During my time at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as a student in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and the Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program, I had the opportunity to enroll in courses designed to provide real-world, hands-on experience. Through these cooperative education experiences, I explored what it was like to work as an environmental communications consultant, contribute as a member of a public relations agency, support in-house communications teams, and develop the skills necessary to become a strategic communicator.
I invite you to explore the organizations and clients I partnered with during my time as a student at UNC–Chapel Hill. These experiences allowed me to work with local nonprofit organizations, science research and education centers, school-based programs, and professional sports teams, strengthening my ability to communicate effectively across diverse audiences and industries.
Nashville Predators
During my Public Relations Campaigns course, I gained hands-on experience working, competing, and pitching a full-scale campaign as a member of a simulated public relations agency. In this course, I was placed in a team that functioned as a professional agency throughout the semester, with defined roles and responsibilities and the expectation to compete against other “agencies” in the class.
I served as the group leader, balancing my own project responsibilities while managing team coordination, scheduling client meetings, and ensuring our final deliverables met the highest professional standards. This experience strengthened my leadership, project management, and strategic communication skills in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
Our client for the semester was the Nashville Predators and the Nashville Predators Foundation. The class was tasked with conducting research and developing a campaign strategy designed to attract new audiences to the arena in response to an aging fan base. At the conclusion of the semester, sales and Foundation leadership from the Nashville Predators selected my team’s campaign as the winning proposal, recognizing the strength of our research, creativity, and strategic approach.
“Their research, their presentation – top notch. Their report was so in depth with budget breakdown, proposed timelines and more. I can see why it was such a huge file!! I feel like we could step right into their presentation and roll out their ideas and programs. The influencers they found are not ones I know of or seen but potential goldmine for partnerships. Being in CR, I love the inclusion of a collaborate volunteer event. My daughter just volunteered with Rise Against Hunger at her Middle School and one that we have not worked with in the past. Great potential there.“
Rebecca King
Vice President of the Nashville Predators Foundation
Arts Together
During my time at UNC, I enrolled in MEJO 732, the Public Relations and Strategic Writing course, where my class worked for the client Arts Together, a non-profit in Raleigh, NC, that provides arts education to individuals of all ages through a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative environment. The client was struggling with improving class registrations, reaching all the communities it was hoping to, and lacked some of the necessary communication assets that would improve overall awareness and support of the arts education center.
I served as the primary point of contact between the client, my professor, and my classmates, helping ensure clear communication and alignment throughout the project. Working alongside my peers, we developed strategic communication tools and campaign deliverables that addressed the organization’s needs during a period of internal leadership transition. We concluded the semester with a final presentation and campaign pitch that demonstrated the impact of our work, and brought the clients to happy tears.
The class was able to effectively deliver the following items:
- Messaging and communication strategies for the Arts Together brand to all stakeholders.
- Provided resources to support revenue-generating initiatives.
- Implement a strong focus on equity and diversity across all deliverables.
- Provided strategies to connect with historically marginalized communities and promote new Arts Together opportunities.
- An Arts Together informational video that can be cut down to various lengths for various platforms.
- Case statement and one-pager for significant donors or corporate partners.
- Corporate sponsor packet and a strong prospect list and contacts.
- Media contact list, including areas of interest for certain reporters and how Arts Together could connect to those reporters.
- Website audit and suggested changes for customer experience, brand strength, and looking forward to the future growth of the organization.
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
In ENEC 698, my environmental science capstone course, my group and I partnered with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, a research center within the Yale School of the Environment. I served as the primary point of contact between my group members, professor, and Sarah Peach, Senior Editor of Yale Climate Connections, ensuring consistent communication and project alignment. I coordinated monthly client meetings, provided weekly progress updates to the client, and facilitated regular reviews with my peers and professor to keep the project on track.
As the team’s only student with a background in strategic communications and journalism, I contributed strong organizational and creative skills to help guide our work. Together, we researched target audience segments, developed content marketing assets and lesson plans, and created cohesive branding strategies to support the organization’s environmental communication efforts. We also conducted a comprehensive audit of the organization’s existing communication landscape and developed both short- and long-term marketing plans to strengthen outreach and engagement.
Kids Voting Durham
In one of my earliest courses within the journalism school, I had the opportunity to support a local nonprofit organization in Durham, North Carolina. I was placed in a team with fellow undergraduate students and tasked with evaluating the organization’s existing communications, identifying areas for improvement, and developing practical tools to strengthen its outreach and operations.
Working collaboratively, we conducted a comprehensive communications audit and developed a client portfolio that included a SWOT analysis, public relations plan, news releases, and public service announcements. We also created a structured social media calendar with tailored content for each platform. At the conclusion of the semester, the organization implemented many of the assets we developed, which proved to be valuable resources for the founder of Kids Voting Durham as she managed the day-to-day operations of a growing nonprofit with limited staff and volunteer support.
