Executive Board: Fall 2019
President: Faith Washington
Year: Senior
Major: Communication
Minor: Public Relations & Psychology
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Career Goals: I hope to work in healthcare Public Relations and create public health campaigns.
Internship Experience: Over the summer, I interned with Advocate Aurora Health on the Public Affairs and Marketing team. I gained a lot of experience writing journalistic-style health pieces, writing media pitches, and creating communication plans for Advocate Aurora Health’s participation in events such as the Pride Parade and their status as an included hospital on the HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index. This experience strengthened my communication skills, as well as my passion for health communication.
Favorite thing about Urbana-Champaign: The camaraderie among students and the huge campus with a lot of activities
Hobbies: Working on puzzles, playing trivia games, volleyball, and binge-watching marvel movies with my friends
Favorite Quote: “When you think positive, good things happen.”-Matt Kemp
Favorite PRSSA Moment: Visiting Zeno Group, Allison + Partners, and Golin during my first Networking trip with PRSSA
VP of Agency: Alicia Saputra
Year: Senior
Major: Communication
Minor: Business
Hometown: Jakarta, Indonesia
Career Goals: To work with a consulting company after graduation.
Internship Experience: Summer Internship with KPMG Deal Advisory Department
Favorite thing about Urbana-Champaign: Maize’s Mexican Food!
Hobbies: Netflix and Sleep
Favorite Quote: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Favorite PRSSA Moment: I got to learn things about public relations that I never knew before. I also love the networking events!
VP of Communications and Digital Media: Sophia Mallidis
Year: Junior
Major: Marketing & Supply Chain Management
Minors: Public Relations
Hometown: Hampshire, IL
Career Goals: My dream is to one day work in the music industry and/or own my own event planning business.
Favorite thing about Urbana-Champaign: I love the combination of history as well as all the new things popping up around campus. My dad went to school here and he loves to see restaurants and buildings that have been here since he went to school here, and I like to show him all the new things as well!
Hobbies: I love attending music festivals/ concerts, traveling, working out, and binge-watching reality TV
Favorite Quote: “Everything that shine ain’t always gonna be gold”
Favorite PRSSA Moment: The reason I joined PRSSA, was because of a call with an alum at my job. She was the former president of the club and raved about its benefits and how it helped her get a job after graduation. I ended up joining and later met her in person on the fall networking trip and she has been a great resource for advice and inspiration since!
VP of External: Mary Adams
Year: Junior
Major: Advertising
Minors: Public Relations & Business
Hometown: Glen Ellyn, IL
Career Goals:I hope to one day work as a marketing professional for a major television network
Internship Experience: This past summer I worked at a market research company called Reach3 Insights as a client services intern. The company was located in the River North area of Chicago. At Reach3, I had the opportunity to work on some major accounts. I assisted on projects for clients like McDonalds, NBC, and SC Johnson. At the internship, I provided our clients with updates on data pulling, crafted innovative survey chats, conducted data checking, sat in on client meetings, and many more responsibilities. The summer before this, I was a marketing intern for a fair trade fashion company called World Finds. At World Finds, I crafted press kits, blog posts, social media posts, and assisted the company with general marketing needs.
Favorite thing about Urbana-Champaign: To be at a well-respected university where I can be involved in so many things and have so many great opportunities available.
Hobbies: Reading, tennis, hiking, puzzles, movies, and seeing comedy shows
Favorite Quote: “Some women are lost in the fire. Some women are built from it”-Michelle K.
Favorite PRSSA Moment: Working on the Ebertfest team and getting to go to the festival and see all of our hard work pay off.
VP of Internal: Amina Murray
Year: Junior
Major: Advertising
Minor: Public Relations
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Career Goals:Work within the music industry. Possibly something along the lines of A&R/Publicity.
Internship Experience: Social Media Manager for the UIC Urban Health Program this past summer
Favorite thing about Urbana-Champaign: I am a huge city person! I love that Champaign is like its’ own mini city, so I get what feels like a true college experience, but it also within reasonable distance to Chicago.
Hobbies: If I am not travelling for a concert then I’m discovering new artists and creating playlists to match my every mood, watching YouTube, or working out.
Favorite Quote: “The past is just a story we tell ourselves.” – Spike Jonze
Favorite PRSSA Moment: I love being surrounded by people that have the same career aspirations as me. PRSSA gives us all a common place to build and grow both professionally and socially.
VP of Treasury: Erica Li
Year: Senior
Major: Advertising
Minor: Anthropology & History
Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan
Career Goals: I hope to work in digital advertising, audience analysis, media monitoring, or movie distribution related field.
Internship Experience: I had helped out teaching grade school children English during the summer of 2018 and 2019 in a start-up education center in Taipei called MESI. During the last academic year, I am honored to intern for Ebertfest Advertising committees.
Favorite thing about Urbana-Champaign: It is a close and welcoming community that everyone in the area is more than willing to help.
Hobbies: Watching independent movies, photography, cooking, reading cliché Mandarin online novels, trying out well-known hot pot restaurants in Taipei.
Favorite Quote: “Readers of histories and novels can hardly fail to be struck by their similarities. There are many histories that could pass for novels, and many novels that could pass for histories, considered in purely formal (or, I should say, formalist) terms. Viewed simply as verbal artifacts histories and novels are indistinguishable from one another.”-Hayden White
Favorite PRSSA Moment: Ebertfest
Assistant Head of EbertFest: Amrita Bhattacharyya
Year: Sophomore
Major: Advertising
Minor: Political Science & Economics
Hometown: Gurnee, IL
Career Goals: I am not sure yet!
Favorite thing about Urbana-Champaign: The diversity of the people I have met here
Hobbies: Reading, baking, traveling
Favorite Quote: “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” – Angela Davis
Favorite PRSSA Moment: I’m relatively new but I’m excited to make fun memories!