"When In Rome..."

If there is one piece of advice I could give to every student out there it would be to study abroad! Everyone should be exposed to the world around them because it will expand your horizons in so many different ways. Traveling will change you as a person both personally and professionally.   

As a future PR professional in the making, I have learned the importance of being able to connect and relate to people. This summer I decided to venture outside of my home turf in Philadelphia and study abroad in Rome.  It has been nothing short of an adventure and eye-opening experience. The Roman culture is so different, ranging from crossing the street to the right way of dressing, and I’ve come to realize that adaptability is extremely important in the PR field. I’ve also had to re-learn everything that I thought I already knew about communicating with people.

Being culturally well-rounded will allow you to be the secret weapon and most valued employee at any agency, company or business. By studying abroad at any point in your life, you are setting yourself apart from the crowd simply because you have international experience and companies are finding out that they will thrive with these types of employees. Having employees that are knowledgeable of the world are becoming a necessity in the work force.

From being in Rome, I have come to realize that many Americans don’t realize that there are so many different cultures and different types of people in the world. It is important for PR professionals to have an international experience because America is turning into a melting pot of different cultures. The best PR professionals are the ones who can stay on top of the latest cultural trends and know how to interact with those of a different culture. By going abroad you are training yourself to do just that while also gaining an international perspective. You’ll expose yourself to how news in other cultures travels, how specific target audiences are reached, and you’ll gain a set of foreign language skills that are lethal in any workplace. One day you could have a client who is Italian, German, Spanish, etc. and you will need to be able to form a relationship with them. Not to mention, people who have been abroad are more likely to get jobs in senior management levels that pay a lot of money for your expertise in other cultures and your willingness to be put into another culture.

Believe it or not, America isn’t that big, but the world around you is. Studying abroad is an adjustment, but one worth making. Go abroad and make yourself part of a different culture, don’t be afraid of standing out or attempting to speak the language. Try to fit in, talk to the locals, order in restaurants where you don’t understand the menu. There is so much to see, so much to do, and so many opportunities to take…after all “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”   

This guest blog was written by PRowl staff member Alissa Steele. 

PR In The Eternal City

This summer, while studying abroad at Temple Rome I found a small cafe in the heart of the city. Everyday I watched countless Roman businessmen and women trickle in and out of the café at lunchtime. After seeing these professionals day after day, I began to wonder: what is modern public relations like in the eternal city?

I learned that one of Rome’s biggest public relations firms is called Barabino & Partners. This agency is defined as a corporate public relations firm and dominates the Italian public relations market. Like many Italian PR firms, most of Barabino & Partners’ earnings come from work in Public Affairs.

Interestingly, Barabino & Partners as well as most other Italian public relations firms are basically unconcerned with social media. This is interesting because social media has come to define public relations in the United States and basically determines the success of all major and small businesses, brands and companies. Lack of social media may be due to Italy’s seriously unpredictable and problematic wifi connection.

Also, in the United States, public relations specialists are often associated with having an extremely busy schedule and an almost workaholic attitude. However, life is a little more slow-paced for the Italian PR professional. For example, most start their day in the late morning and take a lunch break daily. As many know, in America, PR specialists rarely sleep in on the weekends let alone workdays and while you could catch many Roman PR specialists leisurely drinking cappuccino on their lunch break most Philadelphia PR pros survive on a diet of to-go espresso.

Like Barabino & Partners, many Roman PR firms have numerous international clients and therefore, are always looking to hire international employees. Thus, if you happen to be an Italian-speaking PR student who would enjoy work in a slower-paced corporate environment, Rome is the city for you.

Do you think Italian PR sounds more enjoyable due to its laid back environment? Do you think this laid back environment changes the type of students studying Public Relations in Rome and Italy compared to Philadelphia and the United States? 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Emily Charles 

Public Relations, an Adventure Abroad.

Wagwan, fellow aspiring public relations professionals! Last week at this time I was teaching children at White Horses Primary School, an Elementary School in St. Thomas, Jamaica, about sustainability. Every year, my universtiy sponsors service immersion trips to locations which include Jamaica. So last week, I found myself in Jamacia with 12 other students completing service projects and fending off wild life. I couldn't use my phone and I had no access to the internet. As both a public relations student and college student, I found it hard at first to detach from my work and my online social world. However, by the end of the trip, I learned invaluable lessons about public relations which I couldn't have learned in the classroom or even in my student and professional organizations.

As aspiring public relations professionals it's our job to be informed. Traveling to Jamaica opened my eyes to different cultures and issues that impact those around the world. This is important because the context which we live impacts the way we communicate. I have also learned how culturally, social media is used differently. For example, unlike in the United Staes, social media sites aren't visited every hour on the hour. So, culturally a strategic public realtions plan involving social media for a company or organization in Jamaica would not be successful.

In all, I highly encourage every student, especially public realtions students, to study and to volunteer abroad. The more we understand about the world and how those around us communicate, the better and more strategic communicators we become.

Have you ever studied or volunteered abroad? If so, how has it impacted you professionally?