A Career Path Worth Following

The Path I Wish to Take

Having interned at the Oklahoma City Thunder for two semesters and currently working part-time there, my dream job and ultimate goal through my Public Relations degree at The University of Oklahoma is to work full-time for the Thunder after graduation. Kaylee Losinger, a Guest Relations Specialist for the Oklahoma City Thunder, took the exact career path I wish to take.

How to Get the Job

Ms. Losinger, like myself, interned with the Oklahoma City Thunder the semester before she graduated. Although she graduated with one class left to take, she started working with the Thunder while finishing up her degree. Now, she works full time in the Guest Relations department.

“The first part of my job mainly revolves around communicating with the fans,” Losinger said.

Every day the Guest Relations department gets hundreds of emails from fans for variety of different reasons. Ms. Losinger’s job requires he to hold up the standards placed by the Thunder of responding to each email or request within one business day. This can include anything from sending Thunder memorabilia to fans, to responding to a question or problem.

The second part of her job is acting as a liaison between the arena staff and the staff at the Oklahoma City Thunder. During games, these groups of people constantly interact. Ms. Losinger helps them stay in contact through internal newsletters, conferences and other forms of communication.

Advice for an Aspiring Professional

When asked what her advice would be for someone wanting to go into her field of work, she simply responded, “stick with it and make all the connections you can.”

Her advice has directly affected me. While interning at the Thunder I have taken every opportunity to meet anyone I can. I get advice from anyone willing to give it and do not take for granted a single day. Hopefully, my future will lead me right where Kaylee’s led her.

Brenna Kent

November 10, 2011

Photo: Courtesy of Okeicentric

The Path to Public Relations Success

Working 12-hour days from the road or pouring over donor contact lists, Ashley Hahn does it all. Hahn is a public relations professional who specializes in politics. She received a degree in political science from the University of Central Oklahoma <http://www.uco.edu/> began as an intern on a local political race and never looked back. Hahn served as the Grass Roots Coordinator for Governor Mary Fallin’s gubernatorial race <http://www.maryfallin.org/>. Her work on the campaign led to a position running the Oklahoma governor’s non-profit, Friends of the Mansion: <http://www.ok.gov/governor/Mansion.html>. Most recently, Hahn has worked at the Oklahoma Department of Education’s Communications Department. She specializes in scheduling and planning events for the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Janet Barresi: <http://www.janetbarresi.com/>.

I worked with Hahn on the Oklahoma public school superintendent’s conference, Innovation, over the summer of 2011: <http://sde.state.ok.us/services/conference/Innovation/default.html>. The conference required a large amount of fundraising and organization. The event took place at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City and featured over 2,000 attendees. The window for planning the conference was very short, and Hahn (with a few staffers including myself) did an excellent job putting it together (often working in excess of 12 hours per day).

Hahn is part of a reorganized communications department that operates much like an independent public relations firm. In addition to traditional public relations work, the group attempts to create its own media for distribution. According to Hahn, however, planning events is now small task: “The most challenging part of my job is definitely pulling everything together in organizing events. You have a lot of moving parts, and it’s very stressful attempting to lock them all down to execute the actual event.” However, Hahn encourages involvement early for eager public relations professionals, “The best advice I can give is to get involved early. Seek out internships and build up your experience. The more you can competently do, the less stressful your life will be when you get a great public relations job!”

Evan Handy