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Media In the Mix

Media in the Mix podcast is a space where we explore topics in communication at the intersection of social justice, tech + innovation, and popular culture. Media in the Mix is a production of American University School of Communication.

Production Team

Hosted & Produced by: Grace Ibrahim & The School of Communication

Latest Episode

SOC3 IN THE HOUSE

On episode 12 of Media in the Mix, host Grace Ibrahim is joined by AU SOC Professor Pallavi Kumar and 4th-year student Isis Amusa to talk about eveyrthing SOC3!

Pallavi Kumar is a full-time professor in American University’s School of Communication and faculty director of SOC3. She graduated magna cum laude from American University with a degree in public affairs and public communication. She received her master’s degree in public relations/corporate communications from Georgetown University.

Isis Amusa is a senior at American University double-majoring in journalism and justice & law. She is a queer Black social justice storyteller working in communications at the National Black Food and Justice Alliance and as a Creative Strategist at SOC3.

Listen as they talk about what it's like working with DC-based clients how you can get be a part of the next cohort!

LISTEN HERE:

Transcription

[00:00:01] Grace Ibrahim: Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation, and pop culture.

[00:00:19] Grace Ibrahim: All right, welcome back to Media in the Mix. Today we have Pallavi and Isis. Thank you so much for being here and joining us on episode. So, we have Isis Amusa who is a senior at AU, you're double majoring in journalism and justice and law which is very cool. Also, the creative strategist for SOC3 which we are going to dive very deep into today. And we have Pallavi Kumar, who is the Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer and the SOC3 faculty director, as well as an SOC alumni, so back at AU, which is very exciting. First and foremost, we're very excited to have you. I want to start with our SOC alumni: what brought you back to AU? Can you just kind of give us like a little deep dive into what you graduated with and kind of your journey back to SOC. [00:01:08]

[00:01:08] Pallavi Kumar: Of course, and thanks for having both me and Isis, Grace, we are excited to be here and to talk about SOC3. So, I graduated in 1994. I was actually the first class of SOC as an independent school and I was a double major. We used to call it public communication the degree then, now it's PR and strategic communication, as well as a CLEG major in SPA and I actually came to AU, you know, like every bright eyed you know, a person saying, oh, I want to work on the hill. And, you know, took some poli sci classes and sort of pivoted, found this as a double major, and just realized that it was everything I wanted to do with my career. And so, I was really lucky that I, you know, worked in New York and in DC, and in Philadelphia, for years in the professional world, but I always wanted to teach at AU. And so, when my family and I relocated to DC, I started teaching as an adjunct, I was only 27 years old. And now I've been teaching here, um, I joined the faculty full time in 2009. And I've been teaching for 21 years. [00:02:05]

[00:02:05] Grace Ibrahim: Wow. And what was the classroom teaching like as an adjunct professor?

[00:02:07] Pallavi Kumar: So I used to teach COMM 301, which was our intro to PR class, I still teach that class every now and then. But of course, I've added so many new classes to the curriculum. And when I joined full time in 2009, I also then became the division director for eight years, in 2012 to 2020. So you know, being able to not just teach at my alma mater, but to lead the program. You know, all of that came to the creation of SOC3, because it's all those experiences that I had in the professional world, with students, and then running our division that I kind of got this leadership experience and said, hmm I think something's missing, I think we have to do something a little bit more innovative within the school. [00:02:49]

[00:02:49] Grace Ibrahim: That's very cool. And we'll get back to that, actually, because I have a question on the innovation of SOC3. But, Isis, I want to ask you, what appealed to you about SOC3? And can you kind of just give the students a little look into what the process is like? So becoming the creative strategist? Like, do you take this class? And then you have to apply for that position? Can you just give us a little background there? [00:03:07]

[00:03:08] Isis Amusa: Yeah, of course. So I first learned about this class from someone who's in the last cohort, Sarah, and she told me about it. I hadn't heard of it. I hadn't seen it. And I was like, wow, what is this experience, like an experiential learning course working with the real client, and getting paid, which is nice, of course. So, I looked it up, and I found a flyer that was made, and I just got really invested. Because as you said, I am a journalism major, but I'm no longer pursuing journalism anymore. But I am still pursuing storytelling, pursuing creative work. And I'm kind of interested in working with real world nonprofit clients, particularly in food justice. And so, this is really a great intersection of my interests, I think. And so, once I found this course, I was just extremely excited. And so I applied, I got in. And then we spent the first about couple weeks or so brainstorming roles, because we really wanted to kind of centralize some of our work and it was little disorganized last semester. So we made these different teams, and based on our interests and our skill set, that's how I became the creative strategist. [00:04:11]

[00:04:11] Grace Ibrahim: That's very cool. And just one thing you said food justice, yeah. Can you give me a little background on that? [00:04:17]

[00:04:17] Isis Amusa: Yeah. So food justice, in my opinion, is at least the belief that food is a fundamental right for all human beings. So, I work particularly in black food justice, because black communities disproportionately experienced something called food apartheid, which is basically this idea that the quality of food is segregated, just like many other systems in this country. And so, I work currently as a communications contractor, with the National Black Food and Justice Alliance, doing very similar work that I do at SOC3. [00:04:46]

[00:04:46] Pallavi Kumar: That’s wonderful, good for you.

[00:04:46] Grace Ibrahim: That's great.

[00:04:48] Pallavi Kumar: I mean, in last semester, we'd worked on that very issue with DC Central Kitchen.

[00:04:50] Grace Ibrahim: Yeah, I was gonna say, that client must have appealed to you as well cause that’s right up our alley.

[00:04:54] Isis Amusa: Yeah, yeah

[00:04:56] Grace Ibrahim: And I will say I was actually there. Um, Filming SOC3 that when they had the presentations for the DC food kitchen, and I was blown away at the work that goes into what the students were doing and the packages that they were creating for these clients, and coming from like a PR background, in the first part of my career, I was so impressed that they are getting that real world experience, which we'll get into in a sec. And then also, just to ask you kind of leading into our next question, how has this kind of aided you in your real world experience? So it's not just and we’ll kind of, kind of repeat this later on, but it's not just your traditional classroom setting, right. So as a student, and I also want to hear the point of view of professor, how has that kind of aided in your just experience as a whole? Whether it be teaching or learning? [00:05:45]

[00:05:46] Isis Amusa: Um, yeah, I think experiential learning is incredibly powerful. I think kind of by nature, as a journalism major, I've gotten experiential learning, because you have to talk to people, and you have to go out in the real world in order to write stories. But in this context, I haven't had as much experience. And so the ability to work with a real client and adapt to their schedule, adapt to their needs, and be flexible in that way, I think is really useful. And I think it's a skill set that all students need. [00:06:12]

[00:06:13] Grace Ibrahim: That’s great. Yeah. And what about from the teacher side of it?

