Meet Kristin, NSC’s Fall Intern!

Every semester, Next Step Communications adds one undergraduate intern who is interested in gaining first-hand experience in public relations to the team. This fall, we are excited to introduce Kristin Meyer as the NSC Team’s newest member! Kristin is a Senior at Boston University studying Health Science with a minor in Business Administration. Do you want to get to know Kristin a little better? Read this Q&A where she’s answering questions about working in healthcare PR at NSC, her plans post-graduation, and things she enjoys!

WHY HEALTHCARE PR?

Once I learned about healthcare PR, it seemed like a no-brainer to me to apply! Throughout my college career, I’ve learned that studying health science and business administration is a pretty specific combination of interests that you often don’t see opportunities for. Health science as a major prepares students to go into the healthcare field from a more clinical point of view. I knew I wanted to help people within healthcare, but I was unsure of what that would look like as a future career with my interests also being in business. PR has always stood out to me as one of the most fascinating aspects of business, but I was still unsure of how to relate that to my passion for healthcare.

After seeing NSC’s internship posting, I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about healthcare from a PR perspective. Working as the healthcare PR intern this fall has opened my eyes to a whole new realm of opportunities that I would never be exposed to otherwise!

WHAT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST AS YOU DOVE INTO PR?

When I first started my internship, I was shocked to learn about how much writing and editing go into PR. Before starting this position, I read through blogs and articles believing that the writer simply wrote down their thoughts and came up with a perfectly articulated story. However, I quickly learned that creating content is a team effort and that the best media is generated through collaboration. Even though this is one of the most surprising aspects of PR that I learned about, I enjoy and appreciate working in such a teamwork-centered profession.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED (AND ARE HOPING TO LEARN MORE) DURING YOUR TIME AT NEXT STEP?

At first, I found it very challenging to write outside of an academic setting and with a more casual tone of voice. Up until I started in this position, all of my writing education was geared toward research and academics. With the help of NSC’s incredibly patient team, I finally feel comfortable writing with a less academic tone. While my writing skills have improved greatly, I still have so much more to learn from working at Next Step.

Aside from writing, I’ve also had the chance to learn more about social media tools and scheduling platforms. Sprout Social is one of the most helpful tools for working with social media, and I’m glad I got the chance to learn more about it. It has been really interesting to learn more about how powerful social media can be as a tool for businesses.

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST OVERALL CHALLENGE YOU FACED SO FAR DURING YOUR INTERNSHIP?

Sending out pitches to journalists has been one of the biggest challenges for me so far. Pitching and creating media lists require a lot more research on specific journalists than I initially imagined. Crafting the perfect pitch requires you to know your journalists and know your story even better. Even after all your research and hard work, there is no guarantee that your story will be picked up, which is a hard reality to face.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF SO FAR?

I would have to say that I am most proud of the social media posts I have made for NSC’s Twitter and LinkedIn channels over the past couple of months! Though it may seem small, I love seeing a post I created pop up on my feed. I enjoy taking time at the beginning of the week to research articles that would work well with NSC’s brand. It was daunting at first to try and come up with fun, pithy summaries to go along with these articles, especially since I had never really written in that style before. However, after getting the hang of it in the first few weeks, it soon became one of my favorite parts of the job. It is always exciting to see something you created posted for everyone to see.

WHAT IS YOUR (PLANNED) #NEXTSTEP AFTER GRADUATION THIS YEAR

With graduation coming up this spring, I’m feeling the pressure to figure out what’s happening for me next. I hope to move back home to New Jersey and work in the NYC area. Working in the healthcare PR at NSC confirmed my interest in the medical device industry, and I am excited to find positions that would allow me to continue learning about this area.