Disney and Detroit and PR, Oh My!
How PRSSA Executive Board Positioned Alumnae for Professional Success
By: Isabelle Kang
An undergraduate student’s dream career can seem far and unattainable, but heavy engagement in a club or registered student organization can lead students one step closer to their desired job. Many big names and corporations in the industry that countless students desire to work for are searching for the individuals who will network and present themselves to open opportunities. For Kelsey Gruzin and Caitlin Finerty, involvement in a student organization helped to attain their desired careers post-graduation.
Finerty and Gruzin both committed their last year of college to being a part of Michigan State University’s Public Relations Student Society of America. More importantly, they took on the responsibilities of serving on the executive board as president and Bateman coordinator respectively.
Finerty is now an intern Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. She focuses on government relations and various development programs throughout Disney’s workforce. Finerty had many friends who were involved in the Disney College Program, prompting her to reach out for a public relations job.
Gruzin is now the community manager for Weber Shandwick in Detroit. She works closely with the General Motors and Chevrolet accounts obtained by Weber Shandwick and is responsible for liking, commenting and engaging on social media platforms on the company’s’ behalf. Gruzin said this was an ideal job for after college, as one of her goals was to gain agency experience.
Both alumnae have PRSSA to thank for some of their skills that being a part of the organization taught them. Gruzin says she considers herself grateful for the opportunity to learn during her executive board term and privileged to keep learning as she goes.
“It taught me to absorb everything like a sponge, really have an open mind, have an open perspective and take everything in to apply it to what you’re going to do, said Gruzin, “It will help you be better than the rest.”
Finerty says her e-board role prepared her to connect with professionals and peers and to be prepared for whatever her job may throw at her.
“Being on an e-board of a club that you want to grow is really about detail-oriented and I think that is a great skill to have,” Finerty said, “It’s helped me to meet so many professionals and know how to make those connections.”
Although they are living very different post-graduation lives, Gruzin and Finerty both have the same type of advice for aspiring PR professionals: always network and look for opportunities.
“It’s not always about what you know, but who you know,” said Gruzin, “It can be scary and you can think you look like a fool, but every person I have met from a coffee chat from all different firms and ambitions have told me the same thing: to keep working, keep networking and it’s going to hit eventually and the hard work is going to pay off.
To learn more about PRSSA and how you can become a member, visit the MSU PRSSA website.