prism fall 2014

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Fall 2014 Volume 23, Issue 1

Dispersing Public Relations into a Spectrum of Ideas

Fashion Institute of TechnologyFITPRSSA.weebly.com

Amy RobAch At NAtioNAl coNfeReNceBy Sarita Nauth

iN this issue:

Amy Robach at National Conference ...... 1Speed Dating Preparations 2015................ 2National Conference Benefits..................... 3LinkedIn Fundraiser.................................... 3Travel & Tourism PR Internship............... 4Nickelodeon’s HALO Awards................... 4Fall Fest......................................................... 5 The Paley Center for Media....................... 5 Seven Communications.............................. 6 Choose Organic ........................................... 6Vist Wales Visits FIT..................................... 7

During PRSSA’s National Conference, PRSA also hosts their International Conference (#PRSAICON) nearby. National Conference attendees have the op-portunity to attend PRSA General Sessions. These ses-sions are some of the most influential and inspiring professional encouragement to young professionals. This year one of my favorite speak-ers was Good Morning America’s, Amy Robach.

Robach, a breast cancer survivor and highly recognized journalist, spoke about the importance of female empowerment and ethics. She has anchored some of the most talked about events such as the 2014 Winter Olympics in So-chi, Russia, and reported from London for the birth of Prince George. Some of the breaking news stories in the United States that Robach has covered include:

Superstorm Sandy, reporting live from the Rockaways on the one-year anniversary and the Sandy Hook El-ementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Although Amy is not a publicist, she does what most public relations professionals do on a daily basis—

storytelling.

“Getting more women in leadership roles is about creating a culture of strength,” Robach says. Her movement of #GirlPower was sparked over a year

ago when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Amy did not give in to this fight. She has advocated for ev-erything from women’s rights to supporting move-ments like the #ImEnough campaign by The Mrs. Band.

(Continued on page 2)

“Women shouldn’t need to apologize to

ask for things.”amy robach

Amy Robach speaking at National Conference in Washington DC


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(Amy Robach at National Conference continued...)

I loved hearing Amy’s passion and commitment in her speaking; to not just being a news anchor but how Amy as a mom, wife, busi-nesswoman, and a survivor can and will achieve it all. Her inspi-ration was a great addition to the number of professionals that spoke at National Conference this year.I had the opportunity to ask Amy a question: “Why are there so few women leaders?” She gave me the best advice ever - “Wom-en shouldn’t need to apologize to ask for things.” Amy also added, “You’ll never regret your silences.”

This session was one of my many highlights of being at National Conference. I truly admired her as an influencer, mover and shaker, and the storyteller of our industry. Storytellers of PR shape and im-pact how we tell our stories, build relationships with the media, and represent ourselves. Amy’s words were a great way to end the week-end and leave everyone feeling in-spired.

eAt. sleep. plAN. RepeAt.

By Jennifer Persamanos

From decorations to finding a host to traveling to colleges all around the city to find single men; plan-ning for Speed Dating is under way.

FIT PRSSA’s 6th Annual Speed Dating event is just around the corner and our chapter is working diligently to make this event even more successful than previous years. As members of PRSSA, we have the chance to put together one of the largest events held at FIT by ourselves. For aspiring Public Rela-tions professionals, this is as good as it gets!

There are many components to putting together a successful event, and for Speed Dating we have cre-ated different committees for each important part. Some of these in-clude Entertainment which in-volves looking for a host and DJ, Sponsorship which reaches out to local stores to have items donated, and PR which deals with reaching

out to the media and using Social Media to promote the event. The committees each have a lead, an Executive board member that over-sees the committee and helps move them in the right direction and a committee head, a PRSSA member that demonstrated strong leader-ship skills to properly execute the duties of the committee.

Planning an event is not a 9-5 job, but a 24/7 position that requires lots of creativity, organization, and tons of coffee! PRSSA is excited to announce that our 6th Annual Speed Dating Event will be held on Thursday, February 26th, 2015 so stay tuned and make sure to check out the grand event!

Some of our PRSSA Members with Professor Elins

FIT PRSSA’s Call Chant for Attendees

Our 6th Annual Speed Dating Flyer

Our Speed Dating Commitees discussing ideas and plans

Our Chapter at National Conference

A presentation at National Conference in DC

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NAtioNAl coNfeReNce beNefits

By Sarita Nauth

PRSSA National Conference gives people the opportunity to meet, learn, and connect with over 1,000 PRSSA members and professionals in the industry. The conference is designed to give students the op-portunity to learn about public rela-tions professionals and to network and make contacts for the future. This is also when chapter awards, scholarships (both individual and chapter based), and recognition are presented.

