The Agency is happy to announce the recent hire of its new Communications Assistant, Melanie Tapper.
Melanie is a second-year Bachelor of Communications Public Relations student from Mount Royal University (MRU). Before joining The Agency, Melanie had the opportunity to gain communications experience with an Alberta non-profit that supports youth, as well as work on a number of PR volunteer projects. Melanie is excited to join The Agency team and learn more about agency work.
As Communications Assistant, Melanie will assist The Agency team with developing and sharing content, editing, research, media relations, developing and maintaining media lists, and generating consistent media coverage for The Agency’s clients.
You’re completing your Bachelor of Communications in public relations currently at Mount Royal University (MRU). Why did you decide to pursue communications?
I don’t know if I chose communications, or if it chose me. I know that sounds cliché, but I kind of stumbled upon it to be honest. I’ve always loved to write and work under tight deadlines, which is a major part of PR, but I always assumed law was my calling. I finished my first degree in criminal justice a few years back and took a job in the non-profit sector upon graduation. I always intended on going back to school, but I was kind of hemming and hawing over a few options. I toyed around with the ideas of attending law school or business school or doing my masters, but ultimately, I decided on PR in 2015. I would say one of the biggest contributors to my decision was my experience in the non-profit sector. It really opened my eyes to some of the gaps in internal and external communications in the non-profit sector, which was something that really resonated with me. I wanted to find a way to close the gaps, and boom, I registered for PR.
What have you come to love about PR that is surprising to you?
I really enjoy the planning stages of communications campaigns and coming up with different strategies for clients to improve their business or to target specific audiences. I really began to realize this last semester when myself and my classmates were asked to complete several communications campaigns for local entrepreneurs and businesses to support them with their business goals and objectives. We were put in scenarios that were very similar to a Dragon’s Den approach where we were asked to pitch our ideas to community partners in teams. The community partners would hear all of our pitches and choose the team they felt had the best communications plan for their organization. Overall, it was a great experience that allowed me to see how much I love the strategic communications process, and I’ve since realized that I’m passionate about pursuing strategic communications.
What have you come to not enjoy so much about PR?
I can honestly say that there isn’t anything that I have come to completely dislike in PR. I’m still really enjoying learning about the different aspects of PR because it is such a broad field that encompasses so much! But, if I had to choose one aspect of PR that I have not enjoyed as much as the others, it would be web design. Before entering the program, I had zero experience with web design. This past semester we focused a lot web design, which was awesome because I was able to learn so much, but I still have a lot to learn. Web design has since become my 2017 learning project. So, I might just love web design if you ask me this time next year!
Thank you Melanie, and welcome to The Agency team!
