Student Spotlight: Nick Stackhouse

Philadelphia is a city filled with some of the best universities in the nation, and we have the students to show for it.  In the PPRA Student Spotlight, we’ll introduce you to the PR-pros-in-training from across the city.  

    

I’m pleased to be a part of this new series with one of my former Tierney interns, Nicholas Stackhouse, a Temple communications major graduating this May.  I had the good fortune to work with Nicholas this past fall. Over those three and a half months, he proved hard-working, enthusiastic, creative, and a tremendous asset to our team...not to mention he had an arsenal of fun facts to throw at us every day!   

Nicholas first became interested in PR as a high school student, managing and promoting local band shows in his hometown of Aston, PA.  He utilized social media such as Facebook and Twitter to reach the young target demographic, gathering an impressive 533 people for one of the many shows.

“I enjoyed what I was doing and felt like I had a knack for it,” said Nicholas. “So when I entered Temple, I decided to explore the field more as a communications major.”

To further dive into PR, Nicholas joined Temple’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and PRowl, Temple’s first and only student-run PR firm.  He also interned with a variety of organizations, including Relief Communications, WXPN & World Café, and Nexus PR in London.  If his hands-on experience wasn’t enough, this semester Nicholas became a research assistant for his professor, Dr. Pompper, on a study that hit close to home:  the opinions of males in communications.  

“The field of public relations is 70 percent women, according to the PRSA salary survey.  For this study, I conduct interviews and focus groups with male professionals to find out what it’s really like to work in a female-dominated industry.” 

While we’ll have to wait to find out just what the men amongst us are saying on that topic, Nicholas was happy to share some final advice for students interested in PR.

“It’s very beneficial for students of my generation to become familiar with multiple elements of promotion, aside from traditional press.  Media is still very influential in delivering a message, but professionals need to know more about things like social networking, photo/video editing and HTML.” 

Nicholas doesn’t just get the Philly PR scene; he lives and breathes it. He possesses the creativity and work ethic that are at the core of our business.  I have no doubt we’ll be running into him at PPRA events or seeing his placements in the news in the near future. If you want to connect with Nick now, consider following him on Twitter (@NickStackhouse).   

If you know a student we should showcase in our next PPRA Student Spotlight, please leave a comment!

This blog post was written by Christine Guerrini. Christine Guerrini is a member of the public relations team at Tierney agency in Center City Philadelphia. A Villanova grad, Christine specializes in media relations, social media and research. She has worked with clients in a variety of fields, including consumer, non-profit, and B2B. Outside of work, Christine is an avid fan of the Arts, whether exploring museums or sitting down with a novel. Connect with Christine on Twitter (@CMGuerrini) or at http://www.linkedin.com/in/christineguerrini .