Finding a Niche
in Nonprofits

Students in the Department of Public Relations in the College of Media & Communication are gaining real-world experience and helping the Lubbock community at the same time.

Andrea Phillips, who was then a graduate part-time instructor, taught Public Relations Campaigns, the public relations capstone class, in Spring 2014. The section Phillips taught worked with the nonprofit Tomorrow’s Leaders. Tomorrow’s Leaders is an organization that mentors at-risk Lubbock children.

“The campaigns class is designed to be a practicum,” Phillips said. “It combines all of the skills and knowledge that students have accumulated throughout their previous courses. Students then apply these skills to a real-life case example with a real client who has real needs for students to research.”

Trent Seltzer, chairperson of the Department of Public Relations, also taught Public Relations Campaigns in Spring 2014. His section’s client was Saving Grace Pit Bull Rescue.

“The campaigns classes almost exclusively work with nonprofits as clients,” Seltzer said. “We teach the class as a service-learning course. The students interact with the community and do social good. We have worked with Ronald McDonald charities, American Cancer Society, Hope Lodge, National Safe Place, and Lubbock Lions Club in the past. The focus of the various nonprofits we have worked with is pretty broad.”

“Working with nonprofits has almost become our niche in the public relations department,” Seltzer added. “We have a heavy focus in the classroom and even some of the research that some faculty members engage in is nonprofit or public advocacy related in a lot of ways.”

Liz Gardner, assistant professor, taught the graduate-level Integrated Communications Campaigns class in Spring 2014. Gardner said she has enjoyed working with nonprofits in the past; however, the section Gardner taught worked with her first corporate client, Alamo Drafthouse.

“The master’s level campaigns class worked with my first corporate client ever this past spring (2014)” Gardner said. “This class brings together the different strategic communication perspectives of public relations, advertising and marketing, as compared to the undergraduate public relations campaigns course which focuses on public relations.”

Gardner and Phillips both agree that students appreciate working with real clients. Gardner said this could give students valuable experience for future positions.

“If I do things in the classroom that have real-world applicability, students become more excited and it helps build their portfolios,” Gardner said. “It can also translate into possible internships or job opportunities with our clients.”

Phillips added, “Students appreciate working with real organizations with real goals. This is not a hypothetical organization. Students appreciate seeing first-hand that things do not always go by the book. Working with real people can be exciting and challenging. Having someone face-to-face who is excited about what you are working on can be a real boost.”

Seltzer and Gardner both said that previous students have continued working with nonprofits after the last presentation is finished. One of these examples even occurred in CoMC.

“The college’s professional master’s program was a client for the Public Relations Campaigns class previously,” Gardner said. “Trevor Bell was an account manager for that semester. Dr. Coy Callison (CoMC associate dean for graduate studies) was so impressed with the campaigns that he offered a one-year graduate assistantship to Trevor to become part of the master’s program and implement some of the strategies.”

Seltzer agreed with Gardner. “There are a number of students who continue to work with nonprofits after the class,” he said. “Students have also interned with nonprofits. To get on account teams in my class, they have to apply with a résumé and portfolio. Almost everyone this past semester had completed an internship with or worked on projects for nonprofits in the community.”

Phillips said students learn valuable skills while completing the Public Relations Campaigns classes. She said all students could take away something from the class, whether the students end up working for nonprofits or not.

“Research skills are one of the large takeaways from the class,” Phillips said. “Students conducted focus groups and interviews. Some students have already learned these skills in past classes but got to see how their research ties to their plans in this class.”

“The campaigns class also teaches students how to work in groups,” Phillips said. “In most classes, group projects last a few weeks or so. In this class, you stay in your group all semester. Problems are faced and solved that few groups experience when projects only last a few weeks.”

Students in the college also worked with nonprofits in other classes. Jo Grant, assistant professor of practice, taught Public Relations for NonProfits in Spring 2014. Grant’s class worked with Highpoint Village.

“This class allows students to share what they know and allows this community to see the face of our college,” Grant said. “Service learning is a vital component to living and breathing in this society and the class is a way for the college to extend its borders. Students have the opportunity to get out of the building and do things in the outside world.”

“I love working with nonprofits,” Grant said “One reason that I enjoy working with them is because they stand on a mission and that mission is to help somebody or something. I am trying to instill in students the importance of serving the mission rather than driving dollars to the bottom line.”

Seltzer said students could learn that working with nonprofits is a valid career choice. He said the general public might not associate the field of public relations with societal good, but the department is currently combating this perception with recent nonprofit work.

“Students can learn more about the public relations field by working with nonprofits,” Seltzer said. “They see public relations is not just about helping companies sell more products. Public relations is an integral part of nonprofits doing social good. It helps combat the stigma of who practices public relations and for what purpose.” mc

(Preston Redden graduated in 2015 with a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communications and in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism.)