[00:06:15] Pallavi Kumar: So you know, the, we don't like to call SOC3 a class, because it's so much more than that. But it isn't a classroom, storytelling for change makers is the signature curriculum experience. And part of the reason why I designed it that way, is because we're in Washington, DC. So our students are, you know, they're out in the world, there's so many things that they're doing, they're interning at the White House or interning at the Washington Post, you know, they're getting all this experience. And so, you know, there's some student, you know, powered agencies in different universities, where it's a volunteer thing, it's like a club. And I just knew that that wouldn't work. Because when our students, you know, to, they have to, it has to work for all kinds of students. That's one of you know, equity is a huge part of SOC3. So, one, you know, not everybody has time to just volunteer, right. So the fact that it has to be credit based, that was really important to me, it did have to be in that setting, because there's also that guarantee that you're gonna see people, you're gonna give the commitment to that. So that's why it's in, you know, the classes sort of structure that way. And then, of course, as you said, the students are also getting paid to help run the agency. So I do feel like it is designed with equity in mind. And that's the reason why it is, you know, in a classroom. [00:07:24]

[00:07:30] Grace Ibrahim: Can you give us an idea into what your elevator pitch was like, what was that initial like? [...]Started to take its course.

[00:07:39] Pallavi Kumar: Gosh, yeah.

[00:07:40] Pallavi Kumar: Okay. So probably about five years ago, we were at a brainstorm it was a leadership brainstorm, that Mexican Cultural Institute. And we just were talking about the fact that the School of Communication at American University is so unique, and that we have film students, and we have journalism students, we have communication studies, and we have PR students. And it's not a lot of schools that will have those particular majors, all housed in one sort of place. And we felt like we weren’t taking advantage of the fact that we have these incredibly talented students, but they're not getting the chance to actually take classes together and to have experiential learning opportunities together. So, we knew the separate majors offered different things, but to put them all in an integrated setting that just didn't exist. The other part of that was the fact that, you know, the world is changing. And so, you know, if you're going to any type of creative agency, you don't have just X major, you have people from all different kinds of backgrounds. And so, we really felt like that, that would be a really cool thing to do. Now, I was lucky in the sense that I got to do a lot of experimenting before launching SOC3, I did an application-based PR agency class, I did a diversity fellowship, we did 24hour RFP challenge, where students had to just 24, I tried many, many different types of things to see like summer versus internship versus this versus that. And all of that experimentation, years of experimentation actually, really led to the fact that, you know, I honed in on this idea that it should be a class that it should be paid. And that you know, that it was going to be a semester long sort of, you know, project that would, you know, change over, you know, with a new set of students. And so all of that kind of came just because of the experimentation. And that's what led to the launch. And also, I think COVID helped because I think previously we were thinking, oh, we need a physical space. And we need all of these things, which means you need to raise more money than we realize, you know, what, you don't really need any of that stuff, the work that the student like, that's the most important thing. And the work is like, as you said, it's amazing. [00:09:31]

[00:09:31] Grace Ibrahim: It was so wonderful, it really was. And we'll get into the DC food kitchen in a second. Isis what you said about kind of, I'm not a journalism major anymore. I'm still practicing journalism. Like that's so true.

[00:09:41] Isis Amusa: Oh, yeah.

[00:09:41] Grace Ibrahim: I thought I wanted to be a journalist as well. Now I realized like storytelling is journalism. And that's, you know,

[00:09:47] Isis Amusa: Exactly.

[00:09:47] Grace Ibrahim: There's so many things that overlap, which is great. If the students are listening to this episode. I want them to know what went into it. What was the client? What did the students get to do for the client? I really want them to understand that real world experience that they Yeah, so dive into that. [00:10:01]

[00:10:02] Pallavi Kumar: Last semester it was, Oh, my goodness. I mean, so you know, all summer long I was working with, um, so we have a wonderful donor, Michael Kempner. He's the CEO of M WW. He's a Board of Trustees member. And he's an AU alum, and he's really the reason why SOC three even exists because it's his support, it's his funding, and it's really all that experimentation that I talked about, that was all with him, that he provided us initial seed money to kind of figure out what it is that we wanted to do. And then when we had the bigger idea of SOC3, that he was on board to, you know, help to fund it. So that part was, you know, all key. But you know, all summer long, I was kind of working as a solo person. But with his team in New York. I went up to New York, we had a brainstorm with his brand strategy team, all of that, the logo, the website, all of that stuff came to come to came together in the summer, but then we entered the classroom, and it's like, oh, my goodness, this whole, you know, thing that has been living in my brain for years was an actual thing. And somebody wrote in a final reflection paper, like it was, you know, welcome to SOC3, it was a note to future cohorts like Isis, like, welcome, welcome to this, like, wonderful mess. And, and I thought, it's just such a great characterization, because it really was last semester, it definitely was a mess, because again, we didn't even launch until October. So the first six weeks of this semester was like, What are we like, even doing? Like, we didn't have any social channels, any of that. So all of that stuff was happening at the same time we were working with DC Central Kitchen, our first client, so it was an overwhelming amount of work. But I will say, you know, and I was really nervous about the experience the students are having, because again, it was an experiment, things changed a lot. But when I read the final reflection papers, I mean, like, my heart was just like, full like, it was like, the students what they wrote and the experience that they had. And they just said, like, they couldn't have been more grateful. And so that, to me, it was like, okay, this was a ton of work, it's going to continue to be a ton of work. But it's so worth it. Because to have that have students to have that reaction after just one semester. And like Isis, I always say this to our current cohort, like, oh, my gosh, it's so much better. We're so much more organized, now. But you know, that experience, you know, we kind of have to start that way, you just have to start right. And we did, and I think I couldn't, I couldn't have been happier. [00:12:14]

[00:12:15] Grace Ibrahim: So Isis, what are some responsibilities you have as a creative strategist? [00:12:18]

[00:12:19] Isis Amusa: Um, yes. So as creative strategist, we basically defined ourselves as the curators of the public face of SOC3. So we're really in charge of the website. Currently, we all in a cohort work on the social media, but assist with that as well. And we're working on creating a case study right now on the website, to document all the projects that we created for DC Central Kitchen. And so basically, our responsibility is to ensure that when people learn about SOC3, there's something nice and put together and organized for them to look at and to be able to understand what it is that we do. [00:12:57]

[00:12:57] Grace Ibrahim: That's really cool. And what are some other positions like any other positions that you work with, that you're working closely with, or just give us an idea of like other things available? Yeah. [00:13:06]

