The Semesterly
Fall 2025
Welcome!
Welcome to the Fall 2025 Semesterly! Our PRSSA-UD newsletter showcases the exciting things we have accomplished this fall semester. As this year's promotions director, I was given the opportunity to curate this semesters newsletter.
I am excited to share all of the events and experiences that have taken place over the semester. Fall 2025 has been full of professional development, learning and fun! We learned from a variety of amazing guest speakers and hosted relevant and engaging skill slams with Catherine, our Director of Internal Communication. In addition to that, our executive board had the opportunity to attend PRSSA's ICON National Conference in Washington, D.C. We were fortunate enough to hear from astounding speakers in all areas of Public Relations.
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We also had our Fall Field Trip to HUNTER and Stagwell at One World Trade Center which was a great learning and networking opportunity for our members. Being able to hear from practicing professionals was an amazing experience.
I am so grateful for each and every member of this chapter for continuing to help us develop as a chapter. We have grown so much, and we can't wait to see what the next semester brings us!
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See you next semester!
Emma Schneider
Promotions Director, PRSSA University of Delaware
A Letter From The President
What a pleasure it is to reflect on yet another incredible semester here at PRSSA-UD! We began this term with a renewed vision of what success looks like. Beyond award recognition and numerical data, we determined that a true model chapter is one that’s fueled by the bold ideas of our executive board and community members. So, we took risks. We expanded the geographical reach of our annual fall field trip, welcomed a national franchise location as a new client within our micro-internship program, and reimagined previously dormant initiatives. Those choices paid dividends and set a higher standard for our operations moving forward.
Fall 2025 was a semester rich with active learning opportunities. Every other week, an overflow of students filled our Alison Hall classroom and Zoom meeting room to gain insights from guest speakers who led public relations for Universal Orlando, Factory PR, 5WPR, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Ascendant Group during general meetings coordinated by Taylor Mitchell (Meetings Director). We had the distinct pleasure of learning from Dr. Tracey Holden during this semester’s Coffee with a Professor. Our dues-paying members participated in two interactive skill slams covering topics such as LinkedIn optimization and the role of artificial intelligence in public relations, hosted by Catherine Corrado (Director of Internal Professional Development). Ms. Corrado can also be credited with securing the Mango Mango Newark location, a subsidiary of the popular national dessert franchise, as the latest client for our student-run firm and micro-internship program, Public PRactice.
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I couldn’t possibly summarize this semester’s programming without acknowledging two major leaps that proved worthwhile. At the top of the semester, Gianna Furth confidently stepped into our brand-new board position, Director of Community Engagement, without a roadmap. Thanks to her commitment to the role and exceptional leadership, we welcomed twelve students into our three new committees: Communication Writing Committee, New Member Committee, and Social Event Committee. In November, our annual fall field trip took us all the way to New York City, venturing beyond our typical Philadelphia boundaries. Following months of meticulous planning, Laila Broussard (Director of External Affairs), supported by Professor Gilmore (faculty advisor) and myself, arranged a bus trip for 30+ students and faculty members to visit Stagwell and Hunter at One World Trade Center. It was an unforgettable day filled with tours, workshops, and panel discussions that left every attendee inspired and informed.
Our executive board had the honor of attending the 2025 PRSA ICON National Conference in Washington, D.C., during a milestone year for Blue Hens, made possible by Aubrey Hill’s (Vice President) fundraising efforts and our sponsors’ generous support. Highlights included witnessing Grace Leong, CEO of Hunter & former PRSSA-UD president, receive the Gold Anvil award, listening to life and career advice from Hunter executives over breakfast, being designated a star chapter as per tradition, spending time with members of our neighbor chapter - DSU PRSSA, and cheering on Professor Gilmore during her highly-praised session. I also had the privilege of being recognized for winning the PRSA Foundation Robin M. Urbanski Memorial Scholarship and the ICON Travel Grant at the award ceremony, which was all the more special to receive during the final conference of my undergraduate career. Every second of the trip was meaningful, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the connections, mentorship, and encouragement we’re afforded through the PRSA network.
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This moment marks an exciting time for our organization as we push into an era defined by creativity and disruption. As always, our executive board will work hard to produce bigger and better experiences for our community members next semester. I’m thrilled to continue working alongside Alexandra Briggs, Aubrey Hill, Catherine Corrado, Emma Schneider, Gianna Furth, Laila Broussard, Lucy Taylor, and Taylor Mitchell on this shared mission. Each of them is exceptionally talented in their own right and fully committed to their roles. Our chapter’s progress would not be possible without their dedication. Together, we can’t wait to interview and welcome an astounding seven fresh faces onto the executive board in the spring.
Wishing you all an amazing winter break! I hope it’s one filled with rest, connection, exploration, and opportunity. Gear up for one heck of a spring semester, as I intend to make my final term the very best one yet!
