This exciting opportunity will build on PRIMA’s first successful year as a student-run firm based in Rochester, New York at St. John Fisher College. The new client, a group of faculty grant managers at Fisher, comes by way of a $900,000 grant from the National Science Foundation that will be implemented until 2014.

The Grant Funds PRIMA as AOR Until 2014

“This is an important moment for PRIMA Connections as we step ahead toward an exciting opportunity for students to learn strategic communication skills and put them to use,” said Prof. Kyle F. Reinson, who advises the student-run firm and is a faculty member in the College’s department of Communication/Journalism. “We have a talented group of students who understand the importance of building their portfolios up in this uncertain economy — what better way to gain an advantage in the job market than to run your own successful marketing communications firm?”

PRIMA Connections was started by students in 2008 as a result of a generous LeChase Fellowship through the Center for Community Engagement at St. John Fisher College. The firm’s former leaders have recently been hired by companies like Bausch & Lomb and world-renown public relations firms like Hill & Knowlton. In 2009, Devan Piccone became PRIMA’s first Executive Director and will oversee operations of the firm along with Creative Director Rocco Carzo and Operations Director Rachel James.

Follow PRIMA Connections on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PRIMASJFC

In the fall of 2008, PRIMA supported a wonderful institution… public television. Ten members of PRIMA spent a few hours answering phones and taking donations for Rochester’s PBS station. It was a lot of fun for or members and it fulfilled our mission of connecting St. John Fisher students with the community

Several PRIMA leaders attend the 2008

Regional PRSA Conference in Buffalo, New York.

Find out more information about upcoming national events at www.prssa.org

I’m Stephanie Pineo, and for extra-credit for Professor Reinson’s class, I decided to interview Lindsay Campbell to find out more about PRIMA and her personal reactions to the club.

Stephanie Pineo:  Why did you join PRIMA?

Lindsay Campbell: I joined PRIMA to gain the extra experience in my field so that it would help me in my career. It’s a great way to network with people and meet some new Fisher faces.

SP: What does your job as Vice President of Advertising entail?

LC: As VP of Advertising it’s my job to finish a lot of the creative projects that come our way. I handle brochures, advertisements and logos that might be needed for a client. It’s also a big team effort. I have to work with a team and manage my peers to make sure work is getting done and that my co-workers are happy with the work that they are doing.

SP: What do you hope PRIMA will bring to your future?

LC: I hope that PRIMA gives me the experience I need to better my future. I think that working on the projects that I do will enhance my skills that will be needed in my career.

SP: What is your favorite thing about with PRIMA?

LC: My favorite thing about PRIMA is working with different clients to give them the product that they want. It is a lot of fun to meet with people and see how they have gotten where they are in there career as well.

SP: Do you plan on having a career in Public Relations?

LC: I think that if a PR job came my way I would be more than happy to take it. I enjoy doing PR work and I like the fast-pace atmosphere. PR is great because everyday you’re dealing with something totally different than what you were the day before. My internships in PR have been a lot of fun as well and I could see myself furthering those tasks into an everyday job.

SP: What other clubs are you active in?

LC: At school I am also the secretary of PRSSA. That is a great job because we get to plan a lot of campus events and there are a lot of networking opportunities that comes with it as well. We have gone to a lot of different places and met professionals that are always willing to help find internships or job opportunities for students.

SP: What information or advise would you share with other students who are thinking about getting involved with PRIMA?

LC: Do it! Get involved now! We have a lot of great projects that anyone can work on. PRIMA is always looking for fresh talent to help out. Anyone is welcome to come to meetings or if they have any questions they can contact me at ljc05647@sjfc.edu.

These questions were presented to PRIMA’s Dave Baker by another of Professor Reinson’s students. Mike Bielak, who pointed out the need to share some additional information with our readers. Twitter is a microblogging site that Professor Reinson turned some of us on to over the summer. If you use Twitter then you are a Twitterer and the messages we send regarding what we are doing are called Tweets. Check it out for yourself.   

What exactly is PRIMA?

PRIMA is the shortened form of PRIMA Connections, St. John Fisher
 College’s student-run PR / IMC firm. The letters stand for Public
 Relations, Integrated Marketing and Advertising and they represent the
 basic functions of our organization although we also are involved with
 event planning and some interactive marketing.