[00:13:07] Isis Amusa: So currently, we'll be collaborating with the community engagement directors to work on a newsletter later this semester, which will summarize all of the things that we've been working on and people will get to see kind of a sneak peek into what we've been doing. There's also the brand development directors, who really focused on kind of attracting new clients. And we're especially, really interested in attracting corporate clientele and name brand clientele eventually. So that's kind of what we're building towards, and what are the other research channels? [00:13:37]

[00:13:37] Pallavi Kumar: Yeah, and that's a great, that's a new position as well. But what's nice about the research channel estimate there, too, they are looking to always so you know, for instance, we're doing a brainstorm for our other client next week. But they've already laid the groundwork, done the research for that. So that now as we go into that, all the information is there. [00:13:55]

[00:13:56] Grace Ibrahim: And in a dream world, are there any other positions you'd like to make available? [00:14:00]

[00:14:01] Pallavi Kumar: So we do have one more set of positions, which we're still kind of figuring out and this is, I think, you know, the growing pains that comes with with growing is, we have what we're calling agency directors, we have three people on that team. And their job is to like kind of help run everything. So this year, this semester, were much more automated, we have a Google form for our social posts, we have monthly timesheets that those students are doing, there's a Slack channel, you know, so we're using kind of more of the tools out there. I guess you would say in the corporate world to some extent, but they're supposed to kind of be running this. But the problem is that I'm like, I call that I'm the log jam, right? So and I'm a difficult client to work with, in that sense, because I'm always like, you know, all everything is in my brain, and there's only so much that I can do so it just also speaks to the need for SOC3 to really grow and to become what we want it to be - we'll need more funding. We do need our alumni to step up and bring us clients and donate to us. We're gonna establish a board of advisors. That's part of what the brand development directors are working on is our prospect list. We've done a lot of soft touch outreach this semester. We are getting CEOs to come in. And you know, we're really like bringing SOC3 out into the world. But part of the reason is we want people to fall in love with us so that they will hire us, they will hire the students and they will give us funding because, you know, I said this in a School of Communication internal meeting, philanthropy matters, and SOC3's goals are to help diversify the communications industry. Last semester, the cohort was 61% diverse. This semester 51% diverse, but every that's our goal is at least 50%, or, ideally more, of course. We want, what the cohort looks like is what the comms world should look like. And it doesn't. Yeah, and so I see the photos of our cohort and the work they're doing and I'm like, that's representation that I want to see happen in the industry. And so that's part of why SOC3 exists, it gives the experience it gives has the students, you know, get paid. But I also want these students to realize that they're not just, I don't just want them to be in the comms industry, I want them to lead the comms industry. And too many times I've seen students, particularly students of color, who might enter into this sort of traditional, you know, route that communications people enter, and then they become disenchanted. There's nothing there. If you don't have people that look like you out in the world, it's really a hard situation. And I'm a woman of color. I've been in the comms industry for 30 years, I've experienced that. And I hate it. And I don't want I want this generation, and they should, and there's no excuse to why two comes industry does not look like the world because you can't lead these campaigns on behalf of people when you're not representing those people. [00:16:35]

[00:16:35] Grace Ibrahim: Right

[00:16:36] Pallavi Kumar: And so that's a lot of what we're trying to do now. So, you know, and that's why I think getting funding is so important. But at the same time, that's what makes us so attractive, because who doesn't want to invest in Gen Z, a diverse Gen Z two is going to help to lead the comms industry. [00:16:50]

[00:16:51] Grace Ibrahim: Yep. And I think it's so true, when you also don't have, which is why it puts you in such a great position. So when you don't have someone like you vouching for you. It's like, there's just kind of a miscommunication there sometimes. [00:17:01]

[00:17:01] Pallavi Kumar: Exactly.

[00:17:02] Grace Ibrahim: So I really like that. And I also like this fostering of the students working together, and then getting a sense of that as well, because you're just constantly gonna meet new people in this industry, you're constantly going to meet different kinds of people. And the funny part is that everyone works in a different way. So it's like, if you have an office that has one SOP, standard operating procedure, and then you go to another production office, it could be completely different, at least in our sense. So I think that's great experience to get them to just kind of like understand how people work and come across different types of people. And it's just such a valuable lesson. [00:17:32]

[00:17:33] Pallavi Kumar: I think that's why the team format works of everybody having the different teams, um, that they're working in, because they're collaborating, and then working on client work together as teams as well. So they're constantly learning about team communication. And also that's a leadership skill as well? [00:17:46]

[00:17:46] Grace Ibrahim: Yeah. And it's just a good lesson to know that, like, if you want something to happen, you can absolutely create it and do it yourself. I think that's which I know, the industry is actually moving away from a little bit, which I'm very happy to see. But you usually kind of have this like hierarchy of like, you have to start here, and then you have to be here, and then you have to be, you cannot skip any of that. Don't think you can skip those that you know, and it's like, for some things, sure there, there really is like a blueprint that you have to follow. But for other things in terms of innovation and creating an inclusive environment, diverse, not in terms of just race, or just everything, you know, different positions, you know, whatever it may be. I love that, that kind of fosters that because we need more of that in this industry, people feeling like they can go ahead and lead, you know, without someone kind of pushing down. It's a good segue into this one of our last questions, which is the challenges that you faced, and that can be anything big or small, just just communication or really anything. The irony, right, is there communication problems? [00:18:41]

[00:18:42] Isis Amusa: Challenges... There have been a couple specifically on my team, I'll say, but we had a early disagreement, and there was just some miscommunication, and we had to work it out. But ultimately, it was resolved. And yeah, I think that so far, we've all just been learning, like you said, each other's work styles and how we all work and mesh together as a team. But for the most part, we get along really well. And I think we all really liked each other, like at the tabling event today, we had a lot of fun. [00:19:10]

[00:19:11] Grace Ibrahim: So I don't know about this cohort because we haven't been able to watch you guys in action. But I know the last cohort, they all really seem to just it was such a collaborative environment. And everyone seemed to be helping everybody. And everyone was learning from everybody. And it was really cool to see all the different types of presentations when they finally did their, you know, client presentations, because you could tell that every group had their own like unique factor. And it's just so different. They were bringing a different thing to the table, which is awesome. [00:19:35]

