NCC Communications Grad Finds Success at Global PR Firm
“I knew I was going to go to college after high school, but in high school I got diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I was dealing with a lot of medical issues, and that derailed my ability to focus on college when everyone was getting ready to apply to four-year schools,” he said. Not yet prepared to leave home, he enrolled in the Communications associate degree program at NCC – just a short drive from his hometown of Merrimack, NH – where he wanted to focus on journalism.
“I loved my journalism and creative writing classes at Merrimack High School, and decided I wanted to be a journalist.”
Kyle intended to do one year of community college and transfer to a bachelor’s program. He was accepted by many, and chose a university in Boston. “But a few weeks before the semester start there, things with financial aid fell through, and my parents and I were not able to fill the gap of what was not covered by loans. So, I came back to NCC.”
During that time, he weighed career prospects in journalism, and decided to give public relations a try. “I took a PR course to see what it’s about, and that inspired me to focus on PR.”
As Kyle was already enrolled in the Communications program with a focus on journalism, it wasn’t much of an adjustment to shift focus on PR within the same program. He graduated in 2017 with his associate degree, and transferred right into the PR program at Suffolk University.
“By the time I got to University, I could skip a lot of intro courses and go into the senior and honor level PR courses and more fun things like photojournalism classes, because all the basic classes were done at NCC.”
Looking back on his time at NCC, he said it felt like an extension of high school. “That’s a good thing. My really close friends I grew up with also went to NCC, all except a couple. I got there, and I already felt comfortable, I had my friends around me. Those friends turned into my lifelong friends after two more years together really drove us closer into friendships as adults. And I got to meet some other great people from outside of my home town – Hudson, Brookline, Hollis – I got to intermingle with people I didn’t get to meet in high school. That was really fun.”
He also worked alongside classmates at a nearby restaurant, furthering a sense of community.
“NCC was really a community gathering place for people in the same part of life as me, and I really appreciated that.”
After NCC, Kyle chose Suffolk University for its PR program and location in Downtown Boston. “I am a first-generation college graduate,” he said. “It’s one of the top colleges for PR in the country, and they gave me a great financial package.”
“I did that for the next two years, got my Bachelor’s and went immediately into the workforce. I used the internships from NCC and Suffolk to help me launch my career. I started my professional career at PAN Communications, a B2B technology PR firm in Boston. I worked there for a few years through covid, and them moved out west and did remote work. Then I wanted a career pivot to do PR for nonprofits, specifically nature conversation and sustainability, and that’s how I landed at Weber Shandwick.”
The company happened to be looking for a PR manager at their Seattle Office. “That fell into my lap. A recruiter called me and asked what I was looking for – they had exactly what I wanted. I’ve now been here two years. My focus is media relations, so what I do every day is speak with the media and help develop articles on behalf of my various clients. I regularly send out pitches about announcements, draft press materials and set up coffee with reporters to get to know them. I love the time I spend with reporters, it helps me understand the stories they cover, the priorities of their publication and the shifting media landscape.”
While starting at NCC, and completing a two-year degree there wasn’t the original plan, he said he recommends the transfer route a bachelor’s degree. “I would recommend it, it saves a lot of money.”
In particular, living at home an additional two years cut down on education costs. “Especially when I think about how much money I spent on housing in Boston – which is the case anywhere these days. You save a lot of money, and I liked the community feel of NCC.”
“[NCC] is more community-based, people really care. Don’t take that for granted, and really lean into the support that’s being offered and the care, because you don’t find that everywhere.”
