By Alexis Peng in collaboration with the rest of the 44 New Voices team

Working on the 44 New Voices account for the last two semesters has been a rewarding experience. It’s been great to watch the client grow and be a part of planning for launches and watching the client gain exposure. The team and I have been given responsibilities including creating media lists, writing press releases, coming up with ideas for social media content, creating bios through research on the 44 honorees and organizing interviews and events with the voices. The work we have done has provided me with public relations experience in a real-world application that I have not gotten from the classroom.

Our team includes our Account Supervisor Lauren Silverstein; our Account Associates Dillon Williams, Kayla Mackie, Nikkia Asia Hurt-Bey, April Kim; our Graphic Designer Syrine Bougatef; our Intern Estaban Quinones; and I serve as Account Executive. The team has a mix of members from last semester and new faces that contribute to a diverse perspective to our work for the client.

It has been incredible to watch the client’s brand and mission grow this past year. In the fall, the team worked in the aftermath of the initial launch and the promotion of the 44 New Voices. We worked as the client’s social media presence grew and the project gained more attention from the university and beyond. As a team, we have created deliverables and a strong social media strategy to garner a larger presence on campus by highlighting notable voices at Syracuse in anticipation and promotion of the main-list launch of the project. This build-up led to more excitement as the client released its second annual list of 44 voices this semester. It has been valuable to see the client gain more notoriety since the first launch and there is only more room for growth and expansion for the future of 44 New Voices.

The virtual environment for this year is the only way that I have known for Hill Communications, as this is my first year at the firm. It is strange that I have been working with my team members for nearly a year now and have yet to have met them face-to-face. I believe that our team and the others have risen from the adversity of the pandemic to still produce quality work for the clients and worked well collaboratively through our Zoom calls and communications through group chats.

Having a list of diverse and inclusive role models for us, and learning more about their work, has been a personal inspiration for the team--and we’re excited to continue following these people as we begin our careers in media.

If 44 New Voices’ mission resonates with you the way it does for us, check out our website 44newvoices.org, Instagram (@44NewVoices) and Twitter (@44NewVoices).