After spending the last four years studying public relations at the University of Nevada, Reno, my professors always told me “public relations does not mean press releases.”  However I had a hard time understanding that because it seemed that the majority of the things I did in my public relations classes were to practice writing press releases. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely learned A LOT more than writing press releases in college; I just never gained a true understanding of how public relations worked until I started interning at RKPR Inc. 

I regretfully admit that I thought it was a little silly that an internship was required in order to receive my B.A. in Journalism.  I thought to myself, “Why do I have to register and pay for a class when in all reality I am going to work rather than sitting in a classroom and learning?”  That is a thought I threw out of my mind after my first day interning at RKPR.

In the month I have been here I have gained and learned so much more hands on experience than I have or could in a classroom.  If anyone is reading this and has the same thought I did about interning, my advice would be, DO IT!  It is definitely worth it. And yes, you still write a lot of press releases, but they are actually fun when you are doing them for real, not mock clients.J