Get Career-Ready with: Harmony Sheftall '26, Public Relations, Advertising and Social Media Major Student Profile

Why did you choose Point Park University’s public relations, advertising and social media program?

Point Park's PR, advertising and social media program met all of my criteria and more. It was important to me to find a university with a School of Communication that had designated resources for my major, got me out of my hometown in Tennessee, preferably in an urban setting and had the integrity as an institution to open doors to connections and opportunities. If I was going to invest in a college, I wanted to find a program that could help propel me beyond the classroom. Point Park hasn't disappointed me.

When did it all come together that you made the right decision to major in PR, advertising and social media at Point Park?

I knew I made the right decision after my first Intro to Public Relations and Advertising class. I truly appreciated the discussion-based format and my highly-knowledgeable Professor Jenna Lo Castro, who remains my favorite teacher to this day. This class pulled back one of the many veils that exist between the public and the media, giving me my first foundational understanding of this field, but even more, it showed me all of the things I have yet to learn to truly master it.

This would have been the moment to feel overwhelmed and dreadful about what this major entails, but I felt excited and eager to learn more. Because of all of the ways I have been able to apply what I learned through opportunities outside the classroom, I know Point Park is the right place to do it.

@pointparku Take a look at how Public Relations, Advertising and Social Media major Harmony Sheftall '26 gets career-ready at Point Park! 👏📱🎭 See what it's like to be a social media assistant & VP of Point Park's student Public Relations Society of America (@prsa) chapter. Full Q&A at pointpark.edu ✨ #GRWM #GetReadyWithMe #PointParkUniversity #PointParkU #TheatreTok #PointParkTheatre #PRSSA #PRSA #PublicRelations #PublicRelationsTok #PRTok ♬ original sound - Point Park Univ.

What activities are you involved in on campus?

PRSSA Vice President and Member

My involvement in PRSSA has afforded me numerous opportunities to learn from and network with local industry professionals through our parent organization, PRSA, and my executive role has allowed me to nurture my organizational and leadership skills.

Social Media Assistant, Pittsburgh Playhouse

In this role, I report to Shannon Knapp, director of marketing for the University's Pittsburgh Playhouse. I have been able to practice my social media marketing skills by assisting with the overall management and content creation on social media platforms, such as creating graphics, acquiring content from theatre and dance rehearsals and shows, researching account tags for partners and maintaining social media scheduling. Check out one of our highest performing LinkedIn posts. I also create all of the opening night posts for our Instagram.

You recently participated in the 2024 PRSSA Student Conference. Tell us about your role, networking opportunities and what you learned.

Our PRSSA chapter collaborated with Duquesne University's PRSSA to host a student-run and student-focused regional conference. The event featured two days of meaningful speaker sessions, agency tours and networking opportunities.

As vice president, I served on the conference committee as lead graphic designer/social media manager, responsible for marketing our event and managing registrations. This opportunity gave me my first look into event planning, all of its many layers, the struggle to stay organized and on schedule and the triumph of seeing the event come together in the end, benefiting so many students and young professionals. I gained so much from each speaker session, learning about topics that ranged from PR techniques to event planning case studies, social media tactics, internship and networking tips and using AI tools in communication. After this experience, I am excited to take on an even greater role in the planning of next year’s conference as PRSSA president.

What are your key responsibilities as a PR intern with Poppins Productions?

My key responsibilities consist of collaborating with our Department of PR/Marketing to create engaging content for social platforms and newsletters, providing ideas and feedback for marketing initiatives to improve the brand image, monitoring media coverage of competitors and performing any additional administrative duties.

Most recently, I became the lead PR Intern for our upcoming initiative to promote the grand opening of our first storefront. For this project, I will be responsible for creating a list of the local media outlets, drafting and sending a press release and helping to lead the overall marketing/social strategy to promote this event.

What are three places to check out around the city?

La Gourmandine bakery, Gasoline Street Coffee Company and Slacker boutique.

More About: AdFed/PRSSA, public relations and advertising, School of Communication, Get Career-Ready, internships, Pittsburgh Playhouse