PRSSA General Meeting Minutes – April 22, 2014
Overview: Alumni Panel – Sarah Stackhouse, Anthony Stipa and Lindsay Bues
Attendance: 29
Start time: 3:34
End time: 4:18
Meeting Points:
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Volunteers needed from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. next Tuesday (4/29) for an Arthritis Foundation
event. If interested or if you have any questions, contact Kaylie Corallo (tue66658@temple.edu).
Next Tuesday (4/29) from 6-8 p.m. Professor Bien will be having her book signing titled “Life
Happens, Bounce Back.”
Alumni Panel:
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Anthony Stipa is an account manager at Slice Communications. He was never a member of
PRSSA. He actually studied broadcasting during his time at Temple, but a career path led him PR.
Sarah Stackhouse was not a member of PRSSA either, but now works with event/meeting
planning for pharmaceutical companies.
Lindsay Bues was a former chapter president of PRSSA. She now works at Philabundance as a PR
manager.
What is some advice you can give to students during their time at Temple?
o Anthony Stipa: Get an internship, preferably paid. Any work experience is extremely
valuable. You’re going to apply for many jobs and you never know where it’ll take you.
Take chances, take risks and be relentless.
o Lindsay Bues: Have Gregg look at your resume. After graduation, I took a short-term job
at an agency doing PR for technology in NYC. I also did VISTA (Volunteers in Service to
America) through AmeriCorps.
o Sarah Stackhouse: Don’t give up if you don’t get your dream job. Your first job after
college does not define you. For some reason, if you are overworked, underpaid… that
doesn’t represent your value.
What’s the number one thing you shouldn’t negotiate as a senior?
o Lindsay Bues: If you’re not looking for sales, don’t go into a sales job. Keep looking for a
PR job.
o Sarah Stackhouse: Look for what you really want to do and keep holding onto it. I went
through a bunch of different jobs in different fields before finding what I really wanted
to do.
What’s something specific to Temple you carry with you in your career?
o Anthony Stipa: I stayed within the Temple News network. From that, I found a mentor
that I keep in touch with. The Temple brand holds itself out there. If you guys saw the
article in Philebrity, Temple interns are the best interns and the city knows it.
o Sarah Stackhouse: There hasn’t been one event I’ve gone to in the city where there isn’t
someone from Temple.
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Lindsay Bues: Being involved at anything at Temple takes a lot of work. Nothing is
handed out to you, you have to go out and find it.
Are there subjects outside of the PR track that you recommend we take?
o Sarah Stackhouse: Dr. Pratt’s argumentation class! Also classes that teach you how to
budget on real life things in the Fox School… and any classes where you learn how to
communicate in a business setting via email or conference call is huge.
o Anthony Stipa: One of the BTMM classes like media writing or any class that gets you to
understand the other side of things.
o Lindsay Bues: I took an advertising class that was good. A broadcast/radio class is
something else to consider.
When looking at recent grad resumes, what is something you think makes someone stand out?
o Anthony Stipa: I like things that aren’t cookie-cutter, but we need some of that to know
they know certain things. I’m a stickler for details, so have at least 8 people look at your
resume. It’s not the end of the world if you have a mistake. You can sometimes bounce
back from any mistakes with your credentials.
o Lindsay Bues: Wordiness. If you have long paragraphs for your work experience, I don’t
have time to read it.
What strategy did you use to pick out jobs?
o Lindsay Bues: I would just write down the names of companies driving past them. Not
everyone posts jobs.
o Anthony Stipa: I applied for everything at one point, but then I started to do some
research to learn about the companies.
o Sarah Stackhouse: Your goals can change, and that’s OK. Allow yourself to grow into
different areas.
How do you make the transition of doing something you don’t want to?
o Sarah Stackhouse: I took one job to get to another job. Informational interviews are a
huge thing that will help, so start reaching out to people. Find out what other jobs are
out there through them. Figure out what you like doing now. What you’re doing in your
free time is probably what you should be pursuing.
o Anthony Stipa: Credentials will get you in the door. “Relatability” and professionalism
will get it for you.