This year FIT PRSSA took Wash-ington, D.C by storm and had an amazing time building relation-ships with other chapters, learning how to improve our own chapter, and connecting with professionals. The benefits of going to conference are obvious but it’s the experience and growth that makes it worth-while. As a graduating senior, Na-tional Conference has exposed me to lifestyles, experiences, and rela-tionships with people I would have never met without PRSSA. These conferences are worth the cost to help fuel your career and advance your skills as a young professional.

If you aren’t able to attend National Conference, check out the regional conferences in our area. Regional Conference is a localized version of National Conference at different chapter universities.

Be sure to register for Regional Conference this February in Boston, Massachusetts!

liNkediN heAdshot fuNdRAiseR By Audrey Anjos

The Fashion Institute of Technolo-gy’s (FIT) Public Relations Student Society of America Chapter hosted its first ever LinkedIn Headshot Fundraiser on November 6th at the FIT campus in New York City.

For just $5, the entire FIT communi-ty and neighboring colleges had the opportunity to stop by and receive a professional headshot in order to lay the foundation for success-fully representing their individual brands on LinkedIn. Members from the Baruch PRSSA Chapter came to support us as well, allowing for lots of networking and discussions of future collaborations. Our talented photographers and active PRSSA members, Tiffany Chao and Dom-inique Appel, volunteered to snap all of the pictures and after the head-shot fun, participants were treated to complimentary baked goods do-

nated by our members.

Leading up to the event, our Chap-ter decided to break into two sep-arate committees, Production and PR, to organize the flow of the event and distribute tasks among our members more efficiently. Two members of the PR Committee, Alic-ja Fratczak and JoAnna Armstrong, stepped forward and had the idea to reach out to LinkedIn itself in hopes of them possibly donating branded items for our fundraiser. They drafted up an excellent pitch letter, found the right contact and received a positive response with-in minutes! The PR committee also created flyers and decided to use the hashtag #RealProsLinkIn, for social media leading up to, during, and after the event. “This was our Chapter’s first headshot fundraiser. By working together and executing a seamless production, I am sure that this will not be our last head-shot fundraiser,” said John Thom, the President of the our Chapter.

We brought in over $200 from this event and through all of the positive feedback we received, discussion is already in the works in hopes of producing an even more successful one in the 2015 spring semester. The money raised will go towards help-ing our members pay registration fees for the 2015 Boston University Regional Conference.

Our 6th Annual Speed Dating Flyer


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tRAvel & touRism pR iNteRNshipBy Carly Rebecchi

One enters the world of PR with endless paths they can turn down. You could go into the fashion, consumer goods, food and beverage, entertainment industries and countless other sectors. The path I de-cided to take this semester was with 11*6 PR, a Travel and Tourism PR firm. 11*6’s clients range from Hyatt Hotels to boutique resorts and even a tourism board in Queensland, Australia.

To say that the PR in-dustry is a small world is an understatement. Weeks before beginning my internship in August, I was informed that our previous Chapter Presi-dent, Sarah Hutchison, was someone I would be working along side for the duration of my time at 11*6 PR. Af-ter graduating in the Spring of 2014, Sarah was lucky enough to land a job at 11*6 PR as an Account Coordi-nator. I was relieved to know that on my first day I’d be walking into the office to a familiar face.

Throughout my time at 11*6 I was able to be

fully submerged in the everyday tasks of a PR profes-sional. I’ve become well acquainted with Cision and all of its abilities. From media list creation to finding editorial calendars for specific outlets, Cision has be-come one of my best friends. I wrote pitches that got picked up by notable news outlets and was constant-ly creating news angles that would suit specific que-ries. Clipping our client’s media coverage and new business research were other duties of mine. I had the opportunity to work on new business proposals as well as having the opportunity to help with weekly and monthly reports for their existing clients. Attend-

ing client events was always a rewarding time because these events have a sense of satisfac-tion that come along with them. To see all the work that you’ve put into one project come to life first hand is such an awesome feeling.

Being a part of 11*6 has taught me an endless amount of things. How to work under pressure, meet deadlines and maintain professionalism were just a few. I am thankful to have the opportunity to continue my time at 11*6 in the Spring semester.

NickelodeoN’s hAlo AwARds

By Tiffany Chao

Events, PR and Non-Prof-it are some of my favorite things so I was ecstatic when I had the opportunity to attend this year’s Nickelodeon Halo awards in No-vember.

The Nickelodeon Halo Awards are about recognizing teenagers who help and lead oth-ers. It was quite rewarding see-ing young people do such great things from providing eye care to those less fortunate to throwing “philanthro-parties”.

Attending this event also got my non-profit organization, the You Are Movement, some

publicity. We interviewed Nick-elodeon stars such as Victorious’ Leon Thomas and The Thunder-mans’ Jack Griffo and spoke to television personalities such as Nick Cannon and the band The Vamps. They spoke about how they stay positive in such a fast-paced environment and held up a “You Are...” Sign with a posi-tive quality written.

