The importance of jumping into the fountain

I was inspired recently.

Molly Currey’s Twitter bio reads: “PR Exec. Mom of Two. Marathon Runner. Ex-racecar driver. Breast Cancer Ass Kicker. Strolling down the road less traveled.” I am eager to say that Molly Currey is, indeed, all of these and even more. Maybe Molly should add “an inspiration” to her bio. I, for one, can vouch.

Molly, a Marquette alumni, came to speak to my PR Writing class about her experience as a PR professional at Golin Harris, a Public Relations agency in Chicago. It’s always nice hearing from industry professionals because they give broke college kids, like me, that little glimpse of hope to “keep on keepin’ on,” as Molly would put it. At any rate, I learned three valuable things from Molly.

1. PR is storytelling: This is a great way to sum up the art of Pubic Relations because it seems so long-winded any other way. This is simple, concise and, best of all, non communications majors understand this concept. Public Relations has the reputation of the profession that nobody really knows what it is. Storytelling gets to the heart of PR.

2. Understand your audience: Yes, AP style is essential, but understanding your audience is vital. You may not always have time for a beginning, a middle and an end. Get your point across as quickly and concisely as possible.

3. Jump in that fountain: I asked Molly to share one of the most important lessons she learned at Marquette.

“Never jump into the fountain in front of the courthouse” she said.

All joking aside, Molly illustrated a fine point. Be yourself, love what you do and don’t regret anything. Jumping into that fountain may not have gotten Molly her job at Golin Harris, but likely contributed to her success at life- a success I’d like to feel eventually.

Realistically, Molly is likely too humble to add “an inspiration” to her Twitter bio. Maybe I should add “inspired by Molly Currey” to my bio instead.