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University of Tampa will honor more than 1,992 students at its 162nd commencement on Saturday, May 9, during three separate ceremonies at the Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

One of those students is Livsey Kegler ’26, who is graduating with honors and will receive a bachelor’s in advertising and public relations with a leadership minor. On June 1, she will start full-time as a social media coordinator for Empire State Realty Trust, the company that owns the Empire State Building.

Kegler first got connected with the company as a public relations intern last summer. As an intern, her main responsibilities were organizing media coverage for celebrity visits to the building and writing blog posts directing audiences to the website. Plus, she got an inside look into real estate operations.

“My team was so motivating and supportive, and they didn’t make me feel like an intern,” said Kegler. “I wasn’t just a note taker in meetings — I was able to speak up and contribute different ideas.”

That said, her favorite story from the summer was the time she was sent on a classic intern errand, or, in this case, a wild banana chase. Actors Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest were doing a photoshoot at the top of the Empire State Building as part of the press tour for their movie My Oxford Year, while Kegler was waiting at the bottom to let them into the green room after. When she got an urgent text from a colleague that Mylchreest asked for a banana, she accepted the mission and embarked on a cinematic adventure through the 102-story skyscraper and outside on 33rd Street.

“I was running around in my heels, it felt so Devil Wears Prada,” she said. “I ended up buying three at a fruit stand down the street and rushed back without anyone knowing I was gone, all because King George from Bridgerton was hungry.”

In Kegler’s full-time position on the social media team, she’ll assist with video production and collaborate with clients for their content needs. While she’s excited to gain more experience in digital marketing, she has completed projects in classes to build the foundational skills. In Communication Research Methods with Lina Gomez-Vazquez, associate professor of communication, students were split in groups and assigned to strategize engaging content for UTampa’s Admissions Instagram account. Her group won first place, and Kegler said the project taught her to develop an instinct for research.

In fact, she recently presented her honors thesis at the College of Arts and Letters Student Research Showcase. For the project, she analyzed crisis communication messaging in higher education institutions, using case studies from UTampa and Brown University.

“I wanted to understand how universities frame openness, empathy, responsibility and safety in their messaging,” she said.

For the thesis, Kegler was the primary investigator, and her team of faculty advisors was comprised of Assistant Professors of Communication Alisha Menzies and Sarah Smith-Frigerio and Associate Professor of English and Writing Sarah Juliet Lauro.

“The professors here are just in a league of their own,” she said about what she’ll miss most about the University. “They’re not just professors; they’re real people that you can count on and that will support you no matter what.”

Kegler’s advisors had similar reviews about their mentee.

“She is curious, engaged and consistently thinking about how to apply what she learns to real-world experiences and issues,” said Menzies. “Working with her is a reminder of what is possible when students take ownership of their learning and push it beyond the classroom.” Smith-Frigerio commended Kegler for taking on the challenge of tackling research that could have a meaningful impact on organizations experiencing crisis. “That's a big endeavor, but from the start, I knew she would accomplish it,” she said.

In New York City, Kegler is looking forward to more cinematic experiences and hunting for the best bagel sandwich in the five boroughs. But she’ll always remember that her time at UTampa taught her to stand out, find her niche and persevere.

“This is my dream job that I didn’t even know existed,” she said. “I almost gave up so many times, but it’s so crazy how life works out when you keep pushing and keep believing.”