1. How did you grow up, and what was your childhood like?
I grew up in suburbia with a lot of people who looked and acted the same, and I didn’t feel like I could relate to them. I wasn’t excited or interested in what people around me were doing, and I didn’t fully feel like it was the place for me. In Grade 11 and 12, I took all the business courses my school offered and filled my schedule with only English and business. I thought public relations was the perfect field that combined both those two interests and moved to Toronto at 17 to go to school (Public relations, Humber College).
2. Why did you choose public relations?
Public Relations was a romanticized profession on TV (mainly in Sex and the City which I somehow related to as a teenager). I saw Samantha Jones as a POWERHOUSE of a woman - strong, sense of humour, beautiful, and she had connections all over the city. People knew who she was and she made a name for herself, and I knew that’s who I wanted to be. I also felt it connected my interest and skills in all the business and English classes I took.
3. Can you recall your first PR position and what was it like? What did you do?
My first position was an internship at a PR agency in Toronto specializing in food and lifestyle clients. I worked alongside another intern at the time, making $200 a month and long days, then going to my serving job any time I could to pay my rent. I did all the work of a coordinator - making media lists, social media tracking, and clipping, presentation decks for clients, working onsite at events, etc.
In school, they taught us about different PR sectors (government, corporate, non-profit, etc.) and I chose Agency because it sounded like you got the most experience. I did get a lot of experience, but it was also a lot of work.