By KYLIE POWERS
Staff Writer
This past Thursday night, February 16th, The Saint Rose Public Relations club hosted a PR Alumni Networking night for undergraduate communication students.
The event was hosted in Jack’s Place of the Hearst Building on the Saint Rose campus. The Saint Rose students filled the seats in the small space of Jack’s Place where five alumni who have recently graduated from Saint Rose spoke about their experiences in fields of public relations and communications after they graduate. The event began at 7:30 with the alumni sharing their experiences, answering questions, and then there was plenty room for discussions, networking, and refreshments for the rest of the evening.
Dominga Gleason, a senior at the College of Saint Rose and current co-president of the Public Relations club was able to explain how they set up another alumni night for the second year in a row. She explained how they had contacted alumni who had spoke before, but the club members were also able to use social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn to speak directly to the alumni, as well as email. Then, the next step naturally for the PR club was to the marketing, including flyers around campus and posts on Facebook. When asked about marketing for the alumni event, Gleason remarked with a smile “It’s what we do best”.
Although ten were contacted for the event, the five alumni who were able to show up were Saint Rose alum included Raven Short, Dan Barner, Talia Cass, Gabrielle Polce, and Derik Noetzl, all graduates of the communications department at Saint Rose.
Some of the topics the alumni reflected on during the evening included resume building, experiences in their fields, social media accounts, internships, and what to do after graduation. As some of the seniors in the crowd attending asked about how to prepare for entering the workforce, Gabrielle Polce chimed in with some advice, saying it was normal for seniors to be nervous. “You’re not alone”, she expressed, as she continued to explain the key was to go on as many interviews as possible as it “tunnels you to what you want.”
It was also noted the key is also to get involved as much as possible with one’s time on campus. “All the work you do here at Saint Rose is going to mean something” explained Raven Short, a graduate of Saint Rose 2013. The alumni continued the night with discussions about building portfolios as well as resumes, and how they felt communications was a great field for so many undergraduates to be enrolled in.
One of the alumni, Derik Noetzl is a 2015 graduate of Saint Rose and was previously a Film and New media concentration while attending school. He expressed eagerly his love of shooting video, often even for almost nothing for clients while working at Magic Wig Productions, and how his passion is what fueled him after graduating from Saint Rose. His invite to speak at the Alumni night came as simply as a text message from PR club treasurer Jessica Holden, who has assisted him in shooting video previously. When it comes to how public relations mixes in with video, he noted “If you’re shooting video and PR is the goal, you can’t do a campaign with bad video.” He continues to shoot video around Albany on his own, often with Saint Rose musicians and for his production company, and was eager to jump in for many of the discussions during alumni night. He told those in the crowd “Do the work you like to do,” adding “If you really put the work in, someone is going to notice it.”
Other alumni chimed in how their passions for communications led to success after graduation. Raven Short, a 2013 graduate of Saint Rose who is currently working as a student success coach at Excelsior College, also reflected on the many different aspects of communications. “I always knew I wanted to do communications,” she included, saying she always “loved to socialize” and that was a driving factor in making decisions about her career. After being contacted by Professor Rosemary Sheridan, Short agreed to attend and felt glad at the end of the night that undergraduates got to see an aspect of that “life still after college.”
“It’s nice to see where people are,” Short remarked, noting how sometimes after graduation its hard to keep in touch with what others in class are doing. When asked if she would do the event again if the PR club had it next year, she eagerly said yes saying it was a “nice way to pay it forward” to other Saint Rose students.
Many of the Saint Rose students after the questionnaire were seen buzzing around Jack’s Place, networking with the alumni, “Networking is terrifying” admitted Dominga Gleason, but admitted the night is also “beneficial to everyone.” Gleason noted doing clubs and speaking to alumni can help undergraduates get out of the “student mentality”, to have students start thinking about their future as well as easing the stressed senior’s minds.
Other members of the PR club were eagerly to speak on the success of the night. Secretary of the PR club, Melissa Nitolo was seen snapping photos throughout the night and said “I thought it went great.” Earlier in the evening, when speaking to Jessica Holden, she added she joined PR club by coming to last year’s Alumni Night and speaking to alumni like Derick Noetzel. She reflected on how joining clubs and being involved outside classes helped her feel less intimidated in her major. “It’s gotta be more than coming into the com building for classes twice a week,” she included, and that clubs and events like Alumni nights were great for communication students looking to grow in many different aspects.
The night event the PR club will be featuring will be Glow Fest, a musical event Secretary Melissa Nitolio says will be “even better this year!” than the year before. With the success of another Alumni Night underway, the PR club will continue to be active within the communications department through the rest of semester.
