I am a Chartered PR Practitioner and have worked as part of a small team at Impact Communications, Belfast, Northern Ireland, since 2012. Following my graduation from CUA in 2011, I went on to receive my MA in Irish Studies at Queen's University Belfast and began a career in public relations in Northern Ireland. In my role as Account Director at Impact Communications, I have driven consumer and B2B campaigns utilising both traditional and digital PR tactics for diverse clients including: Vita Coco, Sheeran by Lowden guitars, The Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic NCAA tournament, Lockton Insurance, Microban and Liberty IT as well as a range of restaurant and hospitality clients, organisations operating within the renewable energy sector, and a number of annual festivals and large-scale events, and the Ireland-facing leg of a EU-funded consumer campaign to encourage the consumption of European lamb by a millennial audience. In 2018 I was named the Chartered Institute for Public Relations' Outstanding Young Communicator for the Northern Ireland region, and currently hold the position of Vice-Chair for the CIPR Northern Ireland committee. The inter-disciplinary nature of the MCS department resulted in a much more rounded education than I would have received in a straight journalism or public relations course of study. My internships with two PR agencies in Washington not only helped me to apply my in-classroom learning to the outside world whilst undertaking my studies but also set me up with a head start into the professional world, enabling me to build media contacts and gain an understanding of how a busy PR consultancy operates. This experience was invaluable when I entered the job full time and set me up for a quick progression through the industry ranks.