By Madison Croxson
In the modern job market, it’s all about who you know and what you’ve done. That is one of the reasons why RLF strives to hire new interns every 3 to 4 months and give them access to the hands-on experience and industry contacts they need to help them succeed after college. The other half of the equation is the unmatched energy and fresh eyes that our interns always bring to the team.
Each of our interns has the opportunity to work in different disciplines on a variety of client accounts. Learn more about them and their experience thus far at RLF in our 2017 Intern Spotlight Summer Series.
Our first featured intern of the summer is Jessie Grady.
“I am from the Cleveland, Ohio…where we “Believe in The Land and Defend The Land.” I graduated from the illustrious North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. I love a good book and watching Serena Williams slay the court. And if you were wondering, yes, I still root for The Cleveland Browns.”
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Category: RLF News
Spring Intern Spotlight: Wesley Gray Smith
The best way to learn many skills is not through a classroom or a lecture, but through hands-on experience. That’s why we feel it is so important that our interns get to the opportunity to try as many facets of life in a PR firm as possible, whether its helping to research costs for a new campaign idea, drafting news releases or participating in our social activities.
This spring, we have two interns working with us. This week, we introduce you to Wesley Gray Smith.
“I am a senior public relations and history major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I’m originally from Shelby, North Carolina. It’s a small town famous for bluegrass and delicious BBQ.”
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6 Tips to Successfully Work Remotely
By Heather Ebert
After moving from our office of nine years in August, the RLF team spent the past few months working from a collaborative work space, coffee shops and our homes as we awaited our new workspace built and designed to foster collaboration and position the company in the millennial work environment. During this time, we had to make sure we maintained a high level of performance and delivered quality work for our clients, while also pursing new business. At times our working arrangement presented challenges, but we put our heads together and navigated the testy waters. From this experience, I have identified six tips to help manage and combat the distractions and occasional instability that may arise from working remotely.
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Insights from the 2015 PRSSA National Conference
By Heather Ebert and Raeven Henry
Thanks to the support of RLF and others, we had the opportunity to attend the PRSSA National Conference in Atlanta this November. We joined other members of our chapter, Carolina PRSSA, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This was the first time that our chapter was represented at the national conference, and we hope to send more members in the years to come.
At the conference we engaged with PR professionals on a myriad of topics – from media training to experiential marketing. But what seemed to really hit home for us were the discussions about personal and professional development. As we sat in on several educational and professional sessions, we noticed two consistent themes: be open to opportunities and network with a purpose.
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Lessons from the 9th Grade
By Monty Hagler
Like most parents, I think my children are smart. And funny, attractive and polite in a Lake Wobegon sort of way. They’ve certainly always done well in elementary and middle school. Now Julia is a freshman in high school. Reality is setting in.
Don’t get me wrong. Julia’s still smart and making above average grades. She’s just competing at a different level, and she’s finding out that what worked for her before isn’t going to get the job done now. This was made abundantly clear in our parent\teacher conferences at the end of the first quarter. In all of her classes – particularly the honors courses in English, biology and math – her work might best be described as “adequate.”
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Raising Bertie
By Monty Hagler
For the second year, RLF Communications had the honor to work with the Cucalorus Film Festival as a sponsor and public relations partner. The 21st annual festival was a huge hit, and our team had the opportunity to attend numerous screenings, interact with filmmakers and engage in countless conversations with creative thinkers.
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Setting the Bar Higher
By Monty Hagler
I’ve spent eight of the last 16 days working with more than 80 agency leaders in the Worldcom partnership at meetings in Italy and Georgia. Despite jet lag and road weariness from planes, trains and automobiles (not to mention pounds of pasta, copious presentations, early morning meetings kick started with expresso and late night socializing fueled by red wine and brown liquor), I am energized. Engaging with peers who are at the top of their game and willing to share their knowledge has a way of doing that.
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Spring Intern Spotlight: Erica Martin
While most of RLF’s interns join our team for one semester, some are extended an offer to stay with us for another term as a part-time communications specialist. We are committed to recognizing and rewarding top talent with this opportunity to further students’ learning experiences and hone their skills.
In addition, when we hire entry-level employees, we often look to our intern pool. Students who are engaged and hard working, with the ability to juggle multiple projects at the same time, are among the ones who stand out as strong full-time candidates.
Our final spring intern spotlight is on Erica.
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Spring Intern Spotlight: Marina Panagopulos
At RLF, a large part of our culture revolves around our open door policy. Not only does it foster teamwork and collaboration, but it gives our interns a great opportunity to learn from our senior team.
If interns are curious about the process for developing a billboard ad, they can head over to our creative director’s office. Or if they want to hear all about B2B communications, they can pick the brain of our director of financial & professional services brands. We always strive to be welcoming and open to any questions our interns may have.
Today, our spring intern spotlight is on Marina.
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Spring Intern Spotlight: Carolyn Kuzmin
One of the goals of RLF’s internship program is to offer students unique opportunities that are beneficial to their professional development. Since networking can be a great asset to young professionals, we recently developed a new program called “Mentoring with Monty.”
During each semester, our interns get the chance to have a one-on-one lunch with RLF’s CEO Monty Hagler and pick his brain about anything from current industry trends to skills valued by employers. Building connections and learning from seasoned professionals can help students tremendously as they begin their job search.
This spring, we are welcoming back former intern Amanda Limoges as a communications specialist, and introducing three new interns to the team: Carolyn Kuzmin, Marina Panagopulos and Erica Martin.
Let’s first meet Carolyn.
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