Student Points of View

1911 PR Firm Built on Students’ Passion

By Steven Jankowski ’19 and Myrissa Stalter ’19, Public Relations & Marketing Communications Majors

Myrissa Stalter ’19 and Steven Jankowski ’19 stand outside the office of 1911 PR, a student-run PR firm launched in 2017.

I can still remember exactly where and when I experienced my “eureka” moment; it was 2017 in Seattle, Washington. I, along with students from across the country, were attending the annual three-day Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) National Assembly.

During one of the breakout sessions, I overheard some students discussing their clients. “Clients?” I thought. Then it struck me: the millennial generation is always personally promoting something, especially on social media. So, wouldn’t it make sense to leverage that interest and skill set to gain applicable, real-world experience? That’s when I came up with the idea of creating a student-run public relations firm on Ohio Dominican’s campus.

With the enthusiastic blessing of ODU’s PRSSA faculty advisor, Natalie Kompa, 1911 Public Relations was officially born. In fact, it wasn’t long before we had a logo, a team of marketing and communications students, and our own office space on the third floor of Erskine Hall. That was the easy part.

The logistics of organizing a firm, gaining clientele and ensuring professional development for students were quite intricate. The group had an ideal visionary concept that it wanted to achieve, but obtaining the resources for implementation was challenging. Fortunately, our advisor constantly goes above and beyond for us and finds a way to get things done. Through her connections, we were able to gain prospective clients within just a few weeks.

Our organization – and our portfolio of projects – has only continued to grow. We meet with clients, hold conference calls, develop proposals, have brainstorming sessions, create presentations, and pledge our effort to add unexpected value to each of our client’s brands. And this year, students had the opportunity to participate in 1911 for course credit. Since the class structure parallels a professional office setting, students gain truly valuable experience that prepares them for career success.

We’re also currently working with the American Petroleum Institute as we compete against 18 other student-run firms across the country to create public relations campaigns on the theme of “Educating our Energy Future.” Our objective in this competition is to educate future generations on the partnership and impact that traditional fuel sources like oil and natural gas have on our planet. Our group is working tirelessly to come up with a creative proposal to meet the organization’s goals.

Our research and contact with experienced professionals have allowed us to gain the necessary understanding this project requires to ensure it is completed thoroughly and with credibility. Problem-solving plays a large role in our field, and this has provided us a small taste of what we can expect in our future careers.

1911 PR hasn’t only been embraced by faculty and students interested in public relations, it’s also been supported by ODU administration, including President Gervasi. Our team of students works with passion and intrigue, and we are extremely excited to watch how our organization grows and evolves in the months ahead, and after our graduation in May. We’re grateful not just to our firm’s clients, but for the unique opportunity ODU provided to take a not-so-simple idea and make it a reality.