Well, hello there! My name is Abby, and I am happy to report that I am Ketner Group’s Spring 2023 PR intern. I believe an introduction is in order. Here goes!
What makes Abby, Abby?
Here are the basics: I am a senior public relations major and business foundations minor at UT Austin, and I hail from Plano, Texas.
If you saw the recipe of me, energy would make up at least half of the ingredients. I am the world’s most obvious extravert, with the propensity to over-tell jokes and the audacity to perform my pizza raps for strangers. Yes, pizza raps. And yes, strangers.
I love music. You can find me leading worship in the local church, yell-singing Taylor Swift’s “reputation” album in my car, doo-wopping with my a cappella group and even sitting at the piano writing songs of my own.
In fifth grade, the poetry unit was my favorite. I found joy in placing the perfect rhyme in the perfect spot with the perfect phrasing. At the time, I did not realize that was an indicator of a long-term trend in my life. Writing.
And that is a perfect segue into my next section.
The creative writer to PR professional pipeline
To be honest, PR as a major was my second choice. But thank goodness, the more classes I took, the more I saw a future in the PR field, where I can both make a difference and be made different. I fell more in love with writing and learned tools that help me bridge the gap between the creative and technical.
There is something to be said of creativity within the field of PR. The bounds of communication are endless. Why tell an audience something when you can show them instead?
My growing curiosity directed at media and its intersection with writing first took form through leadership positions on campus (hook ‘em!). I served as marketing executive with a campus ministry and ran the social media accounts for my a cappella group.
Those experiences turned into a client-side PR internship in the large corporate setting. Finally, that turned into the realization that to complete the real PR crash course of life, I needed to head agency-side. Enter Ketner Group.
How I landed at Ketner Group
Ketner Group is an interesting agency because of its niche. I mean, come on. What on Earth is retail tech? That was my exact question when Ketner Group showed up on my radar. Of course, any good soon-to-be graduate does her research. So I did mine.
With my research came the understanding that retail tech is an industry that is growing rapidly. There is great value in gaining a frame of reference with an industry that’s on the up and up.
Not only that, but every single person I come into contact with at Ketner Group is friendly and on the ball. Starting with the recruitment process, I quickly understood that this is an agency that values efficiency in conjunction with kindness. And after being here a week, that observation holds firm.
I look forward to honing my skills and developing new ones here at Ketner Group. Bring it on.
Austin