[00:19:36] Pallavi Kumar: I mean, this semester, I'll say that this cohort is just I have not had to like any team issues at all, which you know, in group work, it's natural for that to happen. But there is, so one thing that the previous cohorts that is there wasn't enough bonding, and that's just because of the fact that we were just go go go trying to launch and do everything. So, I tried to leave more time for bonding. I will say we haven't done a great job yet because we're always so busy, but at the same time we've had great experiences. So the students day we did, they did some field research this semester. So they went in they we talked to the director of the humanities truck, we got to go in the truck. That was a really fun experience for all of us to be together. And then they went out for our DC’s Bridge Park, the 11th Street Bridge Project is our client, one of our clients this semester. So they went out into Anacostia. And we are helping to launch their small business kiosk. And so the idea is, is that they have this key, we're coming up with a better name, which we've actually given them even name ideas, we did a brainstorm for them. But they're going to be taking this traveling sort of kiosk out throughout the city for the next two years, promoting all the businesses on Good Hope Road and Anacostia to get people familiar, so that when this bridge project does open up, their whole point is they want to lift communities up. They don't want to push them out. And so this is part of their equitable development program, which fits I mean, their mission and what they're doing fits so much in line with what SOC3 is doing. And so the field research day, I know Isis and her team, they spent the whole day, they ate like all the food that was out in the Anacostia Art Center, and they had a great time. [00:21:06]

[00:21:07] Isis Amusa: Yeah, I was gonna say that we definitely bonded that day. We just decided to turn it into a whole like, I think it's Valentine's Day, actually. So we're like, this is our galentine’s day trip. And yeah, we went to a few restaurants, we walked around, and it was a lot of many of the members in our cohort had never been to Anacostia before. So it was just a really cool experience to all. Yeah, it's all experienced together. [00:21:28]

[00:21:29] Pallavi Kumar: And I mean, AU’s strategic imperative is, you know, one of them is, you know, to work with DC. And like, that's exactly what SOC3 is doing. It's not just working, but also like, pretty high profile clients we have, and seeing the students get to go out into the field. I think that's just so important. [00:21:44]

[00:21:45] Grace Ibrahim: That's awesome. So I'll leave you with this question. So to expand SOC in your, in your dream world, in your perfect world, is there something that you want to add that you want to do? Can be anything? [00:21:54]

[00:21:55] Pallavi Kumar: Yes. Well, I want, obviously, more funding. That's definitely critical. Because, you know, as I said to somebody, I said, I'm like the new business developer or the you know, Executive Director, you know, the faculty member, I'm doing kind of the work that we would have more people helping, so I think more funding would help us expand. And I think that would be great. I also think having a board of advisors is just key, because again, right now, it's it can't be any one's person vision, we need a collective vision. So having kind of that level involved will be great also for the cohorts, because then they'll have, obviously senior people to interact with and to get advice from and you know, those people be invested in the students and American University. [00:22:37]

[00:22:37] Grace Ibrahim: Right. That’s awesome.

[00:22:38] Isis Amusa: Yeah. One thing that we talked about today that doesn't exist yet, just because of its nature is creating an alumni network so that every future cohort of SOC3 can talk to former students, and we'll all be hopefully out in the profession, you know, so I'm excited to make those connections and possibly mentor someone. And yeah, exactly. And obviously, the funding Yes, that'd be amazing. [00:23:03]

[00:23:02] Grace Ibrahim: Your own mentorship program within, yeah.

[00:23:05] Pallavi Kumar: Can I, can I just add a little?

[00:23:07] Grace Ibrahim: Yeah, of course

[00:23:08] Pallavi Kumar: So we had last week, we had a meet and greet with Michael Kempner, who's, as I said, our, our founding donor, and we invited the previous cohort to come as well. And from that I got, of course, emails and the previous cohorts, they so still want to be part of SOC3. And I just, I've never experienced, I've been teaching for 21 years I've never had, like, we like they want to come visit. Michael was kind enough to say, Okay, I'm funding sweatshirts for them, too, because they didn't get sweatshirts, they only got t shirts. So like, and just like, this is like, cool, right? And they said, the fact that you have previous alums that want to be involved, and obviously we're going to be recruiting for the fall 2023 cohort. So you're gonna see a lot about that, but we're gonna have just, you know, under a year, we're gonna have like alums and they’re alums that want to be involved. And I think that's really cool. So we're actually doing our first ever keynote, end of the year ceremony, where we're going to be giving our SOC3 alums who are seniors, they're going to get graduation stoles, and we have, um, the chairman emeriti of Ketchum, Rob Clarity, who's going to come and give the keynote, you know, address and he was a first generation college student, he went on to become the chairman of this, you know, worldwide agency. And I think that again, harkens back to that message of, you're not just working, you're leaders. And so exposing our students to these types of leaders is really important as well. [00:24:27]

[00:24:28] Grace Ibrahim: It really is. Like get these clients must be so impressed with your work. It's, truly, because I imagine I'm on the other side of that and like a group of students, which that you know, at first, that's all they know, right? It's a group of students. Okay. And then to see what they can do. It's like, wow, [00:24:43]

[00:24:43] Pallavi Kumar: I'll just give you one quick example. So last semester with DC Central Kitchen, as you saw, so there were five different groups presenting, which is quite a lot. But they said not only they said every group gave at least one actionable idea that they would use. And within two weeks, the average redesign team had done a complete redesign of that, there are healthy corners app. And within two weeks, they adopted the changes. And so that's the type of like, again, I've been teaching a long time, I've had clients work with different classes before, to see that level of adoption, just that quickly. It was really, really gratifying. [00:25:16]

[00:25:17] Grace Ibrahim: People have to understand that's five different ideas. That's, that's five.

[00:25:19] Pallavi Kumar: I know. It’s a lot of ideas.

[00:25:20] Grace Ibrahim: A lot of ideas.

[00:25:21] Pallavi Kumar: It’s a lot and it's not in the you know, the one thing I do want to talk about just for a quick second is that SOC3 is not a PR agency. I've even heard President Burwell call it that it's not, it's an integrated creative agency. We're not doing anything that has happened before. Because whatever the students were used designs thinking, so whatever they're coming up with, they start from field research, creating empathy, and then design prototypes. I don't know what those are ever going to be. They don't know what they're going to be. It's based on brainstorm and discussion. And they're all different every semester, it's different. Whatever they create, it's storytelling. Storytelling can change the world. That's exactly what they're doing. [00:25:55]

[00:25:56] Grace Ibrahim: And research. I mean, they really put time into being like, this is what we found from the research and from the data we’ve gotten. [00:26:03]

[00:26:02] Grace Ibrahim: Yeah, it's very impressive. They were like checking off a lot of skills that are just so valuable, that you really don't get unless someone kind of puts you on a project like that, to be honest.