Warmly,
Kaylee Louima
President, PRSSA University of Delaware
Our Executive Board
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ICON 2025 in Washington, D.C.
This year, our executive board had the opportunity to attend the 2025 ICON National Conference held in Washington, D.C. This was a once in a lifetime experience that provided our executive board with newfound skills and advice that will help us enhance our chapter and our future professional endeavors. We heard from keynote speakers and panelists including Lauren Graham, PRSSA-UD Alumna Grace Leong, and so many more. We were able to connect with fellow PRSSA students and PRSA members to expand and strengthen our network. Three takeaways that stood out were to find the solution before focusing on the problem, opportunities come disguised as challenges, and you don't need superpowers to do incredible things. We are so grateful to have attended and we cannot wait for next year!
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In an extra exciting year for our board, we want to congratulate President Kaylee Louima on receiving the Robin M. Urbanski Memorial Scholarship and the ICON Travel Grant! We are so grateful for her leadership and congratulate her on her THIRD ICON conference!
And in an exciting year for Blue Hens, UD COMM Alumna, Grace Leong, was awarded the Gold Anvil Award, which is PRSA’s highest individual honor. We are so grateful to continue to learn from her and her fellow HUNTER partners, Heddy DeMaria and Samara Farber Mormar!
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We are so grateful for this experience and can't wait for next year!
ICON Take Aways
"I departed from Washington, D.C. with a notebook full of gems, numerous offers of mentorship, and connections with fellow student leaders who have become friends. PRSSA is a special community"
-Kaylee
Field Trip to HUNTER and Stagwell at One World Trade Center
In November, PRSSA-UD had the opportunity to visit HUNTER and Stagwell at One World Trade Center for our fall field trip. We embarked on an amazing, jam-packed day, starting with a tour of the Stagwell offices. While there, we had recruiting and resume workshops. At the same time, our PRSSA Bateman Competition team met with their professional advisors at HUNTER, Grace Leong and Heddy DeMaria, joined by Michael Surabian and Kayla Crawford, for insights on their campaign planning. Following an insightful few hours at Stagwell, the rest of our PRSSA chapter headed up to HUNTER. At HUNTER, we learned from a panel of Blue Hens on what a day looks like for various levels of experience, and had a very insightful session with Michael Lamp on artificial intelligence’s evolving role in PR.
Huge thank you to Laila Broussard, our Director of External Affairs, Kaylee Louima, our president and Chanda Gilmore, our faculty advisor for making this amazing event possible and to both HUNTER and Stagwell for having us!
General Meeting Recaps
We were fortunate to have Kelly Gardiner as our first guest speaker! Kelly, Associate Vice President at FACTORY PR, shared about working in agency public relations, adaptability in the industry and some great future career advice!
We were delighted to host Raoul Davis, the Founder and CEO of the Ascendant Group. Raoul shared his career journey from college to eventually owning his own company. Raoul also shared how to stand out to employers and advice for getting internships.
For our fourth general meeting, we were happy to have Robert Ford, Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications at 5WPR. Robert, a UD alumni, shared his career journey to 5WPR and gave powerful insights into crisis management. He also shared advice on building a personal brand.
For our fifth general meeting, we were excited to welcome Paul Silano, Marketing Manager at Universal Orlando. Paul shared his journey in amusement parks entertainment and gave insights into landing your dream job. He also gave advice on being your authentic self, even in the corporate setting.
Lastly, we were grateful to have Amanda DiPaolo Bradley, Public Relations Specialist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, join us as our final guest speaker. Amanda discussed starting her career in broadcast journalism and transitioning into the Public Relations field. Additionally, she gave insights on storytelling from a PR perspective.
Skill Slams Recap
Over the Fall Semester our Director of Internal Professional Development, Catherine, hosted two engaging and insightful skill slams for our dues paying members. The first skill slam was a workshop diving deeper into our resumes and LinkedIn profiles. Catherine taught us about networking on LinkedIn, building a portfolio website, and how to best format your resume. Next, she taught our chapter about the rise of AI in the PR industry and how to build an elevator pitch. Within this workshop, we learned how to use AI to build our elevator pitches, and even pitched ourselves to the group!
Public PRactice
Public PRactice is a micro-internship opportunity for our dues-paying members to gain experience managing the social media accounts of local businesses. This semester, our Director of Internal Professional Development, Catherine, established and maintained partnerships with two local businesses: Mango Mango and OhSoCycle. Huge shoutout to the amazing work that our two teams accomplished throughout the semester!
Introducing our New Committees!
Our Committees are a brand new opportunity available to PRSSA-UD dues-paying members. These programs were designed from the ground up to give our dues-paying members meaningful, hands-on experiences that build real-world PR skills, enhance their resumes, and strengthen our chapter community. This semester, our Director of Community Engagement, Gianna, established and worked with our three committees: New Member, Writing and Social. We are so proud of the work our three committees have been able to achieve in their first semester!
