We are proud to announce that we are starting the new year with JaRel Clay as our alumnus of the month for January! JaRel is a Digital Content Manager for the Center for New American Security (CNAS). He aspires to grow his freelance work into a boutique agency by honing the communication skills he learned while in the PR/CC program.
PR/CC: Can you tell us a little about yourself.
I am the Digital Content Manager for the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a defense and national security think tank in Washington, DC. Prior to CNAS, I was an AAE for Edelman’s energy and national resources practice. Over the last eight years, I have worked with more than 25 non-profit organizations and individuals as a freelance graphic designer and content strategist. I have helped to create award-winning websites and support online engagement campaigns with CNAS, Toyota, Volkswagen, NAACP, and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Initiative.
PR/CC: Why did you pick Georgetown’s PR/CC program?
Prior to enrolling in Georgetown’s PR/CC program, I had no formal training in digital strategy – an asset that many of my freelance clients and Edelman clients desperately needed to implement successful campaigns. The program was highly regarded in the industry as one of the top PR master’s programs in the United States. Given the recognition, I assumed (and was right) that its professors would help guide and position me as an expert on online engagement in Washington. Eager to gain as much knowledge as possible in the digital environment, I enrolled in integrated marketing, social media, and digital communication strategy classes offered by the program.
PR/CC: How can a student looking to pursue a career in digital communications expand their skills outside of a classroom?
The classroom will give students every tool they need to successfully land a career in digital communications. If opportunities do not immediately present themselves, I encourage students to create them by partnering with entrepreneurs. There are a number of causes and organizations in the Washington metropolitan area that desperately need assistance from practitioners in the PR/CC program. I have witnessed fellow colleagues excel when they apply their skills to pro-bono and freelance opportunities. It helps to build a cohort of people who can speak to your expertise, and you develop digital communication as well as client management skills.
PR/CC: Talk about a memorable client experience and what you learned from it.
A few years ago, I worked with a small nonprofit to help launch a nationwide initiative on economic empowerment for disenfranchised communities. The original statement of work included creating a strategy for the organization and providing training to the team that would implement the strategy. In practice, I was the team implementing the strategy! I spent 70 hours (including travel to a few regional events) on a project that was originally 20 hours. I was compensated for my work, but I missed the window of opportunity to win new business with two clients that had much larger budgets and workload. From this experience, I learned the power of managing client expectations and being explicitly clear about my bandwidth.
PR/CC: What piece of advice would you give to current students? And why?
The best advice I can give current students is to never stop learning. As you move along in your PR career, you learn that what worked just three years ago may be outdated today. I have witnessed the most success from practitioners who continue exploring new trends and fully embrace new approaches to community and online engagement. The saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” almost never applies when it comes to recruiting and retaining an engaged audience for your clients.
Full article: https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/prcc/featured-alumni/mps-prcc-alumnus-of-the-month-jarel-clay-g13/