[00:26:14] Pallavi Kumar: Exactly. So it is very it is I just want to dispel that myth that it's, it is not a PR agency. [00:26:17]

[00:26:18] Grace Ibrahim: No that’s true. And you kind of changed my mind, admittedly, because hearing all of the different, you know, comms that go into it. It’s like... [00:26:26]

[00:26:24] Pallavi Kumar Yeah. It's like, I mean, there was a prototype products last semester, you don't create products, ever. Right? So that was again, just from the storytelling perspective. Yeah, exactly, the snackables. So that was the thing that they created. [00:26:35]

[00:26:36] Grace Ibrahim: We loved the snackables. You're like, oh, my gosh, that's so cool. That's so great. Yeah, it was like,

[00:26:40] Pallavi Kumar: Yeah, and this is, to me, that's what makes it so exciting and different, you know, is, you know, as enter my like, fifth decade, I mean, is it really the 5th, 4th decade, something like that, right, is that it could still surprise me. And I think that's exactly what's happened is that we're creating that. The one other thing I'll just share is that we do have a second client that's really close to our heart. So the Bring Our Families Home campaign. It is a nonprofit that was just founded in the last year, but it is families of those that have those that are wrongfully detained. There's about 63 Americans right now who are being wrongfully detained abroad just because they are US citizens. And so, we're going to do a brainstorm next week with one of the families who's affected by it. And there's an AU connection. So Emad Shargi, he has been held hostage in Iran for almost five years, and in the notorious Evins prison. His daughter, Hannah is an AU grad. So she graduated from SIS and in I think 2017. So she's going to be zooming in with us and his sister, Neda is going to come into the classroom as well. And actually somebody on Isis’s team, Judith, she's doing her senior capstone on, on, Bring Our Families Home campaign, but that's something where, you know, if SOC3’s premise is storytelling can change the world, if we can make any type of impact with the BOFH campaign, this semester, it will, it truly will make a difference. So that's, I think, really important for our students. [00:28:02]

[00:28:02] Grace Ibrahim: Powerful. That's super powerful that that's, you know, going on, and that's something you guys are involved with. [00:28:06]

[00:28:07] Pallavi Kumar: Yeah. So we'll see. We don't know what the idea is. Yeah. But next week is the brainstorm. So we're hoping

[00:28:11] Grace Ibrahim: this is where it all starts. Right?

[00:28:13] Pallavi Kumar: Exactly.

[00:28:13] Grace Ibrahim: Like we don't know what the idea is what we're going to go for it. And that's exactly what I love that. Yeah. Thank you both so much for being here. If, we'll be including any links, descriptions, anything you want us to include in the description? [00:28:23]

[00:28:24] Pallavi Kumar: Follow us on Instagram. Follow us on LinkedIn. Visit our website, www.SOC3change.com. And then Isis has actually even been meeting with the web development team. So again, just getting that experience working with vendors. All of that is coming into play. [00:28:38]

[00:28:39] Grace Ibrahim: That’s so much experience.

[00:28:41] Isis Amusa: Yeah.

[00:28:41] Grace Ibrahim: It's very, very cool, especially as a senior.

[00:28:43] Isis Amusa: Yeah, exactly.

[00:28:47] Pallavi Kumar: Most definitely.

Previous Episodes

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Adventures with Rorschach Theatre!

On episode 11 of Media in the Mix, host Grace Ibrahim is joined by AU SOC Professor Kylos Brannon and Jenny McConnell Frederick of Rorschach Theatre!

Kyle “Kylos” Brannon is a professor at American University’s School of Communication (SOC) and a reknown VJ, or live video artist. He is currently a company member with Rorschach Theatre and designs video projections for plays, including, 410[gone], Reykjavik, Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven, She Kills Monsters, and The Toxic Avenger Musical. Also with Rorschach Theatre, he is on the creative team for Psychogeographies, a 7-month long storytelling site specific experience that explores DC history, while following an ever-evolving story, which culminates in a live performance.

Jenny McConnell Frederick is a Washington, DC-based director, producer and strong believer in impossible theatre. She is the founder and co-Artistic Director of Rorschach Theatre as well as a member of Rorschach’s groundbreaking Distance Frequencies project.

Listen as they talk about the intersection of storytelling, community, adventure, and history!

LISTEN HERE:

Transcription

Grace Ibrahim: Welcome to media in the mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation, and pop culture.

[00:00:01] Grace Ibrahim: Jessica, thank you so much for being here. Lauren, thank you so much for being here. So just to give you guys a little background on both. So Jessica is pursuing a master's in strategic communication at American University. Lauren is a first year public relations student at American University. Jessica, do you want to tell us a little bit about what you do on campus? [00:00:16]

[00:00:17] Jessica Newell: Sure. So I am in the master's program for strategic communication. It's a one year program. So I started at the end of last August, and I will be all done this August, which is so sad, because I'm loving it. Now. It's going to be time to go. But I'm having the greatest experience. I am a teaching assistant on campus. And I get to actually lecture in that class. So that's been really special. And I also take four classes each semester. So it's pretty jam packed, but I'm really grateful for it. [00:00:45]

[00:00:46] Grace Ibrahim: Yeah, everyone that I know that took that one year has said, it goes by so fast, and I wish there was more but time flies truly does. And Lauren, what do you do on campus?[00:00:54]

[00:00:55] Lauren Gersten: So on campus, I work in the Office of Alumni Relations, and I'm a Public Relations student. So it's kind of fun working with all of the SOC staff and faculty and going to school with them. [00:01:05]

[00:01:06] Grace Ibrahim: Awesome. That's really great. So one thing we're going to talk about a lot today is the mentorship program that you both are a part of, I'm actually a mentor this year, this is my first year doing it, which is really exciting. But basically, for anybody listening, the reason why we want to bring more light to this is because it's really great. [00:01:21]

[00:01:22] Grace Ibrahim: So our students get connected to a mentor in the SOC industry, which can be anything from the music business, to art, to video to directing to producing journalism, whatever it may be, we have a long list of SOC mentors who are more than willing to help our students. So I know you, too, are a part of the mentorship program this year, Jessica is actually my mentee. So it'll be a good opportunity for me to find out if I'm doing a good job. So Lauren, who's your mentor? [00:01:50]

[00:01:51] Lauren Gersten: I have Amy Weiss, and she has a PR firm in DC. [00:01:54]

[00:01:55] Grace Ibrahim: Amazing. So that's going to be a lot of what we're hitting on today. Just questions we want our students to know what works, what doesn't, what can we change, if there's anything that we can change, add just a good opportunity to hear from you both. So I want to start with how the year has been going? how has it been adjusting to DC if this is your first time in DC? [00:02:14]

[00:02:15] Jessica Newell: The year has been smoother than I expected. This was a big move for me. I did undergrad only 15 minutes from my house. And this was a 150 mile move. And so of course, I had the usual worries of am I going to make friends, which I knew I would but you know, everybody worries that when they're going to a new place. And I also knew that grad school would be different than undergrad. And so I was just nervous to see in what way it would be different. [00:02:40]

