On Tuesday, November 5th, Temple PRSSA welcomed Lauren Woodard and Morgan Horell from the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. They spoke to members about their professional journeys that led them to their current roles at the Kimmel Center.
Lauren currently serves as the Public Relations Manager at the Kimmel Center. Her role includes the traditional public relations efforts for the Kimmel: writing press releases, pitching media, distributing the internal newsletter, among other tasks. A graduate of Penn State, she majored in English and Creative Writing, and spoke on her passions for writing and editing. After graduation, she accepted a Public Relations internship at the Kimmel and has been there ever since, jumping around in different roles throughout the marketing department. Lauren has been an employee of the Kimmel for five years and shared how she has mastered the language they use in writing materials and has a strong understanding of their messaging. An avid lover of theater and performing arts, Lauren expressed how the Kimmel Center is the perfect company for her as she can combine her passion for theater and communication through her job.
Morgan currently serves as the Marketing Content Associate at the Kimmel Center. Her role includes managing the social media platforms, photography and videography, content creation, overseeing the internship program among other responsibilities. A graduate of Juniata College, Morgan studied Multi-Media Arts Production, and spent her time on campus working various photography and social-media centric jobs, specifically for theater programs at her college. These experiences cultivated Morgan’s love for multimedia arts, specifically for theater. After graduation, Morgan interned with Longwood Gardens and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts before officially settling in with the Kimmel Center. An employee for over a year, Morgan is also extremely grateful to merge her love of theater and performing arts with her talents in marketing and multimedia arts.
Since the Kimmel Center is Philadelphia’s largest non-profit and the cultural hub of the city, Morgan and Lauren’s day-to-day lives are very busy. They shared how they manage the public relations load of their variety of shows, including free events, Broadway Philadelphia performances, resident companies, and their own Kimmel Center Presents programming. With the assistance of local marketing and public relations agencies in the Philadelphia area, the Kimmel Center’s public relations team can handle the heavy amount of programming always occurring across their campus.
When providing advice for members, Lauren and Morgan, who both held post-grad internships, said to not be scared of those opportunities or think they are less-than an entry-level position. Post-grad internships provide you with more chances to grow and learning opportunities before taking the large jump into a first ‘real job.’ They also stressed the importance of saying yes to opportunities and to find a company you truly want to work for and genuinely love. If you are passionate about the work you are doing, that passion shows in the work you provide.
This blog post was written by Caitlin Gemmi, Vice President.