unljnews

By Emily Nohr
J Alumni News staff

Matt Gersib was five years out of college when he was approached about mentoring a Public Relations Student Society of America member.

PRSSA member Patrick Roy (left) visits with mentor Paige Zutavern. She is the editor of a local business publication, Strictly Business.

The J school alum thought it sounded like a great idea but wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Initially, I saw it as a way to give back to the college,” said Gersib, now the director of public relations at Snitily Carr, a Lincoln advertising agency. “I didn’t really realize how much it would end up giving me.”

Now in his eighth year with the PRSSA mentoring project, Gersib is still at it, along with 31 other professionals.

Professionals like Gersib help shape the next generation of professionals, and students benefit by observing their chosen career field without the pressure or time commitment of an internship or college course.

New pairs every year expand networking opportunities
The professionals, or mentors, and the PRSSA students, or protégés, are paired for an academic year to develop a professional relationship and provide in-context learning about public relations. Mentors are matched with new students every year so each party has the opportunity to network with as many people as possible.

That doesn’t mean professionals who mentor a student stop mentoring them the next year when they get new protégés, said Jessica Simpson, a junior advertising major and PRSSA president.

Instead, they build upon their friendships.

Simpson, who has had two mentors since joining PRSSA, sees it as a way to branch out even more and discover what a student is passionate about.

“It gives you confidence because this person is willing to get to know you and hear about your day,” Simpson said.

Mentors and protégés meet regularly
Typically, mentors and protégés contact each other two to three times a month. While some mentors and protégés will exchange e-mails and grab coffee, others will spend half a day together and go to lunch.

Some mentors, like Gersib, even invite their protégés to business meetings and client events to see how their job is done. Students get to observe as well as network with their mentors’ colleagues.

Professionals involved in the project come from a range of public relations backgrounds. Healthcare, non-profit, athletics and entertainment are a few of the career paths represented by current PRSSA mentors.

Occasionally the professional friendship results in the protégé getting an internship through his or her mentor. That’s not the point, though, said advertising faculty member and PRSSA adviser Phyllis Larsen.

“It’s most important that they (protégés) gain confidence, contacts and really transition from student to young professional,” Larsen said. “Mentors learn from protégés, too, and profit from the enthusiasm of a young spirit.”

Project helps students connect with professionals
The PRSSA mentoring project started after Larsen saw a need for students specifically interested in public relations. And while the UNL chapter of PRSSA had been on campus since 1998, Larsen felt she could do more to ensure students were connecting with professionals in their field.

“Students wanted to learn about PR, and we didn’t have a major in it,” Larsen said. “We wanted to put students in touch with people who are doing work.”

Larsen, who was a public relations professional for 20 years before joining the journalism faculty in 2000, contacted former colleagues to see if they wanted to mentor students. She also contacted former students who were a few years out of school and into their professional careers.

She told them that if anyone had ever helped them early in their careers, this was their chance to pay it forward.

“I’m really grateful to the mentors who spend time with the students,” Larsen said. “The students tell me how valuable this is to them.”