Perfect Timing

By: Ava Baima

From the beginning of my high school journey, I knew I wanted to blend my creative side with my professional, business side in my future career. So when I was exploring options, it was crucial for me to find a stable position that allowed me to express my creativity, collaborate with others, and have the financial backing I needed. At first, I thought I wanted to do marketing, but that had too much focus on numbers. Then I leaned into advertising, but soon realized that I wasn’t interested in promoting a product. I found that I really liked the idea of working for a brand, but I wanted a bigger emphasis on communication. These realizations brought me to public relations.

I don’t think I would know what public relations was if it weren’t for these iconic characters from my favorite TV shows: Keeley Jones from Ted Lasso and Samantha Jones from Sex and the City. I started watching Ted Lasso because I knew I was interested in working in the sports industry, and I had a personal interest in European soccer. What I didn’t know when I started watching was that the perfect role for me would be embedded in the show. Keeley starts out as an influencer, but then gets a job offer to do public relations for the team. One of the tasks she did was asking individual players about their interests, and then she brainstormed potential partnerships for them. This caught my attention because it was the perfect mix of creativity, communication, and logic. Her job was strategic but also fun. Eventually, Keeley opened her own public relations firm, which showcased to me the accessibility of being able to work for yourself and be your own boss in the PR industry. 

On the other hand, Samantha Jones showed me what entertainment public relations can look like. Samantha works with many different celebrities in New York City, and the show featured a ton of different hats a PR professional may have to wear, such as event planning, shopping, photography, and hiring. Her life is a glimpse into the utter chaos and spontaneity of working in PR, as it shows all of the fun opportunities PR can bring.

Encountering these characters occurred at the perfect moment for me, as they introduced me to a career I wouldn't have discovered otherwise, and one I am now choosing to pursue in college.. I’m glad that I already had a strong idea of what I was looking for before I found PR, and I’m confident that it’s something I’m going to stick with in college, and hopefully be a field I work in for a long time in the future.