The orange carpet was an unforgettable event featuring some of the most influential peo-ple in the non-profit and enter-tainment /music public relations industry. Networking and being immersed in a professional set-ting in something I want to pur-sue felt like a step closer towards my career.

Check out our video on youaremovement.com! Nick Cannon on the Orange Carpet at the HALO Awards

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fAll festBy Dominique Appel

On October 23, 2014, the PRSSA chapter at FIT decid-ed to take a spin on the usual bake sales that are lo-cated in the Dubinsky lobby of FIT by turning it into an interactive table. The theme was Fall Fest. Instead

of walking past ordinary plastic containers filled with chocolate chip cookies and aluminum tins of brown-ies, students were surprised and delighted to find a table filled with unique Fall-themed treats along with a pile of cute little pumpkins that they could pay to paint for themselves. After a few students mentioned that they didn’t have enough time to paint their own, PRSSA members stepped in and used their creativity to paint awesome themed pumpkins to be purchased instead. Not only was this bake sale one of the most profitable ones FIT’s PRSSA has had, it was one of the most creative and interactive ones as well. After members posted pictures of the table during the event using the hashtag #PRSSA, Lara Parker, a writer from one of the most popular websites- BuzzFeed, was able to include the image in her article “25 Surefire Signs You Work in PR”. This was exciting because it created buzz for FIT’s PRSSA chapter and allowed the mem-bers to realize the benefits of an organization firsthand by using hashtags and being highly involved on social media platforms.

the pAley ceNteR foR mediA

By Rebecca Morosoff

One of the greatest reasons why students love FIT and NYC in general is the amount of amazing opportunities that no other city has. I have been extremely lucky to say I’ve done the things I’ve done as a sophomore in college. The thing that tops this list for me is having the pleasure to work at The Paley Center for Media. Although I applied to the Center on a whim on the FIT online job bank, I now can’t imagine working anywhere else. For some background information, The Paley Center was founded as The Museum of Broadcasting in 1975 by William S. Paley, the chief executive and broadcasting pioneer who transformed CBS from a small radio network to the television empire it is today. The museum changed its name to The Paley Center in

2007 in honor of its founder. The two Paley Center branches in New York and Los Angeles hold rare radio and television shows from as far back as the 1920s and 1940s respectively. The Paley Center also hosts amazing events during the

year centered around television, new media, and today’s biggest newsmakers.

As a visitor services representative, I have been able to take part in so many amazing events including PaleyFest, where selected television casts come to discuss their show with fans, and the New York Comedy Festival. Since this September when I started working at the Paley Center, I’ve been able to see such stars as Tom Selleck, Aisha Taylor, Amy Poehler, Seth Rogan, Lawrence Fishbourne, Kelly Ripa, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Ben McKenzie, Hugh Dancy, and Yoko Ono.

In addition to the amazing people I’ve been able to see, I’ve learned so much about the field I want to go into. Working at the Paley Center has given me first


Seth Rogan speaking at the Paley Center

FIT’s PRSSA at Fall Fest - The Famous Buzzfeed Photo


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seveN commuNicAtioNsBy Paige Vaczi

Seven Communications is FIT PRSSA’s very own student-run Public Relations firm. At Seven Communica-tions we apply skills learned in PRSSA and apply them to our work with re-al-life clients that are based in the New York area. We help our clients in many different areas ranging from social me-dia campaigns, research, outreach to press kits, press releases, and pitches. This year, Seven Communications has more clients than ever before. One of our clients this semester is Baking Buds, a small business in Up-state New York specializing in every-thing from specialty cakes to the classic wedding cake. The owner, Kimberly

Kokkinos came to us needing help with creating a presence on social media. We quickly got to work and created a page that now has nearly 200 likes!

Starting from scratch, we needed to create a consistent voice that reflect-ed that of the business. Since Kimberly is a young professional and has a very fun approach to baking, we decided to create fresh and fun content on her Face-book page. Our favorites are the weekly “Treat Yo’Self Tuesday” and “Fondant Friday” posts.

We look forward to reaching out to blogs and other baking sites in the spring!

You can check out our work (or order a cake) on Baking Buds Facebook: www.

facebook.com/bakingbudsny

(The Paley Center for Media continued...)

hand experience in what actually goes into creating these big elaborate events that everyone knows about. It’s truly amazing to see what actually goes on behind the scenes of these things (aka absolute craziness!) With their amazing events, hardworking employees, and passion for all things media, working at the Paley Center has strengthened my ambition to work in entertainment PR or events more than before.

