How NRC prepared me for DeVries Global

Nicole Grossman, Account Executive - Big Apple Basketball

As a senior studying Advertising and Public Relations, being a firm member at North Road Communications serves as a catalyst for my career skills to bloom. I currently intern three days a week at DeVries Global, a cultural communications PR agency in NYC. When I interviewed for this intern position, my NRC membership was something I was able to proudly speak about and highlight on my resume.

Last semester, I was a member of the NRC Data & Analytics team. I was able to assist client teams in social media analytics, utilizing Salesforce Social Studio technology. I use a similar software now at DeVries to track an influencer program, such as how many times an influencer posted about our brand each month and what level of engagement each post received. Many of the technological skills I obtained through my NRC work allowed me to pick up this new software quickly. One of the most useful parts of my Data & Analytics experience through NRC was understanding how to simplify social media in order to highlight key findings to the client in a clean and efficient format. At the end of each month, my team at DeVries prepares a report for our client that reflects KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). The social media analytics are summarized into a visually appealing presentation, and highlights key numbers of growth (follower count, engagement rate, etc.). While all data may be important in some aspect, the ability to summarize and highlight the most outstanding KPIs is essential; so that the client can clearly see progress and growth.

This semester, I am the Account Executive for the Big Apple Basketball team. Big Apple Basketball is an NYC nonprofit organization that hosts basketball events, conducts clinics, offers college scholarship programs, mentoring programs and manages teams. I have the pleasure of working with Jason Curry, who founded Big Apple Basketball and worked hard to expand the organization and make it successful throughout the tri-state area. Jason is a great, hardworking individual who values NRC for our unwavering dedication. One thing I have learned working with Jason is the importance of constant communication when working as a team. Unlike other clients, Jason prefers phone calls rather than emails or texts. I jump on the phone with Jason once or twice a week to catch up and discuss new tasks. These phone calls have certainly made them realize the value of voice communication over digital conversations. Our phone calls are so much more personable than sending emails. In a digital age where technology in business is a necessity, it feels great to work on my verbal communication skills through these weekly phone calls. At DeVries, we similarly have weekly conference calls with our clients. In order to be productive during these calls, strong verbal communication skills are vital. My supervisor, a Marist alumni who I greatly admire, gave me the advice to “over-communicate”. When working at an agency, over-communicating with team members certainly helps to streamline tasks and ensure that everyone is on the same page. I am beyond thankful that NRC has given me this client experience, gaining skills that I am able to apply throughout my daily internship experience!