- Brea: Tell me about yourself
Hailing from the state where "Everything is bigger", I pride myself in saying "y'all", being a southern belle, screaming "Go Cowboys" on Sunday and being overly obsessed with TexMex, crawfish, and sweet tea. I love music, live shows, and Beyoncé.
- B: What do you love most about PR/Marketing?
I love that PR is always changing, because with its constant evolution I am required to live a life far from complacent that also requires me to constantly grow with it, stay up to date on trends, and conduct research. I love that PR/Marketing allows me the opportunity to combine my social personality with my passion for writing, communications, and the entertainment industry into a career. And finally, I love that it allows me to be a storyteller for the voiceless and even help someone become whoever he or she wants to be to the public.
- B: You’ve been very busy as an undergrad by interning at several companies, such as: The Chamber Group, The Huxley, BET, and most recent, The Recording Academy. Which one has presented a challenge to you and how did you overcome it?
T: Interning with The Chamber Group was most definitely my most difficult challenge. I took the internship as a freshmen in college with a major in Broadcast Journalism (This was when I was debating which career path to follow). Still adjusting to life outside the south, I felt like a lost puppy thrown into the Concrete Jungle. On top of it all, I had been selected to work with one of the top entertainment PR firms that was representing talent like Ne-Yo, Big Boi, and French Montana at the time. Talk about pressure. As you can imagine, in such a firm there was no room for excuses, just results. This meant that being a freshman wasn’t an excuse for incompetence, majoring in broadcast journalism wasn’t an excuse for ignorance, and lacking PR experience was no excuse for failure. I was still expected to perform as if I had a degree and had been practicing PR half my life. This experience will forever be near and dear to my heart because it taught me how to be proactive rather than reactive. It taught me the art of making it work and figuring it out.
It also taught me that the beloved entertainment industry that I aspired to work in wasn’t as pretty as it appeared to be on TV and in magazines.
- B: What have you learned at your internships that you would not have learned without first hand experience?
T: It’s
easy to sit in a classroom and learn how to write a press release
or construct an 8 point plan, but it was first hand experience that
taught me how to handle pressure, work on a timeline, multi-task,
negotiate, problem solve, and “finesse”. (I just love that word
lol)
- B: Other than internships, how have you immersed yourself in the PR/Marketing field as an undergraduate student?
T: Outside
of my internships, I love to find ways to devote my skills to my
university and organizations. While an undergrad, I have had the
opportunity to serve as the Director of Communications of the
Howard University Student Association (HUSA) as well as the
Director of PR of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity,
Psi Tau Chapter. I currently serve as the VP of Marketing for Alpha
Kappa Psi.
- B: I’ve seen so many successful people in PR who are alum of Howard U. How has your university prepared you for post-grad life?
T: I
absolutely love my university and so does the world (so I use this
to my advantage). Every other day there is a celebrity on campus
and I’m always the girl looking to slide their publicist my
business card while others are waiting in line for autographs.
Additionally, there’s this lovely thing called the ‘Howard
Run-a-round’ that makes it almost impossible to get something
accomplished in one sitting. This has taught me commitment and
consistency. Even more so, it’s taught me that anything worth
having is worth fighting for. Everything is attainable to the one
willing to work for it.
- B: I absolutely LOVE your logo and tagline “Taylor Your PR”, you’ve even said you are “Taylor Made” for PR. Do you see yourself starting your own firm in the future?
T: Thank
you! Yes, I would absolutely love start my own entertainment PR
firm. But I still have a lot more learning and growing to do before
I get there.
- B: I can tell you are a very hard working PR girl, what keeps you motivated?
T: Knowing
that there is someone out there with the same goals and dreams as
me keeps me motivated. So every day becomes another day to
figure out how I am going to make myself stand out from those
thousands of others who want to be the next big thing in
entertainment PR.
- B: What song best describes your life right now and why?
T: The
song that best describes my life right now is “Happy” by
Pharrell. I am at a place where I am truly learning who Taylor
Washington is and even more so, allowing myself to unapologetically
be her. I am at a place in life where I am literally watching my
dreams unfold right in front of my eyes. Reflecting over my college
experience as it comes to an end, I have had the opportunity to
travel the world, live in three states, intern at major companies
in the entertainment industry, and attend one of the most
prestigious HBCUs in the country. There is nothing left for me to
do but be happy!
- B: Anything else you’d like to add?
T: I
just want to send my greatest appreciation for this opportunity!
There is nothing better than being honored for the things that you
dedicate so much time and effort to. Continue to do what are you
doing. It is people like you and blogs like “All She Wrote”
that will push the girl who didn’t think she was good enough to
achieve things she could never imagine..
No comments:
Post a Comment