Amy Poehler at the Paley Center

choose oRgANic By Nicole Armeno

With so many social media platforms available and frequently used, peo-ple have become numb to standard advertising. If you want attention for your brand, business, or yourself as a professional the best method is a genuine approach. Being genuine and organic in outreach methods is beneficial for future clients and the brands overall image. No one wants to be viewed as the “spammy brand”. After spending hours, days,

weeks on social media I’ve learned a few things about outreach and client responses.

On Twitter: Search relevant hashtags and participate in conversations. However, don’t suggest your prod-uct or brand. An aggressive push tactic turns people off. Instead just keep up good conversation, and peo-ple, in turn, will be interested. You can also tune in to Twitter chats to learn new things and make valuable connections. Beware of becoming a twitter chat zombie though! You

may be familiar with them - they al-ways have tons of retweets with Q2 or A3 in front of it and are constantly raving about the last or next twitter chat. The lesson here? Participate, sparingly.

On Instagram: Post interesting pictures that leave people want-ing more. Include links to your site and fun hashtags. Ask questions on your pictures to promote activity. The more comments and likes your


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visit wAles visits fitBy Tiffany Chao

Visit Wales’ Director of Marketing, Lauren Summers and Marketing Executive and FIT’s PRSSA alumni, Jennifer Mennella came to FIT to discuss some of the Top Tips for résumé, cover letters, and acing an inter-view.

Résumés• Do internships! It will make you marketable.• Be unique and creative. Use cool fonts and make

your name look catchy.• Make it idiot-proof! It may make sense to you, but

it may not be clear to someone else.• Format it in a clear & straight forward way.• If you have a good GPA, put it on.

Remember: It is a marketing document. It is an advertise-ment; how will you stand out? Use strong headers and be specific.

Cover Letters• Be very specific. The company and job must be

weaved throughout the cover letter.• Think about what you want to say.• Make sure that there are no typo’s! Make sure you

re-read it and make the necessary corrections.• Why do you want this job? Make your cover letter shine.• Show your research on the organization. “Make a connection between what you know you want to do, and

what is required.”• Show your personality.• Outline the job description using key words and key concepts. If they used “organized” three times, you

may want to include organizational skills in your cover letter.

Interviews• Don’t be cocky! Be confident in your experience but don’t go in like you own the place.• Prepare- do mock-interviews and rehearse.• Over dress! Treat career fairs as an interview as well.• Give substance in your answers.• Ask questions! Prepare questions in a notebook. You can ask personal questions to make it conversational. It

will show a true interest in the job.• Show research in an interview; look the company up on LinkedIn.• Remember that you’re selling yourself. This is a competition. Prove you’re the best person for the job.

Remember: Being nervous is absolutely normal. When you’re nervous, it shows that you have humility, a desire to please, and that you genuinely care. Don’t feel like you have to answer right away. Collect your thoughts before talking. Don’t forget to send a thank you letter after the interview!

Thank you Lauren and Jennifer for providing us with such great tips.We are sure to be pros in no time!

L: Jennifer Mennella, R:Lauren Summers


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WHY WRITE FOR PRISM? - Gain valuable writing experience - Become a published writer - Build your portfolio and improve your resume - Receive 2 points per article

Fall 2014 Executive Board

PresidentJohn Thom

Vice PresidentCarly Rebecchi

VP of Chapter DevelopmentNicole Armeno

VP of Professional DevelopmentRachel Levy

VP of Public Relations Audrey Anjos

Secretary / Historian

Sarita Nauth

TreasurerJennifer Persamanos

Firm DirectorsPaige Vaczi

Kayla Conover

Editor of PRism & WebsiteTiffany Chao

Faculty Advisor Professor Roberta Elins

fit @ prssa

@FIT_PRSSA

@FIT_PRSSA

FITPRSSA.weebly.com

Editor-In-ChiefTiffany Chao

Contributing WritersAudrey Anjos

Dominque AppelNicole Armeno

Tiffany ChaoRebecca Morosoff

Sarita NauthJennifer Persamanos

Carly RebecchiPaige Vaczi

A mAtch mAde oN seveNth

February 26, 2015

fAll 2014’s membeR spotlights

(Choose Organic continued...)

pictures accumulate, the more you will show up on the “following” newsfeed. Like and comment on photos with hashtags similar to ones you’ve recently used.

On Facebook: Promote interaction with questions or conversation prompting posts. This platform allots for more wiggle room. Post with more detail, start discussions or feature different products.

For all social media outlets keep a cohesive image. Decide the tone and keep it the same across the board. People are easily confused. It’s best to keep a steady image in the clients’ or consumers’ minds. From this PR girl to you, be genuine, be interesting & don’t force connections. Create a community space fos-tered by your brand or businesses. Make people feel a part of something bigger and you will succeed.

let’s get sociAl!

prism fall 2014

Documents

national conference

prssas national conference

national conference

international conference

comamy robach

robachamy robach

women shouldnt

year anniversary