How to become a young PR pro meeting recap

PRSSA Kent welcomed Chris Sledzik from Marcus Thomas, LLC at our meeting Wednesday evening.

Chris encouraged young pros to reach out to industry professionals.

"In the PR profession, there are more people who are willing to help young people than not," Chris said. "Relationships are the backbone of success."

He offered two tips to students on how to succeed:

• Ask smart questions
• Be interested

How do you show interest? Get involved! Kent State University has plenty of opportunities for PR majors and minors. Apply at Flash Communications; join a PRSSA committee; run for an officer position in PRSSA; and utilize the JMC internship board!

Chris enrolled in the Kent State PR graduate program in 2007 after graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a Bachelor’s in Technical Communication. As he pursued his Master’s in PR, Sledzik spent the better part of three years in what he calls “post-grad limbo,” completing several internships, fielding free-lance work and networking in the Northeast Ohio PR & Marketing community. He’s held full-time positions on both the corporate and agency sides of the business managing tasks that run the gamut of a PR professional including media relations, internal and corporate communications, social media community management, event planning and more. He’s currently employed at the integrated marketing agency Marcus Thomas LLC in Cleveland and prides himself in a work-life-balance that not all young PR professionals are able to attain. Contact him at csledzik@marcusthomasllc.com or on Twitter @csledzik.

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