On Tuesday, February 21st, the Curry College Public Relations Student Association held an event for students and professionals to network and learn about how the transition from college into a communications or public relations career. The event was titled “Your Career in Public Relations” and featured four panelists from various companies and organizations. These included Howard Sholkin from IDG, Erika Kuzmicz (a curry alumnus) who works at Castle Group, Tom Langford who is employed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Kaitlyn O’Connell Rodriguez who works at AICUM (Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts).
At the beginning of the meeting, the four panelists discussed their careers, both current and past, and then offered students advice on what they believe will help to enhance their future careers. Two recommendations that all of the panelists agreed on were that everyone should be taking advantage of any internship opportunities and that all students should be networking as much as possible. Howie, who has had nine jobs in the past, advised students to always continue networking and added that one should always be willing to help those who have helped you. Tom continued with that idea and said “always be nice to everyone” because it makes an impression on people and you never know when that person may come back into your professional life. Erika discussed the internships that she completed here at Curry and talked about how she knew right away which environment, company, and public relations structure worked best for her when it came to in-house public relations versus a public relations agency. Lastly, Kaitlyn discussed how she got involved with AICUM through networking and has now worked there for six years. Her piece of advice was to “connect with everyone and don’t burn any bridges.”
After this segment, there was a time for everyone to ask the panelists questions. Kirk Hazlett, the faculty advisor for CCPRSA, asked the first question, “What is one thing that you would do differently if you could?” The answers to this varied but included “get to know people outside of your office,” “get more involved on campus and take classwork seriously,” “keep in touch with people,” and “get on LinkedIn.” Following this, the panelists and other professionals, including Kristin Menconi from Career Services, sat at different tables and had conversations with any students that were interested in their field of study or had questions about anything. Overall, the event was a great success. The panelists and students networked, exchanged business cards, and took a positive step toward the advancement of their careers.
-This entry was written by CCPRSA's Secretary, Jess Brandi (@jbrandi311)
