1985: not even a year into the program and I have my first break: a chance at a summer job at the City of Nepean in their Information office. I’m in competition for the job with two university students, but end up landing the job working with the Director of Information Services, Andrea McCormick – who was to become my first workplace mentor. She single-handedly taught me to get over my fear of the media, making me do all of the followup media calls for each City Council meeting. She also gave me one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever had as a junior employee: don’t just bring me problems, bring me solutions!
As I entered the second year of the program, the curriculum – and the extra-curricular activities – began to intensify. We took on a fundraising challenge for St. Brigit’s Soup Kitchen which was to become the first in a long and storied line of fundraisers for community charities held by PR students over the years. Our PR skills didn’t stop with fundraising, though: we actually designed and built a three-layered-cake float for the Salvation Army to use in the Santa Claus parade. Our reputation as the “can-do” program was well under way.
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