A Global Innovator
STORY By Cora Flynn
From networking with CEOs of public relations firms to launching a global branch of Marist College’s North Road Communications, Alexis Lee ‘24 is making strides as she breaks into the PR industry.
Lee discovered her interest in PR in the spring of 2020 when she was selected to participate in a campaign for Pandora Jewelry and Sebastian Professional. As a high school senior who lost out on many customary events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was able to have a “virtual prom” with five other girls from across the country. She received PR packages and was interviewed by reporters for PopSugar and News 12 New Jersey.
“I found it so interesting that that [could be] a career. I had so much fun participating in it that I was like, ‘Wow, I'd love to be [the one who] sets up these types of things,’” Lee said.
Despite the heavy COVID precautions during her first semester at Marist, Lee wasted no time getting involved. Within her first week, she began working at the Center for Career Services as a digital content assistant and for Marist Athletics as a student office manager for the football team.
“I learned very early on how beneficial hands-on experience is in your career,” shared Lee. “Communications is a very broad degree, and when you're trying to set yourself apart in a job application or interview, they're going to care about what you have actual physical experience with.”
This mindset led her to apply that spring to NRC, Marist’s student-run integrated marketing communications firm that provides pro-bono services for local nonprofits. As the only freshman in the firm at the time, she quickly rose through the ranks. By the fall of her sophomore year, she was the creative director of strategy and operations. At the start of her junior year, she was the firm’s first junior director. In her role, she worked hand-in-hand with fellow firm director Grayce Shuker ‘23, and they developed a close bond over their shared love of NRC.
“Since first being involved in NRC, we cared about the future of the firm, no matter what our title was,” said Shuker. “We really wanted to bring that into our leadership too. So once [Lee and I] started working together, we both poured that passion [for] growth of the firm into our work, and that definitely shines through.”
Illustration by Izzy Nuzzo
As junior director, Lee checked off another major college milestone: going abroad. However, her commitment to the firm wouldn’t be left behind in Poughkeepsie, New York, so she brought NRC with her. Lee launched NRC Global in Florence, Italy, making NRC one of the first student-run global firms. Inspiration for this project came from various places, including NRC advisor Dr. Jennifer Robinette, senior professional lecturer of communication and public relations.
“[I was sad planning not to be involved with NRC while abroad, so I] said that to Dr. Robinette one day, and she was like, ‘Well, why don't we just take it global then?’ That was something that changed my perspective,” shared Lee. “She has such a can-do attitude that has turned me into the person that I am today.”
Lee faced several obstacles in establishing a global branch, such as recruiting students and navigating cultural differences while finding clients.
“We struggled to get a client at first, and a huge part of that was just the cultural difference of nonprofit organizations over there,” Lee recalled. “I quickly learned that the nonprofit sector there is not as flashy as it is in America. We eventually found that utilizing and connecting ourselves and word of mouth was the most successful way of obtaining a client.”
Returning to Poughkeepsie afterward, Lee continued to develop NRC Global in new locations. She also focused her senior capping project on the impact of NRC Global and hands-on experience. She is confident in the future of the branch.
“We've been working on expanding, particularly to London, [England,] and then we've also been in the works expanding to Ireland since we do have Dublin Business School there,” said Lee.
As the firm director this year, Lee has worked with her fellow directors to grow NRC and its reach. They had 14 clients and 64 members in the fall of 2022 and have expanded to 25 clients and 135 members by this spring. Looking forward, Lee hopes NRC will continue to provide a fun and fulfilling way for students to develop their interest in PR.
“I would love to see people develop and give students the opportunity to pursue their passions, pursue hands-on experience and figure out what they want to do at a college level,” said Lee. “I would love for NRC to continue to house those creative minds where people can flourish and make a difference while doing it.”
Lee has expanded her professional development outside of the Marist campus and gained experience in agency life through her internships at Channel V Media, Fortune & Frame and rbb Communications.
Last summer, she decided to explore her interest in music and project management through her internship at Live Nation. There, she worked with project manager Victoria Mulé ‘16 to organize country music festivals around the U.S. Because of all her experiences, Lee has several paths she could explore post-graduation.
“What I did throughout college was as many internships and hands-on experience opportunities as possible to gauge what I liked and what I didn't like,” Lee recounts. “I still don't exactly know, but I do have an idea of some of my long-term interests. I would love to own my own PR IMC agency down the line.”
Regardless of what she ends up doing, Lee’s coworkers and mentors have the utmost faith in her ability to succeed.
“I think her positivity maybe outweighs everything else. And that will take anyone very far in any work environment,” said Robinette. “The ability to hear and deal with negative questions and say, ‘How can we fix this? How can we improve it? How can we do this better in the future?’ The ability to stay focused on that, instead of getting mired down in the negatives, is the key to success in many ways.”
Photography by Christopher C. Smith
Video by Rose Mayer and Christopher C. Smith