Communication is Key For Savannah Haeger ’16
September 17, 2025
- Author
- Caroline Roy '20
As a student at Davidson College, Savannah Haeger ’16 worked in Advancement Communications, writing alumni stories like the one you’re reading now.
She landed that gig after staff members discussed media training with the cheerleading team during March Madness season. Haeger raised her hand and asked, “What key messages do you want us to get across about Davidson?”
That question earned her a referral, and she spent the next few years honing her storytelling and communication skills at work and in the classroom.
“My mom had her own public relations firm while I was growing up, and I absorbed a lot about communications by seeing her at work,” Haeger said. “I’ve always appreciated words. I loved getting to connect with students and alums, and I knew being a good communicator would be central to whatever I did after Davidson.”
Senior year, a friend pointed Haeger toward a listing on Handshake for a public affairs role in Washington, DC. By Thanksgiving, she had a job with Hamilton Place Strategies, a firm specializing in policy communications for clients in a variety of sectors, from transportation to finance.
Haeger with her friends at commencement
In 2024, Haeger travelled to Panama with Professor Britta Crandall and students
“Being at an agency was an incredible training ground for me as a communicator,” she said. “I thrive in a job that lets me try a little bit of everything. I got to think critically, juggle a variety of clients and issues, and essentially ‘translate’ complex policy issues into messages that inform and influence.”
Building connections through her work in Washington led Haeger to other communications roles, including her current position with FedEx’s public affairs team, where she handles all things sustainability. No two work days are the same – she answers inquiries from the media, supports executives, plans events, and works with colleagues around the globe to tell the company’s sustainability story in authentic and transparent ways.
Most recently, FedEx helped to fund her master’s degree in sustainability management. A self-described lifelong student, Haeger has enjoyed carving out this niche for herself in the vast world of communications and public relations.
“Having a liberal arts education is such perfect training for working in sustainability,” she said. “Every day, I have to draw upon so many different disciplines – economics, policy, the sciences, my global education experiences – to do my job.”
Keeping up with ’Cats
Staying engaged with Davidson was never a question for Haeger, but her relationship with the college has changed shape since graduation.
She continued collecting alumni stories as a class secretary and made a commitment to volunteer and give to the college each year.
“I benefited so much from The Davidson Trust,” she said. “I’ve always felt it was important to give back because of what Davidson gave to me.”
In 2022, Haeger married her longtime partner, Lincoln Davidson ’15, whom she met her junior year in an American Foreign Policy class. Joined by many Wildcat friends, professors and mentors, their ceremony was held on the steps of the Chambers Building, followed by a reception in the Lilly Family Gallery.
Recently, she’s explored new volunteer roles at Davidson, serving as a class ambassador, chaperoning for Professor of Political Science Britta Crandall’s spring break trip to Panama and signing on as a reunion gift chair for her class’s upcoming 10-year reunion. The Class of 2016’s five-year reunion took place on Zoom in 2021, and Haeger looks forward to seeing her classmates together on campus for the first time in a decade.
“The more I exist in the world, the more I appreciate how unique Davidson is,” she said. “It’s a special place that attracts one-of-a-kind people.”
