by Elle Waters, Assistant Director
I have wanted to join 1910 PR for a couple semesters now, so I was thrilled to see that it was fully online this semester. I knew that I would love the chance to be involved and get experience under my belt, and it's been even better than I could have imagined. I’m planning on returning for the spring semester—I can’t wait to continue working with some of these clients.
Right from the beginning of the semester I felt so seen and affirmed by Dr. Kinsky and the rest of the staff.
One of the strengths of 1910 PR is getting a better idea of what the PR industry is going to be like when you graduate and having a supportive environment to practice skills like making graphics, writing news releases, and interacting with clients.
I am especially grateful to have had a chance to serve on the executive board with Tomi and Meredith. They are both amazing women, and I have learned a lot about leadership by collaborating with them.
I’m also grateful for the mentorship that Dr. Kinsky provides the staff. She’s always available, encouraging, and helpful, and has a gift for finding the balance of challenging us to do new things and allowing us to do things we excel at.
This was my experience with using Twitter for Distinguished Lecture Series (one of our oldest clients). When I joined the firm in August, I mentioned to Dr. Kinsky that I was generally confident with my social media skills but had no experience with using Twitter as a tool for PR. She immediately assigned me to live-tweet one of the DLS events and coached me to do it effectively. Live-tweeting is a huge adrenaline rush that came with an unanticipated amount of pressure. It’s always important to make sure that you’re adequately representing the client and the event but having to make snap decisions without the safety net of an editing process and a team to proofread for you requires a lot of confidence in your skills.
I think it's a testimony to how 1910 PR equips us for real-world work that this was a positive experience that I can't wait to replicate.