How are your schedules now in comparison to your time at Temple?
o Anthony Stipa: I made myself as busy as possible in college, and in my free time now I
do more work so I’m always busy.
o Sarah Stackhouse: It’s a different kind of busy. I wouldn’t say one more than the other.
o Lindsay Bues: I feel like I’m just as busy. I had to step back and a point and realize I need
“me” time. It’s very easy to get wrapped up.
What’s one of the biggest learning experiences since graduating?
o Lindsay Bues: Dealing with difficult people, managers specifically. Knowing how to cover
my butt was also another lesson.
o Sarah Stackhouse: To not trust anyone and to choose your words carefully. You have a
reputation… you’ll develop that quickly and it’s hard to change your first impression. Be
a go-getter, don’t complain because that’ll somehow get around.
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Anthony Stipa: After a year out there and you have that reputation of being a leader,
that’s the stage where you can speak up at the table. Respectfully challenging the boss
is good to show that you have an opinion and aren’t just going with everyone else.
o Sarah Stackhouse: If you want something, go for it. Speak up. Go after what you want
verbally.
How do you gain that confidence?
o Sarah Stackhouse: Honestly, you fake it. Fake it ‘til you make it. I remember going in to
ask about the promotion and I was freaking out before. My hands were shaking and I
was a mess! But then I had to keep thinking that the worst thing they can do is say “no.”
Take criticisms as critique to make your work better.
o Anthony Stipa: Have a thick skin and a short term memory.
Hardest part of college and how did you overcome it?
o Lindsay Bues: The stress of finding a job was the hardest. I worked my butt off in college,
I did everything everyone told me to do.
o Anthony Stipa: You may go 6 months without a job. You have to accept rejection.
Did you ever look into marketing at all?
o Lindsay Bues: I’m in the marketing department. Nonprofit is different than corporate.
o Anthony Stipa: Marketing does tie in, if you know PR then you know the basis of
marketing.
If nobody responds to you following up after an informational interview, how should you handle
it?
o Lindsay Bues: The person is probably really busy.
o Anthony Stipa: I rarely respond back to a “thank you” unless I’m setting something else
up. But if I need a response back, I don’t call it stalking, I call it making an opportunity
for my client. Set the tone and have a plan B.
o Sarah Stackhouse: Networking isn’t a short-term thing. You never know when
something is going to happen. You never know who can help you out, so keep at it
without being annoying.
What’s something you wish you would’ve done during your time at Temple?
o Sarah Stackhouse: Study abroad longer if I could have and go out more. I wish I wouldn’t
have spent as much time studying. It’s different and difficult to maintain your
friendships after you graduate. I wish I spent more time just hanging out. I should’ve
been less concerned about my GPA and more concerned with spending time to build
memories. Nobody cares about your GPA after college.
o Lindsay Bues: I wish I didn’t go out as much.
o Anthony Stipa: I would’ve made lasting impressions with professors. Also, just ennjoy it
while you have it.
o Sarah Stackhouse: I put a lot of emphasis on finding a career. After graduation, I got
down on myself and it shot my self-esteem. It took a while to realize that though my job
wasn’t my ideal job, it didn’t mean I wasn’t a good employee or of value. When you’re
struggling, don’t beat yourself up. Stay positive. Remember everything you’ve
accomplished during your time here and how far that’s taken you.
o Lindsay Bues: Visualization helps. What you want now may not be what you want in five
years.
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Anthony Stipa: Take pride in everything you do, whether it’s a little job or a big job. Take
pride, take passion and be detail-oriented through it all.
Next meeting: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 is the very last meeting of the semester! Join us for snack and
drinks, along with getting a copy of the newsletter. Superlatives will be awarded and evaluations will be
completed to improve the organization.