and regions throughout the U.S.,” says Rita. “It’s interesting to see the different responses across the different regions and the data variations comparing the Midwest to the Northeast and the West.”
That’s part of the power of Media Prefs, having access to a wealth of national and regional info specific to two-year colleges. Rita confides that in Russia, there is a proverb: “One head is good, but two heads are better.” And that is very much how she feels about Media Prefs!
“Media Prefs can definitely give colleges new insights that your marketing team might never think about,” says Rita. “The tool has so many years of experience and community college data.”
In fact, Media Prefs has been gathering insightful community college data for 19+ years and counting, with 700+ national participants! This year’s fall survey is already underway, but Rita says institutions can sign up anytime to reap the benefits.
“Colleges can join at any moment,” says Rita. “Some colleges participate in both the fall and spring survey periods, while others participate once a year. But any time colleges join, they have instant access to our national and regional data with a treasure trove of great insights.”
Welcome to the Team, Rita!
Rita loves being the new Media Prefs point person, and her favorite part might be our wonderful participants. She says, “People appreciate when you help them, and I really enjoy helping others.”
Rita says there is much to look forward to this year from Media Prefs, so keep an eye on our blog!
We’re thrilled to welcome Rita to our team and grateful for her expertise and enthusiasm.
As Rita says, “I’m really excited to continue to learn even more cool insights with Media Prefs.”
What our partners are saying about Media Prefs:
Find out how Media Prefs can help your college get the inside scoop to boost enrollment!
