new york, new york

Over fall break, I had the opportunity to travel to NYC with a group of students in the J-school so we could do some networking. I loved the time I got to spend in New York this summer so I was ecstatic to get to go back. The trip was sponsored by the Journalism Alumni and Friends Association and they put us up in a hotel on Times Square and arranged for us to meet with different companies based on our specialization. It was the busiest trip of my life, especially because it takes four times longer to get to JFK than to LGA and we had nonstop meetings, but it was also so much fun!

These were my three favorite things about the trip:

I love New York.

Seriously, I love everything about it. I love weaving through crowds of people on the street and walking with purpose, because I have somewhere to be. I love seeing the different types of people in the city — the suit-wearing Wall Street types, the fashionista girls, the schoolchildren holding hands with their business-casual dressed parents, the tourists (okay, nobody likes the tourists). I love the yellow taxis and black streets and the street meat carts. I love Union Square and Brooklyn and the city skyline.

I love PR.

We visited some really great agencies — Ketchum, Porter Novelli, MSL and Makovsky, along with the publicity departments of both Warner Bros. and MTV. Everyone who we met with told us about how they got to the position they’re at — what drew them to the field of PR, the internships they had in college and what they do now. They showed us presentations of the work they’ve done and talked about what they do on a day-to-day basis. And I absolutely loved it! Nothing makes me more excited than the possibility of working in PR someday.

I love being a Tar Heel.

We met with so many UNC alumni, both at agencies and at Brother Jimmy’s, where we watched the Thursday night football game, and they were so incredibly nice and helpful. Seriously though — one person looked through my resume and told me exactly what I should do to make it the best resume possible. Someone met with me early in the morning because my appointment with a different agency was scheduled at the same time as the visit to their agency. And each and every one offered us advice and told us they would be willing to help us with whatever we needed. Probably one of my favorite things about Carolina is that everyone from undergrads to alumni are all connected. When you meet someone who goes or has gone to UNC, it’s an instant connection. I’m a Tarheel born and bred and so are they — you already know you’re going to be friends.

here we go

New year, new start.

Technically it’s neither a new calendar year or a new school year, as we’re about a month and a half into classes, but I decided to carpe some diem and revamp my blog for my final year at Carolina.

What will I write in it? A mix of things.

My life. Bucket lists, photos of cool places I’ve gone or things I’ve done, life updates, things I’ve made, funny things my friends or strangers around me have said or done.

My work. Videos I’ve made for classes or internships, writing that I’ve done, research results that I’ve found interesting, campaigns that I’ve helped run, basically anything that I’ve done for professional reasons that I’m really proud of.

My interests. These are pretty varied and will probably include a lot of pop culture, exciting new media or technology news, creative ad or PR campaigns, viral videos, photos that will make you laugh or cry.

My world. I like to keep up with the news so I can know what’s going on around me, whether that’s in the journalism school, at UNC, in Chapel Hill, in North Carolina, in the United States or in the world in general.