An alumni panel discussion for communication students at the University of Delaware addressed qualifications for a career in public relations and highlighted networking, strategic communication and internship experience.

“In this field, you cannot network enough,” said panelist Kevin Tressler, a 2004 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences who received a master’s degree in 2006, and who is vice president and account director at the public relations firm MSLGroup, an international firm that is one of the top five public relations companies in the world.

“Network until you’re tired; network some more; then go to sleep, and network some more the next day.”

Panelist Joey Silver, a 2014 graduate of the college, told the students that networking was how he got his job as an account executive with MSLGroup.

Reflecting on his time at UD, Silver said, “It all actually comes back to this [Introduction to Public Relations] class and writing a press release for the Food Bank of Delaware.”

Strategic communication, he noted, was a skill he learned at UD that he still applies every day, even when writing emails.

Joining Tressler and Silver on the panel was Katherine Bartell, a senior majoring in communication and the current president of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) at UD. She will be participating in MSLGroup’s Summer Insider’s Challenge, a summer internship program.

“Ours is a field of doing,” said Tressler about the importance of internships.

When Carolyn Bartoo, instructor in the Department of Communication who invited the alumni to speak to the class, suggested that students think about internships like contractual jobs, Tressler agreed.

“It’s a two-month interview, is what it is,” he said.

Other points of the discussion included resumés, interview skills and how to be successful. The panel discussion concluded with a question and answer session.

Bartoo hosted the panel in her introductory public relations class as an opportunity for students to learn about the field and network with successful alumni. A 1988 UD communication graduate herself, she has been a faculty member since 2009 and serves as the PRSSA faculty adviser.