This morning, the HSJI PR team had the opportunity to shadow a pro in the field of Public Relations.

One of the gift bags Tess Plazek and I received from the marketing team.

Starting at 9 a.m., social media editor Tess Plazek and I met with the Director of Creative and Content Marketing for the Kelley School of Business, Rebecca Salerno. Salerno led us to her floor where we met the whole marketing team. She then showed us the behind the scenes work for creating the Kelley School of Business website and answered any questions we had about her work and her experiences. At 10 a.m., a creative meeting was held for a project that the team is working on. We were fortunate enough to sit in on the meeting and were overall very well received. Plazek and I were even asked questions about how we thought social media could be used by the team. They listened, built upon, and took into consideration everything we told them. We finished the trip with a short walk-through on how the Kelley School of Business marketing videos are made, and were given a gift bag for the trip home.

Both Plazek and I were extremely interested in all that we saw and heard, and agreed that the experience showed us a side of journalism that we had never considered before.

The banquet hall of the football stadium. Picture taken by Maria Thames

As Plazek and I were finishing at 11 a.m., photography editor Maria Thames and video editor Jaelyn White were at Ernie Pyle Hall, where the Assistant Director of Media Relations for IU Athletics, Jeremy Rosenthal, was working with the volleyball team on a radio recording. Heading out to the football field on a golf cart, they went down to the student athletic center where they toured and were told information about the different facilities. Rosenthal then led them onto the field and through the weight room. Taking an elevator up to where the donors sit during football games, Thames and White also saw the awards and memorabilia of IU athletics. They then finished their tour of the stadium and headed home.

Thames and White both agree that they learned much about IU athletics and especially the work required to keep the athletic department going.

The Indiana University football stadium. Photo by Jaelyn White

All four of us enjoyed our shadowing experiences and were glad and thankful for the opportunity to learn and experience something new.