As we drove into Pittsburgh, the glistening lights from the busy city night came into view. I was instantly excited to explore a new city I had never been to with my favorite people, all while having great networking opportunities.
Thursday morning we got up bright and early to head into the city. A bright pink and orange sign flickered down the street reading “Dunkin Donuts.” Rejuvenation. We pulled ourselves into the Dunkin Donuts to order a surplus of breakfast food and coffee to bring our bodies up to pace with our eager minds- ready to take on the day.
First, the Gatesman office was open and inviting. A nearly 360 view of the city could be seen out of the windows that surrounded the office and the cubicles were cut short so that everyone could interact and see each other. The meeting kicked off with trends of the week, stressing on the importance of staying relevant and up-to-date in the PR world. I liked that we were invited to participate by working on our own mini social media campaign and got a taste of what the work life was like in the office. Once we were done learning about this amazing company, we were off to our next stop.
Walking into Elias Savion was like walking into a 5-star hotel, with each room having its own aesthetic. After touring the office, we went into a meeting room made entirely of glass with a beautiful view of the surrounding city. We were greeted with snacks and a great presentation on who they are as a company. I really enjoyed getting to hear about some of the different projects they had worked on and what the internship program looked like.
After a much-needed lunch break at a delicious local sushi restaurant, we started off again to continue our day of networking at Visit Pittsburgh. We were greeted by a friendly staff and were able to hear from people of all different positions within the company. They discussed what it was like working in travel and tourism and how their company was growing. I thought it was a great learning experience to hear how each member contributed to the team.
Our final company of the day was BCW. Being an agency with offices all over the world, BCW had a lot of exciting new perspectives to share with us. I loved hearing from some of the younger employees about what their experience was like as a new hire and what information they had about internship opportunities. I also liked getting to hear from some of the older staff about what it was like staying with the company over time and learning about how they grew professionally.
We finished the day by heading to the overlook on Mt. Washington. A tall, walkout platform provided a full view of the entire city. Each building lit up the night sky around us. It was the perfect ending to our trip.
*bonus* click here to watch a recap video of the Chapter’s trip to Pittsburgh!
Sami Morsink is a junior Journalism Strategic Communications major and current VP of Visual Communications for Scripps PRSSA. You can find her on Twitter @Samimor23