Students, recent grads are interning at Edelman locations across the country
Seven public relations students and recent graduates from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications are spending the summer handling client accounts for the global public relations firm Edelman.
The students, who are based in Edelman offices throughout the country, are part of the newly established Edelman-Newhouse Diversity Internship Program (ENDI), which provides opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented groups to enter the public relations field.
“This program fulfills a shared commitment on the part of Edelman and the Newhouse public relations department: to strengthen the diversity of the profession,” says Professor Brenda Wrigley, who worked with Edelman to establish ENDI. “Edelman is helping us to realize this goal.”
Says Zing Shaw, vice president for U.S. diversity and inclusion with Edelman: “[This] partnership … will help us bring in diverse talent who can contribute to the richness of our culture.”
The interns are: LaShunda Campbell (Chicago); Ronny J. Henry (New York); Jaleesa Myers (New York); Maria Rodriguez (Austin); Karla Santiago (Atlanta); Ashley Taveras (New York); and Lauren Wint (Seattle).
Henry, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in public relations, is assigned to Edelman’s Pfizer Global Client Relationship Management account. He works primarily with the Chantix account, and also provides research for the marketing and consumer health teams and conducts news audits to highlight trends in patient adherence. He’s also working on an infographic program that will highlight “what is trending at Edelman.”
Henry says the internship has given him “a true idea of what agency life is about. I’ve had to learn how to switch quickly between my different assignments and manage my time well. Edelman also places a huge emphasis on public engagement, which I feel is something that lies at the core of the Newhouse curriculum.”
Students are paid an hourly rate and receive a housing stipend. Upon completion of the internship and graduation from Newhouse, they will have the opportunity to compete for professional positions with Edelman.
