Welcome back to Behind the Swing! If you’re new, this is a behind the scenes scoop on the ins and outs of Hofstra’s student-led PR Agency, The Swing. My name is Bella and I’m the Agency Director for this semester. I want to tell you all a little about what that means – and specifically, what it has meant for me – as well as what it’s really like working for Swing.
First, for the sake of transparency, I think it’s important to note that I’m not planning on pursuing a future in PR. This may be shocking (it still surprises me sometimes), but I’ve decided to try to go to law school and pursue entertainment and sport law. I think this is important because it has given me a different perspective on Swing.
As a graduating senior, Swing is my last real opportunity to see what a future in PR could look like. It’s been a bittersweet ride so far and it feels like a semester long goodbye to the future I thought I’d be pursuing. But, I’m extremely grateful for Swing and for everything Hofstra’s PR department has done for me. Now, you might be wondering what this has to do with any of you lovely readers, hold on, I’m getting there.
All of this means that, through Swing, I’ve fallen in love with PR all over again. It’s easy to lose the initial passion and drive we all had as incoming, fresh-faced freshman, eager to take on the world one press release at a time. It’s easy to get caught up in the fear and logistics and uncertainty of it all. Can we make it in PR? Do we have what it takes? Are we good enough? Are we going to live like broke college students the rest of our lives? It’s a lot, believe me, I get it. For anyone who feels even a fraction of that, I cannot recommend Swing enough.
Working in the Swing Agency is akin to dipping your toe into reality. We work with real clients, have real deadlines, and have real responsibilities – all of which can be incredibly daunting at times. Yet, on the flip side, we get to see the real results, accomplishments, and successes of our campaigns play out in real time. We get the gratification of knowing that our work is going out in the world to actually do something. As someone who has felt like they’ve been playing pretend in all of their other classes, this was invigorating for me. I’ve had the frustration of dealing with tough clients, the thrill of coming up with an innovative idea, the relief of meeting a deadline…you get the idea.
Swing is a roller coaster, but one that I don’t really want to get off of. For me, leaving the roller coaster means leaving PR behind for good (at least, I think, maybe ask me again in five years). But, for all of you, Swing can be your first ride that shoots you into bigger and better things. I know it’s easy to hit a point where every class just feels like a load of work you don’t want to do. But Swing can be different – it is different. That’s the whole point. It’s a break from the machine of college and the chance to do something new and exhilarating and real.
Now, I won’t lie to you and say that being in the Swing is a walk in the park. Some days are tough. Some days you feel like running through a wall. But all of the tough days end up being worth it to get to be a part of something real. It’s stressful, but so is life. You can’t have the good without the bad to make you grateful for it. And there’s nothing you’ll be more grateful for than your time in Swing.