A dozen juniors and seniors from James Madison University came to Washington, D.C., on March 22 for a glimpse into the life of a communications professional. The externships, organized by IABC/Washington, placed the students at eight host organizations representing a mix of government and private sector workplaces.
“IABC's Student Shadow Day is an investment we should all make,” said Donna Vincent Roa, Ph.D., ABC, public affairs director at the Environmental Protection Agency. “Allowing a student to experience a ‘day in the life' can help them feel the excitement, understand the challenges, and reconfirm their commitment to the field.”
JMU Senior Regan Hiatt, president of the JMU IABC student chapter, spent the day with Melissa Burke at Aon Consulting. She called it an “excellent experience,” and said that all her fellow students “had a productive and informative day.”
Len Johnson, president of JDG Communications, said his company was pleased to host two students. “They were exposed to a hectic day of internal team meetings and a client meeting to get a glimpse of the varied activities of an integrated marketing communications company,” he said. “They also helped to draft an awards entry for our submission to the American Marketing Association M Awards competition that actually helped us to meet this deadline. I think we all benefited by participating in this worthwhile IABC event!”
In addition to the EPA, Aon Consulting, and JDG Communications, participating hosts included Vanguard Communications, the National Association of Home Builders, Brotman-Winter-Fried Communications, the U.S. Government Printing Office, and Planned Television Arts, a division of Ruder Finn. Thanks to all of you for making this year's Student Shadow Day a success!
Daria Steigman
President, IABC/Washington