[00:02:41] Jessica Newell: This is a huge city, just in terms of the whole world. I mean, the President lives down the road. And a lot of people have prestigious internships. And it just feels like so much is happening right here. So I was curious to see how and when I would find my place. But I think it happened a lot faster than I expected. [00:02:59]

[00:03:00] Jessica Newell: I really put myself out there early with making friends and with signing up for the mentorship program to gain you as a friend and a mentor. And the faculty who've been so supportive that my classes have been fun and enriching and challenging, which is what I wanted from them. [00:03:19]

[00:03:20] Grace Ibrahim: That's awesome. On the note of grad school versus undergrad, can you give us a few examples on what's different? Maybe what can people expect if they're thinking about grad school? [00:03:30]

[00:03:31] Jessica Newell: Sure. So the biggest thing I've noticed with grad school is there's just an expectation that a lot of your fundamentals are there, that you have good writing mechanics, and you know how to cite your sources and do some basic research, a lot of that gets reviewed quickly. But there is that expectation to move beyond it and get more into creative projects. [00:03:50]

[00:03:51] Jessica Newell: I also noticed here that at least in my courses, there's so much work done in just the first couple of weeks when planning out for the semester, we have a lot of freedom to make up fictional companies that we're going to base the semesters work around or to just come up with like I'm in a class about a podcast and I have to start brainstorming what I want my podcast to be you have to do all that work upfront, to then have creative freedom and really get to the projects throughout the semester. [00:04:18]

[00:04:19] Jessica Newell: Whereas I think undergrad was a little bit more just incremental and a little less freedom to choose what you wanted to do. [00:04:24]

[00:04:25] Grace Ibrahim: What I learned in grad school is the more freedom I had, the more responsibility I have. Because sometimes when you're under that tight schedule of just kind of a little bit of hand holding undergrad it's like okay, I have someone guiding me but grad school, the biggest shock to me was, oh, okay, so this is all on my own, which is interesting. Lauren, how about you, undergrads have a little bit of a different experience. How's it been going? [00:04:17]

[00:04:18] Lauren Gersten: I mean, I've been enjoying it. I'm from Southern California, so kind of far away. I've never seen snow before. It snowed yesterday, like the best time ever. But for academics. I mean, I went to a private school. So I had a lot of structure. And I feel like that prepared me a lot for the academics specifically at AU. [00:05:05]

[00:05:06] Lauren Gersten: So I've had a lot of opportunities to meet with professors that I normally probably wouldn't have taken if I weren't confident in my abilities. I've created really good relationships, especially with SOC professors and mentors and faculty. This is just a great environment to get to know people in a professional setting. [00:05:25]

[00:05:26] Grace Ibrahim: That's amazing. So in reference to both of your majors, do you feel like you're coming in and you want to stay where you're at? Was there anything that made you realize, oh, actually, I'd be interested in doing something else from my major. So strap calm or PR has gotten you interested in anything else just being around here, maybe our experiential learning programs and such. Has anything changed really? [00:05:47]

[00:05:48] Jessica Newell: I think in terms of the field, I'm happy being in Startcom, I was a communication studies undergrad. So this has been a five year process and commitment for me, I wasn't doing a career change, where this was a dramatic shift in what I was studying and pursuing. I think being in DC has got me more excited about museum communications, because we have a lot of the top museums in the world here. [00:06:09]

[00:06:10] Jessica Newell: And I don't think everybody always realizes that there are communications departments inside of museums. It's not just agency work or being somebody's publicist. And so this environment has really fostered enthusiasm for that. [00:06:23]

[00:06:24] Grace Ibrahim: That's awesome. Lauren, what about you? [00:06:24]

[00:06:25] Lauren Gersten: I agree for sure about the fostering of enthusiasm. If you will, my mentor, Amy Weiss, has a PR firm. So we're getting to talk with her about public relations. And everything that she's done and currently doing with her firm is just super invigorating. And I'm really excited to stay with SOC and do PR and maybe add on another comms major, but I don't know. [00:06:45]

[00:06:46] Grace Ibrahim: Yeah, that's great. I love that you guys are saying, getting to know my professors, and SOC staff and faculty. I know you and I had this conversation early on. My biggest piece of advice to Jessica was get to know your professors because they have a lot of cool stuff going on outside of campus that you never really know about. Because you know, they have lives. [00:07:04]

[00:07:05] Grace Ibrahim: We're all human beings that everyone's busy and we don't always get a chance to talk about that. But then all of a sudden, you realize that wow, my professor is doing a lot more outside of what we're doing in the classroom, which is just so beneficial. I love that our SOC staff and faculty is pretty amazing. So take advantage of that if you're a student. And then we just out of curiosity, what made you both apply to American University? [00:07:26]

[00:07:27] Lauren Gersten: I always wanted to be in DC. That was always my goal. I was like California, no, let's go to DC and experience something completely different than what I was used to. So American was always my first pick for being in DC and city life. [00:07:41]

[00:07:42] Grace Ibrahim: So what about you? [00:07:42]

[00:07:43] Jessica Newell: I did some pretty intensive research, honestly, probably starting before I even went to college because I'm just such a type A personality that I was already like their own college and grad school. And I found the articles ranking American really high and I was able to see just how much students were producing. [00:08:00]

[00:08:01] Jessica Newell: And I think that really got me interested because I wanted more tangible products like for a portfolio and I was seeing just we had like this media studio people were making documentaries and a lot of people republished already at such a young age and so I kind of wanted to bring that into my life and be in that environment with people we're doing that. [00:08:20]

[00:08:21] Grace Ibrahim: I know DC is always a huge seller. So my one fun question, I'm gonna throw in any spot around DC that's kind of like becoming your spot or you just love to go to kind of distress or anything like that are really just a cool spot you've found around DC. [00:08:35]

[00:08:36] Jessica Newell: I hate to give it up. But I will tell you my secret spot, which is not so secret. Other people do know about it. But of news out of Washington National Cathedral, which is only about a 15 minute walk from campus. Yeah, there is this secret garden. It is not so secret anymore. [00:08:50]

[00:08:51] Jessica Newell: But if you go around the side, there's a whole stone gate and it's just like a little fairy garden. And there's a beautiful lawn and I did homework there the other day as like golden hour happened against the cathedral. So that was elite and not anything like what I had in my hometown. [00:09:05]

[00:09:06] Grace Ibrahim: Yeah, Lauren, what about you? [00:09:06]

[00:09:07] Lauren Gersten: I will always brag about sitting at the Capitol and doing homework. It's not a secret place. It's very public. But I just really enjoy going down there and going by myself and hanging out and seeing like, I'm working towards doing something here in this town with these people. And I think it's just fun. [00:09:25]

