03/25/2026
🪄✨bright students with such bright futures!
Had the chance to sit on a panel with some incredible peers in PR speaking to PRSSA students at the University of Houston tonight, and I’ll say this upfront:
Nothing they’re feeling right now is unusual.
We talked a lot about hindsight, and my biggest takeaway for them was simple. You will never have more access than you do right now. Organizations like PRSSA, tools like LinkedIn, direct access to professionals. It’s all right in front of you. Use it. Make five new connections a week. That alone can change your trajectory.
We also got real about the transition into the industry. The financial shock is real. The adjustment is real. The pressure to figure it all out quickly is real. But so is the long game. This is a career that rewards consistency, curiosity, and people who stay in it.
On the strategy side, the conversation confirmed what I see every day in my work. The industry is shifting fast. Speed matters. Clarity matters more. The “golden hour” is gone. You need to be able to monitor, respond, and shape a story in minutes, not days. That’s where strong media instincts and smart use of tools, including AI, come into play. Not to replace thinking, but to create space for better thinking.
And the biggest shift? Authenticity is no longer optional. The polished, overproduced version of PR is losing ground. What resonates now is real, human, and relevant. That’s the work I focus on every day with clients, helping them find the story that actually connects and gets picked up.
For students trying to stand out in a competitive market, the answer isn’t complicated. Show initiative. Demonstrate that you understand how media works today. And build relationships before you need something.
If I had to give one non-negotiable for the next 24 hours: update your LinkedIn and reach out to someone you learned from this week. Follow up matters.
Grateful to share the stage with such thoughtful panelists and to PRSSA UH for bringing students into these conversations early. This is how you build the next generation of strong communicators.
