A Personal Blog from Maricella Duenas
Valerie Allen Public Relations Intern – Spring 2019
Before I jump into my experience this far at Valerie Allen PR, let’s jump into a hypothetical time machine and go back to my childhood – that’s right, Mini Marcy! As a young girl I was borderline obsessed with E! News (who am I kidding, if I had cable I still would be). I would run home from the bus to be comfy in my bed, munching on carrots and crushing ever so shamelessly on Jason Kennedy. Needless to say, I realized I wanted to be just like him. As I grew older my wants changed and I decided a more fitting path would be to work for him; thus, I began to look into careers in either public relations or production.
Now, here I am in my senior year of University and I am interning at Valerie Allen Public Relations (VAPR). Coming into PR, I barely knew what it was. Shoot, when I was interviewed for the position at VAPR I was asked what I knew about PR; my answer was almost verbatim what I was told by another employer that I had interviewed with the week before (oops!) All I really knew was that I’d be trying to get media for clients.
I’ve been with the company for a little over a month at this point. I’ve really enjoyed my time working in PR, and specifically for this company. Yes, PR is totally trying to get media for clients, but in a sense it is so much more. It’s all about relationships and building a strong network; it’s about connecting with clients and making impressions; it’s about being creative.
My journey this far has been more than I could have asked for. I’ve been able to do work for the Grammy’s, go backstage to live television productions, and I’ve even given a helping hand in writing and distributing pitches to the media. I can honestly say that I’m gaining a lot of valuable experience and skills in my time here at VAPR. Who knows, maybe with it all, I’ll be jumping in another hypothetical time-machine, with my successful career, to this moment right here.