Students learn the importance of networking, worldwide
During spring break, 28 UNC Hussman students visited some of the top advertising, public relations and journalism companies in the world.
“The students were beyond professional and impressive,” said Heather Stevenson, assistant director of career services at UNC Hussman. “I had multiple emails from folks at Intuit, folks at Google – folks at Fleishman and Goodby talking about how impressed they were with the students and their questions and just the way they carried themselves.”
Fourteen students had the opportunity to visit San Francisco as part of a career trek led by Stevenson and Jay Eubank, director of career services at UNC Hussman. There, the students networked and learned valuable career tips at Google Cloud, FleishmanHillard, Electronic Arts, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Intuit.
The career trek group at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco.
“It's all about networking and for students to experience that firsthand in person,” Stevenson said. “And as it stands right now, students can only go on one trek through their time at Carolina, but I wish we could do more.”
Nydia Clifton ’25 is an advertising and public relations and contemporary European studies double major. She said although she would like to work at a global public relations company, she went into the trip open-minded – something the professionals encouraged them to be.
“You're not going to automatically get what you want, and that’s okay. There are other opportunities that are probably going to serve you just as well,” Clifton said. “So I feel like I could [work wherever] because I have an open mind and because I am not married to a specific job or company.”
Clifton learned about the different roles in public relations agencies and how they relate to various companies, including tech companies while gaining insight into the day-to-day work life of a public relations professional and how it differs from corporate communications.
Emma Kate Lauf ’25 said she connected on LinkedIn with the professionals she met in San Francisco. Lauf, who studies advertising, public relations and Hispanic studies, said she gravitates towards UX design and accessibility elements, influenced by her personal connections with individuals who have disabilities.
“I’ve realized that so many online experiences can be improved for people with disabilities and able-bodied people too,” Lauf said.
Lauf said she has already taken two UNC Hussman courses regarding accessibility. During the plane ride back home, she was motivated to apply for several internships the different companies had to offer.
“With no internet too. I was saving my Word documents and writing the essays,” Lauf said. “Because I just wanted to get it done.”
Nearly all of the places the students visited had UNC or Hussman alumni, such as David Tinson ’96 from Electronic Arts, J.J. Carter ’96 and Tyler Musialowski ’20 from FleishmanHillard, and Helen Johnston from Google Cloud.
Over 5,000 miles away, Associate Professor Lucinda Austin, UNC Hussman’s associate dean for graduate studies and research, and Hui Yang, assistant director of global, immersive and professional programs, brought 14 students to London for eight days as a part of Austin’s "MEJO 447: Media in the United Kingdom” class. Although the career trek and global trip are separate programs, both helped students gain networking knowledge and experience from UNC Hussman alumni.
The students who traveled to London met professionals from Amazon Studios, FleishmanHillard, Bloomberg News, Netflix UK, CNN International, Dimoso Public Relations, Chelsea Football Club’s stadium, Dovetail UK and Weber Shandwick – some of whom were UNC alumni such as Lynn Thomasson ’07, Lauren Kent ’17 and Gentry Sanders ’17. The students also had a mixer with City, University of London.
The MEJO 447 group at FleishmanHillard in London.
In Austin’s class, students produce group research projects on media and journalism in London, where they collect data on the ground and present their findings at the end of the semester.
One project — tentatively titled “Ways in which the British media covers the royal family during scandals, crisis and how the royal family responds to mitigate reputational damage" — is still a work in progress with a group that includes Allison Roland ’24, an advertising and public relations major.
“We're talking about case studies,” Roland said. “It's actually really fascinating because the stuff with Kate Middleton and that doctored image just started to unfold while we were there.”
Roland said she learned about the work journalists do when it includes the Royal Family.
“They talked about how there's pressure to report in a way that is kind enough to their status. So I thought that was interesting, just to touch on the bias aspect of what we were exploring with the British media,” Roland said. “They have to tread lightly or else they lose that spot as a correspondent, and that's a precious title.”
Roland said she loves to ask professionals at agencies about the difference between large and small agencies.
“I find that [question] to be really fascinating: ‘What advantages do you think are there to being in an agency of this size, whether it be larger or smaller?” Roland said. Dovetail UK has a small number of workers, but it plays well since they “have really hands-on learning directly from their boss.”
Advertising and public relations major Samantha Molloy ’24 said the hands-on learning at the different agencies was amazing. As a soccer fan, she was excited to go behind the scenes of Chelsea Football Club’s stadium.
“We weren't out there shaking hands with soccer players, but we did get to see their press box and go in their locker rooms,” Molloy said. “We got a lot of the business side of it as far as financials and how that all works within the sports community, the sports industry.”
Molloy said the trip exceeded her expectations, and even though she loves sports, her heart is in branding, consumer goods and hospitality. Her favorite location was Amazon Studios where she met Sanders.
“I just got to pick her brain one-on-one about certain things like portfolio, branding and how she got to where she was,” Molloy said. “She’s an icon and fantastic. She gave all of our class members a mentor to link up with who comes from the industries or the backgroundss that students were interested in. It was above and beyond.”
Austin said the benefits of the trip are to emphasize the immersive experience, to gain insights into the UK media environment and to learn the impact of working on the ground. The experience brings theoretical class discussions to life.
Stevenson said the networking and other experiences from the trips are all about Tar Heels helping Tar Heels.
“I have yet to run into a Tar Heel who doesn't want to give back. As a Tar Heel myself, that's my favorite part — making these connections for these students to give back,” Stevenson said. “And then my hope is, and I tell the students this, ‘In the next couple of years when you're at a company, we can reach out to you and come visit and then you can reach back and pour into the students coming behind you.”