[00:09:26] Grace Ibrahim: Yeah. And you're like immersing or so you're right there. [00:09:28]

[00:09:29] Lauren Gersten: Literally right there. [00:09:30]

[00:09:31] Grace Ibrahim: Yeah, you're like this can be me walking into this building one day. So fancy. That's awesome. And then let's move on to the mentorship programs since that's our big focus for today. [00:09:40]

[00:09:41] Grace Ibrahim: Anything first of all, anything valuable that you've learned through it? It doesn't have to be like a piece of advice your mentor gave you but just overall the whole experience of anything you've learned that you kind of want to share with the audience. First and foremost. [00:09:50]

[00:09:51] Jessica Newell: I think what I've learned is that I need to be organized about my goals and the questions that I have. I think with a mentorship some people think, oh, I'll get a mentor. And then they will just mentor me. That it might also almost be a passive experience. But I know that I try really hard to have questions. [00:10:11]

[00:10:12] Jessica Newell: Every time we're going to meet, I keep a little list. Sometimes I need to remind myself, like to ask you, I have a question. I might think, oh, I'll go to my friends or to my family. And then I oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, I have a mentor, I should go to my mentor with this question. [00:10:26]

[00:10:27] Grace Ibrahim: That's ultimately a good question. [00:10:28]

[00:10:29] Lauren Gersten: I 100% agree with that. Having questions and just having someone to talk to that is doing exactly what I want to do is pretty important to me, because I can't tell the future, I can't tell what I'm going to do. But having someone to help guide me and give me advice on career choices and classes I should take and professors to talk to is super important to me. [00:10:47]

[00:10:48] Grace Ibrahim: How did you guys hear about the mentorship program just for students to be aware of where to look, and just kind of how it came about? [00:10:53]

[00:10:54] Jessica Newell: Well, for me part of the intensive research that I did for grad school man it was just absolutely scouring the program website. And it was on just one of the overview pages as a feature of the program. [00:11:05]

[00:11:06] Jessica Newell: And I read about it and said, hey, they just do this for you. It's networking that I don't even have to like, go out to a whole event and try to convince somebody that I'm cool. You're stuck with me for six months and beyond? Yeah. And so I figured, why not? There's no downside. [00:11:22]

[00:11:23] Lauren Gersten: My boss, Lindsey, recommended the program to me and said, Hey, we have a lot of really cool people. And that was all I needed. I was like, I just want to talk about public relations or communications in general. So thank you, Lindsay. [00:11:33]

[00:11:34] Grace Ibrahim: No, thank you, Lindsay. Um, actually, though, because I know a lot of students don't know about it. So that's why you know, this is a great opportunity for us to just kind of spread awareness about the whole thing. So the mentorship is a really great program to just kind of connect you to that person and be like, the hard part's done. [00:11:49]

[00:11:50] Grace Ibrahim: So from here on out, we can just, you know, create a relationship, ask each other questions, which is awesome, prior to kind of seeing where you're at now. And then when you started the mentorship program, kind of what were your goals with your mentor? Do you have any goals, even if it's big, small, whatever it may be? [00:12:05]

[00:12:06] Jessica Newell: I really wanted a professional contact in the city. Because I think in my life, my parents are both in higher education. So they're great to go to, to talk about school, but they're not in my field. And so I didn't really have anybody in my field and a bunch of my friends are in my field, but they're at my same level. [00:12:23]

[00:12:24] Jessica Newell: So I really wanted this kind of person in this other realm that was both educated and in my field, and is willing to give feedback and kind of be a cheerleader all at once. So the mentorship program really encapsulates that. And I also love mentoring. I have done it a little bit in the past. And I would like to do it again. And so I figured I should be a mentee here first, and then I would be more prepared to pay it forward later. [00:12:50]

[00:12:51] Grace Ibrahim: And you learn a lot from both sides of it, too. You know, I think being a mentee at one point that made me a better mentor. I think being a better mentor sometimes makes you a better mentee, it's just it's vice versa, you know, which is great. And Lauren, what about you? [00:13:03]

[00:13:04] Lauren Gersten: I just needed someone to help guide me a bit, I came to DC knowing absolutely no one. So I just wanted someone to be there and to be comfortable talking about my classes with or about how school is going, my career choices, what I'm interested in the future of doing, especially because I mentored in high school. So like, I'm a professional now. But I just wanted someone to have a conversation with a few times a month just to check in and know that someone was in my corner. [00:13:33]

[00:13:34] Grace Ibrahim: What do you think? I know we've said in our first meeting that we had talked about what it means to be up on not being a good mentee, what do you think makes for a bad mentor? And is there anything you can give on your side that mentors can look out for? [00:13:48]

[00:13:49] Jessica Newell: I think some mentors might struggle to give advice if their mentees are not going directly in their path. Because it's the easiest to speak from our own personal experiences or go well, these are my contacts, but they might not be relevant to you. But I would challenge mentors to see their value beyond their very specific niche in the industry. You and I are not in identical fields and this is not a critique of you. This is just thinking. [00:14:15]

[00:14:16] Grace Ibrahim: Give it to me now it's okay. [00:14:17]

[00:14:18] Jessica Newell: Thinking globally that you are still able to give me advice about if I want to apply to something or if you happen to know other people who could help me that maybe aren't directly in your lane, but our contacts. So just not being so limited to what you've done and trying to reproduce a carbon copy of you. [00:14:37]

[00:14:38] Lauren Gersten: And I 100% agree. I think the idea that maybe a film major is not really welcomed with public relations, but I feel like there's a lot of overlap, especially in skills that are kind of overlooked. So I think especially paying attention to the broader idea of comms and everything that has to go in with that. [00:14:57]

[00:14:58] Grace Ibrahim: That's a great point. Anything you'd like to see that maybe we could do to keep you guys more connected or just add to the experience a little more. [00:15:05]

[00:15:06] Jessica Newell: I would love if there were a mentor social. So we can also meet other people's mentors, because a lot of us talk about each other's mentors and go okay, so I'm really cool too. And I mean, again, with the networking, I think that could be an interesting event. [00:15:22]

[00:15:23] Jessica Newell: I would feel comfortable saying, Hi, this is Grace, this is my mentor, and like, showing you off and introducing you to my friends. And then everybody could gain additional mentors as well. And you know, in addition to the full time partnerships. [00:15:37]

[00:15:38] Grace Ibrahim: It is a great idea, actually, I like that idea. [00:15:40]

[00:15:41] Lauren Gersten: Just a little shout out to my undergrad people, I think this is a very valuable program and I've learned a lot from my mentor. So maybe not something that we can do, but just to become aware of the mentorship program, especially for undergrad because I know some friends of mine from SOC, I kind of sell off my hidden information that I've found because of my mentors. [00:16:00]