What is the difference between PRIMA and PRSSA?

PRIMA is where the students can get real world experience. Many of
 PRIMA’s staff are also members of the Fisher Chapter of the Public
 Relations Student Society of America or PRSSA. The declared purpose
 of PRSSA is to cultivate a favorable and mutually advantageous
 relationship between students and professional public relations
 practitioners. At Fisher, PRSSA is responsible for the education and
 networking opportunities while students can build a portfolio through
 PRIMA.

What is the position that you hold in PRIMA?

I am the vice president of client communications.

What does that position entail for you?

My position was created to be the contact point for clients but like
> the other positions it has evolved into much more. I am the blogger
 and the main Twitterer and the principle contact for our first client, 
 Artists Unlimited, Inc. of Rochester.

Does PRIMA have a lot of student involvement on campus?

No, PRIMA is not an SGA affiliated group so we exist outside of the
 mainstream. Through our partnership with PRSSA we remain connected
 with other clubs and student organizations but we also seek out
 students from these organizations to give them the same opportunities
 we enjoy.

What would be the one aspect of PRIMA you would tell students about
 that would immediately spark an interest about the group?

I think that the biggest draw is that students can get real world
 experience right from the start. We aren’t an internship we are a job. 
 A student who shows up at one of our meetings could be writing press
 releases or planning a speaker series that same evening.

What activities is PRIMA responsible for, both on campus and in the
 community as well?

PRIMA is promoting the Artists Unlimited, Inc. of Rochester November
 performance of the Wizard of Oz. We also promoted the organization and
 their performance at a Special Olympics Event on September 20 and at
 this year’s Macy’s Shop for a Cause event at Eastview Mall. We are
 also involved in the creation of a flyer and an ad for Habitat for
 Humanity of Ontario County, we are working with the Fisher Affinity
 group, an alumni organization, we are promoting Lights of Autumn, a
 local band and we are working with Professor Madigan on some of his
 projects. We are in the discussion phase with the Cystic Fibrosis
 Foundation, Father Graf regarding the new religious studies program, 
 Dr. Vicker and Dr. Rosenberry to promote their book, and with a local journalist who is looking to increase awareness of his radio program.

What activities, other than PRIMA, are you involved in?

PRIMA and PRSSA are about it for me on campus. I am interning this
 semester with Fisher grad, Carolyn Lauber at the Salvation Army and I
 am taking a class at MCC so my dance card is rather full.

1) What is your full name, where are you from, what year are you in?
My Name is Jim Ernst, and I am a Senior Comm/Journalism Major with a minor in English writing from Buffalo New York

2) What career position or positions do you wish to attain?
I want to be either a copy writer/creative director/art director at an Advertising Firm

3) How are you working toward attaining them?
I have been taking all the advertising classes that is offered at Fisher and I also create my own advertisements, as well as trying to get an internship with Mike Baron at Partners and Napier this Spring

4) What is PRIMA Connections?
Prima Connections is an Integrated Marketing Communications firm that works with clients in the Rochester community to help them increase their media presence.

5) What is your position with PRIMA?
I am Vice President of Digital Communications at Prima

6) How do you feel you benefit from being involved with PRIMA?
It allows me to get real world experience to put in a portfolio which allows me to have a step up when it comes to the job market. It also lets me take on a leadership role in a professional setting which is another benefit I can show when I am looking for a career. Finally, it is a great way to network because we are dealing with professionals all in the Rochester community.

7) If PRIMA resources were unlimited, and you could complete any event/activity what would it be?
I would love to revive and do a PR campaign for the ska tour, Ska Is Dead

8 ) What is year greatest fear following graduation?
My greatest fear is that I will end up with a job and not a career.

9) How do you plan to deal with that fear?
I plan to network myself as effectively as possible in order to know as many people as I can. This will help me to open up new doors and get my foot in places where I would never be considered otherwise.

10) What do you feel would be the greatest honor/achievement that you could receive in your career?
The thing I look forward to the most in my career is for the day when I officially move out of an office or firm setting and open the doors to my own Ad Agency/IMC firm which would be called CheckerdVision Communications

11)If there was one thing you could change about your college experience, what would it be?
I wish I would have gotten involved in PR and Advertising my freshman year instead of waiting till my junior year. I wish I would have realized broadcast wasn’t my field before I was in too deep.