PR PRofessional A Newsletter for entry-level PR job seekers
VP of W2 Speaks At Penn State
By Sam Metz Tom Resau, a Penn State Alum was welcomed back to Penn State to talk to two COMM 471 classes about his public relations experience and post-grad life. Resau graduated in 1999 with a degree in public relations. Resau gave students some insight on what it’s like to look at public relations beyond the sports and entertainment side of it. While those are two huge components of public relations, and what most students lean towards, Resau expressed how they should keep an open mind when looking for entry-level jobs. “Too often it is not what you want to do but it is what is needed in the job market,” said Resau during his lecture. He never told students to rule out the entertainment side of PR, but was suggesting students look deeper into the field. Resau went on to talk about his experience in where he works now, a cyber security and information technology company, W2 Communiations and how he ended up in his field of choice. As an undergraduate, Tom Resau thought his career would focus on politics because he had inherited an interest in military history from his father who was a career military officer. Tom completed three internships with his congressman because he thought he wanted to work on “the hill.” “If I had it to do over again, I would have diversified my internships. I would have interned in many different organizations so that I could have gotten a wide variety of experience,” admits Resau. “Understanding cyber security issues takes effort. It takes drive. It takes a person who is willing to read and digest information that might not be of popular because what is popular is easy,” said Robert Baukus, department head of the advertising and public relations program at Penn State.
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Spring 2014
PHOTO: (right) Tom Resau addressing the COMM 471 classes at Penn State University on Wednesday, March 19th 2013.