Practicum – 1853 Communications

Why You Should Join 1853Communications

Launched in 2020, 1853 Communications was created by 10 students at Arcadia
University. We are a student-run public relations agency at Arcadia University, currently applying
to be nationally certified. We were built on the inspiration of taking a community-driven, modern
approach to help brands reach their full potential. Our goal is to make connections between
clients and audiences, and to grow our experiences alongside the community. Our agency is
open to students of all majors! Here is why you should take advantage of this opportunity and
join our agency.

Hands On Experience with Clients
Unlike other classroom settings where you are learning how to work with future clients, we
actually have a clientele! Clients come to us in need of our services. You will be able to learn
skills that you can further apply in internships and professional work. You will be able to grow
alongside classmates who facilitate fresh perspectives, within a real firm setting. This is the
closest you will get to being a professional while still being a student!

Strengthen your Resume and Portfolio
One of the hardest tasks when leaving college is creating a resume and portfolio that is
interview ready. Though you have completed hundreds upon hundreds of classwork
assignments, it is not always what employers may be expecting. Our agency takes on multiple
projects each semester, teaming up with well-known non-profit organizations and companies in
the area. Each and every student works on the tasks at hand for these organizations, giving you
an opportunity to happily show off your work. For example, here is what my resume looks like
since I joined the agency in 2020.

Building Your Network
As many of us are learning, networking is a huge part of your college experience! Not only will
you be able to make connections with other members of the agency, but you’ll be exposed to
guest speakers, as well as clients! The agency has 1-3 guest speakers per semester, who share
their insights in the communications world and their contact information. The agency provides
you with connections that can lead to future careers!
Tip: Remember, you are sitting beside connections in your classroom everyday! The student
next to you may be the future CEO of a company, or a journalist… Take advantage of this and
network, network, network!

Role exploration
1853 Communications allows all of their members to choose what they would like to work on
when it comes to projects. Whether that is event management, social media management,
content creation, press releases, you have the opportunity to learn! You will never be tied down to one role. This way, you have the opportunity to explore your options, gain experience, and
really see what you enjoy doing with your talents.

Our agency is always looking for new individuals eager to learn. Sign up for Fall of 2022 while
seats are still open!

What it’s Like as PR Student Working for a Student Run Agency

When I first heard that we were going to be working with real clients, I was
definitely a little intimidated since I am certainly not a PR professional. However, as
soon as I was told who our client was and what exactly we would be doing for them, it
was pure excitement! Working for a student run agency is like working for a professional
PR agency, but with training wheels. It’s overwhelming at first glimpse but you always
have your peers and professor there to help guide you and learn alongside you, which
is always reassuring to know.

Experience
Although the semester goes quickly, there is so much that gets squeezed in that short
amount of time that allows students to leave with an abundance of new knowledge and
really impressive experience. Being a part of a student run agency is a huge resume
booster and really gives students the upper hand. At the end of the semester, all of the
analytics and work done get compiled for students to put straight into their resume. Just
after one semester with 1853 Communications, my resume was already so much
stronger and it helped me when securing an internship.

Guidance for the Future
With experience, comes guidance. Working for a student run agency has really assisted
in guiding me to know where exactly I want to go after graduating. Since the agency
covers such a wide variety of public relations content, I have gotten to test the waters of
the many areas within PR. These areas include event planning, social media,
marketing, crisis communications and more. Personally, I have fallen in love with event
planning thanks to 1853 Communications and the two events I have helped plan and
execute through it.

It’s Fun!
The best part about working for a student run agency is that it is FUN! Every week I get
genuinely excited about going to class and checking off items on our team’s agenda.
Working for our student run PR agency has been a rewarding experience for two
semesters in a row and I would recommend anyone in the Communications department
to join the team as well! Seeing the gratitude from your client is truly a wonderful feeling.

PR + Campaign = SUCCESS! (The PR Professional Formula)

A PR campaign is the most valuable tool a business can use to increase brand awareness or profits for years to come, even after the campaign is over. If effectively done a PR campaign will leave an impression on the target audience that will influence their attitudes and behaviors about a particular product, service, or person. However, if the campaign misses the mark or is a total flop it can harm a company or brand. It is harder to change negative opinions about a company once the damage is done, so this powerful marketing and branding tool should only be used by professionals.

Although I am not a successful PR professional yet, with emphasis on YET, I am on my way to pursuing a promising career in Public Relations. Last semester I took an Introduction course to PR, where I had to develop and pitch a mock PR campaign idea to a potential client. The PowerPoint presentation was presented to the students in the class, who served as the company. I had to follow a strict outline using the RACE process (Research, Action, Communication, and Evaluation) while staying within the allotted time frame. This detail was especially important, it made me aware of how planning and practicing are key when pitching ideas. This project required me to use written and oral communication along with public speaking skills such as voice control, volume, and pace. Overall, this exercise and the material we covered in the course helped to shape my career aspirations of wanting to be a PR professional.

This semester I am excited to be a part of 1853 Communications, a student PR firm at Arcadia University. I am getting firsthand experience and working with a diverse team, which I really appreciate because of the different ideas and viewpoints. At the beginning of this semester, we have dived right in by designing logos, budget planning and met with a client to discuss a PR campaign. Now we are in the process of developing and planning an awareness campaign for a non-profit organization, “For Pete’s Sake” (FPS). FPS is a cancer respite foundation that provides adult cancer patients (24-55 years old) and their families “a break from cancer” at one of their respite locations. This plan is still in the developing stages, but we have been covering a lot of ground in a collaborative group, smaller teams as well as being assigned an independent task to complete. This practicum is the perfect follow-up to the course I took last semester (Intro to Public Relations) because it picked up right where I left off. I am getting the opportunity to use the knowledge and skills I learned about the PR field while being able to improve on my skill set. I recommend taking a practicum in a related field of study along with an internship. The experience is different with a practicum course and an internship. Both courses are beneficial and will help build your resume along with providing a great start on your career path, combined they will give you an advantage in the work field.

I am looking forward to executing our PR campaign and it is a success, and YES, I am claiming it as a success already, failure is not an option. This along with the other projects we do will add to our portfolios but pulling off a successful PR campaign that will bring awareness to a great cause is a huge self-accomplishment for all of us at 1853 Communications. No matter where we end up in life, we will always remember this PR campaign as paving the way to becoming successful Public Relations professionals.