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Giving Makes a Difference: Learning the Public Relations Ropes

Matthew Pereira
Matthew Pereira

Junior Matthew Pereira has big plans. He hopes to use his communication major and minors in public relations and theatre to forge a career doing public relations in the entertainment industry.

He’s already got a great start. Pereira has been interning for the past year with the College’s Marketing and Communications Department, working directly with Media Relations Manager Kelly Ricaurte.

“I love working here because I’m getting real experience in the field,” he says.

That experience includes writing press releases and a series of feature stories that highlight student and alumni success. For instance, he interviewed a student who is interning with Ken Burns’s Florentine Films and an alumnus who works as an executive at ABC.

“We’re trying to create stories about how Keene State has affected students and alumni in a positive way,” he said.

Pereira is pitching the stories to the press. “We’re trying to reach out to media outlets to get the word out about the great things Keene State students and alumni are doing.”

When he’s not studying or interning, Pereira is a member of the College Debate Club.

If you’re a Keene State graduate, you may get a call from him one day. He’s a caller on the Development Department’s Phonathon team. The callers, work study students, reach out and connect with alumni to fill them in on current events in and around Keene State, to update their contact information, and to ask for their support for current and future students. Specifically, they seek donations to the KSC Fund, an unrestricted fund that aids student’s scholarships and financial aid.

A job that requires constant conversation and phone calls is not for everyone. It takes a special and charismatic personality to be a successful Phonathon employee. Luckily, Pereira, who has been working the phones for two years, has these traits.

“I went into the job not knowing much, but as I have become a caller, I’ve really started to enjoy what I’m doing,” says Pereira. “It’s for such a good cause, so I’ve stuck with it.”

Notably, Pereira has been donating to the KSC Fund throughout his time at Keene State College, and stresses even the smallest donation can help. Why donate as a student? “I look at it as, this place gave me so much that any little amount I could give, $5 or $15, could help give back for all the experiences that I’ve had.”

Pereira enjoys his Phonathon job and Marketing and Communications internship as he’s happy to connect with alumni and also raising money for students for years to come. “It’s important to be engaged in your school after you graduate, because it helped you get where you are, get a degree and a job. You also spend four years of your life in college, and for that time it becomes your home,” he says.

– By Stephanie Krasco ’15

There are many great students at Keene State who could use a helping hand—over 80% have expressed financial need. If you’d like to make a difference, please visit our giving page or contact Laurie Alden at 603-358-2372 for more information.

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Contact Keene State College

1-800-KSC-1909
229 Main Street
Keene, New Hampshire 03435