By Jaelyn Jennings
Starting my college journey as an undecided business major, I knew little about the world of public relations. Sophomore year of college, a friend told me about Temple University’s chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) because she knew I wanted to change my major to something more appealing. At the time, I did not know what that was. After my first meeting with PRSSA, I found a place where I knew I wanted to be. I quickly changed my major that same week and enrolled in courses related to public relations.
I started to get involved in extracurricular clubs and organizations associated with the public relations field and eventually landed my first internship at a small PR agency in Philadelphia. My involvement led to an opportunity to attend PRSA’s 2023 ICON conference in Tennessee. I was able to network with peers and practitioners and learn about varying areas of public relations.
The entire conference was an amazing experience. But there was a problem. I quickly felt out of my league. I was overwhelmed by the number of established and talented professionals and students who attended. I felt like I was in no position to be there because I had not yet accomplished as much as other people attending the conference.
There were a lot of networking opportunities at ICON. At that time, I was not one to start up conversations with strangers easily. It amazed me others could with such ease, and when I finally got the courage to talk with someone, they spoke about all of the internships and work experience they had completed already. At the time, I only had one internship under my belt. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone. As I talked with other members from my chapter of PRSSA, I found they were feeling the same.
After I returned from the conference, I started to get more involved with PRSSA and other organizations. I started to write more and really pay more attention to edits and critiques from my professors. Looking back on it now, I realize I was trying to overcompensate for that overwhelming feeling of self-doubt. I started feeling a bit better about my writing and professional accomplishments. Eventually, I landed an internship at Republic Records as a media and publicity intern. Once again, I felt like I had absolutely no business being at a company of that stature and reputation. Even though I was having fun and making connections in the music industry, I still had a feeling of inexperience and self-doubt. However, I came to realize that the interns had different backgrounds. I had done more than others and others had done more than me. What mattered most was what I did with the opportunity.
Throughout my time at Temple and the internships I have completed, I have learned almost everyone has feelings of imposter syndrome. Recently, I attended this year’s PRSA ICON in 2024, and one of the keynote speakers was Gio Benitez, co-anchor on Good Morning America. He spoke about the failures in his career and his experience with imposter syndrome on the ABC morning show. It was valuable to hear from an experienced journalist and communicator that my feelings were completely normal.
Mostly, I realized that I belong. Not just at the conference but in the profession, itself. A lot of professional environments can make you feel this sense of unbelonging and imposter syndrome. There can also be a lot of pressure for perfection and timeliness in the workplace. However, it is important to remember you are in those spaces for a reason. I may just be starting out, but I’m starting to understand and value my worth as a writer, a PR professional and a person.
Rising Stars is a series of thoughts, reflections and perspectives by the interns at Devine + Partners. Jaelyn Jennings is a senior majoring in public relations at Temple University.
Devine + Partners is a Philadelphia public relations agency . We offer a full range of communications services – from message and content development and media relations to issues management and employee and community engagement.
