Betsy Emmons: Look to People Coming Up and Lend Them a Hand

<p>Betsy Emmons — https://journalism.unl.edu/person/betsy-emmons/ | Associate Professor of Advertising &amp; Public Relations, University of Nebraska–Lincoln | Sports PR &amp; Promotion | Accredited in Public Relations (APR)</p><p>Betsy Emmons teaches sports media and public relations in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, after more than two decades teaching at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and years in sports PR before that. The conversation runs from the fandom that led her into sport PR — “working in sports is so fun, and it is exactly all the joy that you think that it is” — to translating character strengths into kindness, to the one-on-one mentoring students name when they nominate her for teaching awards: “tell me what your dreams are, how can I help you?” And it lands on the journey she describes with striking honesty: an Enneagram 3’s reckoning with achievement — “achievers can be blind to the suffering around them” — and the future she has chosen: “If you’re going to move into a position of leadership, or a position of seniority or authority: always look, on the ladder, to people who were coming up, too — and lend them a hand.”</p><p>Betsy’s top VIA character strengths, as she shared them: Love of Learning, Humor, Hope, Curiosity, and Appreciation of Beauty &amp; Excellence. Try the free VIA Survey of Character Strengths yourself: www.viacharacter.org</p><p>Follow Betsy’s work through the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln: https://journalism.unl.edu/person/betsy-emmons/</p><p>Recorded: Monday, October 5th, 2026</p><p><br></p>