Five lessons learned: Flying High The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is a 60,000-person organization in 440 airports nationwide.The agency in- teracts with more than 2.2 million people a day, on average. And its Instagram account was named among the Top 5 on a Rolling Stone magazine“best of” list—higher than Beyoncé’s. A governmental agency beats Beyoncé on Instagram? To many, that’s a strange concept. For JENNIFER PLOZAI (’01 B.G.S.) it’s all in a day’s work. As TSA’s director of external com- munications, Plozai wants to reach travelers on the go. She managed the complete overhaul of the TSA website, focusing on mobile func- tionality and improving the user experience. She also spearheaded the creation of AskTSA on Twitter and Facebook Messenger. Since TSA is the government agency with the most face-to-face public interaction, Plozai said it was important to add real-time, user-friendly communication to assist travelers. She manages a command center that sends more than 1,000 responses to social media users per day.Their digital presence has increased TSA’s visibility, which helps educate, build trust and create a public partnership. Here, she shares a few things about flying high in your career and flying through airport security. 1. Pursue your passions. Enlisting in the Coast Guard after high school gave me a way to serve my country and make a difference. After working at a small-boat search and rescue station in St. Petersburg, Fla., I was stationed in Alameda, Calif., where I went into communities and talked on behalf of the Coast Guard about boating safety. During that time, I became interested in helping organizations communicate on a national scale.And so I used my GI Bill to enroll at UM-Dearborn and study communications and public affairs. Following your passion is a big part of choosing a path that’s right for you. 2. Persistence is key. If I know something will benefit the agency I work for, I’ll be persistent in pursing it even in the face of challenges and roadblocks. Due to those efforts, our AskTSA social care program has been recognized by the White House, DHS and the Partnership for Public Service for building a 21st-century govern- ment. I also was invited to Camp David in 2016 for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Summit, which brought together“change-makers”in gov- ernment to address challenges. 3. Perception outdistances performance. Any organization can accomplish great things, but if the public doesn’t know about it or isn’t en- gaged, it isn’t going to change the perception. Meaningful communi- cations, both external and internal, are critical to success.With our In- stagram, we use humor to engage people who wouldn’t otherwise be interested in the TSA mission.With AskTSA, we talk in a real, candid way with passengers.We hear from passengers every day who say that we’re changing the way they see TSA, and that feels really good. 4.Turn negatives into positives. We had a traveler going through cancer treatments who had a bad experience during security screening. She was sensitive about being touched, especially near her wig. I heard her talking about her experience on television. She was advocating for others with medical conditions; she wanted people to understand what to expect during security screening and what re- sources are available. I reached out to her and we’ve worked together on ways to educate others. One ex- ample of that joint work is a video for our“TSA Cares”series, which provides travel tips and resources for people with medical conditions and special circumstances.We all make mistakes. It’s how you react that matters. 5.The early bird catches…the plane. To prepare for travel, I make sure I leave prohibited items at home, pack my bags in an organized way, arrive early and wear slip-on shoes—unless I have TSA PreCheck on my boarding pass! Traveling, in general, can be a high-anxiety time and preparing and arriving early helps get you to your destination a little easier. Send a picture to @AskTSA or Facebook.com/AskTSA to know if an item is allowed on the plane. 26 | Fall 2017 AfterSchool SCHOOL TIES