[00:16:01] Lauren Gersten: So I feel like a lot of people would benefit from it. So if you're listening to this, you should look into the mentorship program. [00:16:07]

[00:16:08] Grace Ibrahim: Yes. We're always adding new mentors and mentees. It's just it's such a great group of people, even this year to just learning who was like an SOC alumni didn't even realize it. And I'm like, Oh, that's so cool. You work here, you know. [00:16:21]

[00:16:22] Grace Ibrahim: So we had Emily Hall, who's an alumni who works in LA now works for you on Netflix, and she got that job because the person working there was an AU alum. And in LA, you don't really hear a lot of people graduating from American University. [00:16:34]

[00:16:35] Grace Ibrahim: So it was like this East Coast connection, that got her this opportunity and opened that door and started that conversation simply because it was just oh, you're also an AU alum. So we're like everywhere, but you really got to research and find us. Alright, fun question pivot, what's your favorite class you're taking right now. [00:16:49]

[00:16:50] Jessica Newell: I really like the writing for strategic communication class guys. But last fall, because we did get to make a fictional client. And then we had to write all types of products just for that client. So we did a speech and an infographic. And we did key messages that you would give to a spokesperson on TV. [00:17:06]

[00:17:07] Jessica Newell: And so I had to really stretch my brain and like, make up new events or new things to say. But it also doubled almost as like a branding class because I had to have a consistent voice and consistent imagery throughout the products. And I also just really loved Professor Kondo who teaches here. [00:17:23]

[00:17:24] Grace Ibrahim: That's awesome. Who is your client? Who is your fictional client? [00:17:26]

[00:17:27] Jessica Newell: I made a pet fostering organization in DC, so I got to have lots of little animal graphics. You can never go wrong. Yeah, cat and a Puppy. [00:17:35]

[00:17:36] Grace Ibrahim: Pet Foster. That's awesome. Lauren, what about you? [00:17:37]

[00:17:38] Lauren Gersten: I am a second semester freshman. So my comms classes are pretty slim. But I think taking an intro to comms class is super beneficial because I learned a lot of things about different mediums. So filming and podcasting, and radio and all these fun things that I would have never thought about have. It opened the doors for me. And maybe I want to do radio or something. Something fun. So just taking comms 100. Super interesting. [00:18:02]

[00:18:03] Grace Ibrahim: Yeah, you're in like the understanding media phase. Yeah, remember that? Yeah. Let's end a little bit on this note right here. So Jessica, I'll ask you, how are you preparing yourself for post graduation? And kind of what comes next after this year? [00:18:15]

[00:18:16] Grace Ibrahim: Lauren? How are you preparing yourself to kind of find what you like and specialize in that, you know, Junior, your senior year era of like, okay, this is what I think I know, I want to do. [00:18:27]

[00:18:28] Jessica Newell: I have started applying to summer internships. So I'm in that deep resume phase and practicing interview questions on what are my strengths, and what are my weaknesses, because that's going to be the whole next two months for me. But so I'm hoping that if I get a great summer internship, I have some favorite ones that could lead to a job. [00:18:50]

[00:18:51] Jessica Newell: But of course, hiring cycles and just availability and whatever kind of is going to be up in the air. So if it doesn't go right into a job, at least it'll be another professional experience on my resume to kind of just lift me up to the next level, and then I'll be applying to jobs in the summer. [00:19:07]

[00:19:08] Grace Ibrahim: Job hunting is a lot. It's a lot I sympathize with that process. Lauren, what about you? [00:19:12]

[00:19:13] Lauren Gersten: Just for the future. I'm gonna keep talking with my mentor and learning more about PR and just the things that I should be expecting in the future. Looking forward to taking more comms classes, though. [00:19:26]

[00:19:27] Grace Ibrahim: And is there like a, I guess it's more an internship question. But is there a specific resource you're using or any websites you'd like to throw out there to help you find internships? [00:19:36]

[00:19:37] Jessica Newell: I've gotten some notifications on LinkedIn, which has exposed me to companies. I really want to work in house instead of at an agency. So the particular company matters a lot to me. It's not like I'll just be at a firm serving eight to 10 Different companies. I've also talked to you. One of the internships I'm applying for is one that you told me about. [00:19:57]

[00:19:58] Jessica Newell: And then I think about which businesses in DC because I want to stay in DC that I want to work for. And if you go to their website and click on the careers tab on most websites, then you can just scan through what's available and I'm looking at what I am a good fit for. [00:20:15]

[00:20:16] Grace Ibrahim: That's great. Yeah. And some of these websites do actually have like a little Notify Me button. So if you are looking for a certain department where you know a certain position opens up, you can always get notified. And keep Yeah, keep in contact, which is great. Last thing to end on one word to describe the mentorship program. [00:20:32]

[00:20:33] Jessica Newell: I would say intentional and then in more than one word, I'll explain that I think you need to be intentional about what you want from your mentor and then also on building that relationship with what you can give them in return. So that it really is a two sided relationship, right that you're not just passively hoping that mentorship will happen. You are taking charge and being intentional about everything. [00:20:56]

[00:20:57] Lauren Gersten: Exciting. It is maybe a basic word, but I feel like talking to someone has really given me an excitement for my major and things to come. So exciting. [00:21:05]

[00:21:06] Grace Ibrahim: That's great. I noticed that you both mentioned just like talking to somebody and sometimes that's really all we need in a mentorship relationship. That can also be a benefit of the mentorship program, if you just want someone to kind of guide you. [00:21:21]

[00:21:22] Grace Ibrahim: That's helpful, too. Thank you, Lauren, and Jessica, for joining me on the podcast. today. You are our first video podcast, our first student led podcast which is so exciting. Thank you both so much. It was a pleasure to have this conversation with you. [00:21:33]

[00:21:34] Jessica Newell: Thank you grace [00:21:34]

[00:21:35] Grace Ibrahim: Of course. And if you want to check out our biweekly episodes dropping out on Wednesdays on Anchor, Spotify, Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. Click that subscribe button and if you'd like to support this podcast and the School of Communication, go to giving.american.edu to donate now. And that's a wrap. [00:21:54]

A Look Into Student Life

On episode 10, hear from students! This week your host, Grace Ibrahim, was joined by two current SOC students. Lauren Gersten is a first-year public relations student and Jessica Newell is a graduate student working on her Masters of Strategic Communication. Listen to the newest episode of Media in the Mix to hear Lauren and Jessica talk all things SOC, classes, professional goals, mentorship and falling in love with Washington DC!

LISTEN HERE: