Tara L. Smith on the APR and Higher Education

Name: Tara L. Smith, M.S., APR

Title: Director of M.A. in Strategic Communication Program and Instructor of Public Relations, University of Delaware

Location: Middletown, Del.

Favorite downtime activity: Going to Disney World! 

3 dinner guests: Michelle Obama, Bob Iger and Steve Jobs

Best books: My neighborhood HOA has a book club that meets monthly, so these are my favorite books we’ve read in the last year or so: “The Measure” by Nikki Erlick, “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides, “An Unwanted Guest” by Shari Lapena, and “Before We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate.

Top leadership advice: Leading is about listening — to your own intuition and to the people you serve. Reflecting on my own experiences and asking for candid insight from others is what helps guide me when I have tough decisions to make.

Favorite quote: “Being American is not the pride we inherit; it’s the past we step into and how we repair it.” — Amanda Gorman

You’ve had an interesting and varied career — talk about how you got your start in PR, and then what it was like to shift to higher ed. 

I fell in love with this profession during an internship at MTV Networks the summer after my freshman year of college. I got my first experience writing press releases, staffing events and working with the media as an intern in the publicity department for VH1. Then, I secured internships on the agency side with Edelman and Golin Harris, and I was hooked.

After graduation in 2006, I moved to Atlanta where my fiancé was pursuing his PhD. My first full-time job was working in the PR department for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. That was the same year I joined PRSA!

A few years later, we moved back to the Northeast, and I landed a job with Ketchum at their New York headquarters, working in the Corporate Practice. While there, I worked on getting my master’s degree part-time.

After a few years, I was referred by a mutual acquaintance from my alma mater, Penn State, for a corporate communications job at Time Warner Inc. That’s where I learned the ropes of doing internal and external communications at a global media conglomerate that was home to HBO, Time Inc., Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros. Years later, a former colleague who had moved to NBC referred me for a corporate communications role in the newly created division of NBCUniversal News Group.

I enjoyed each step of my career, but I didn’t plan on ending up in higher education. My husband is the original professor in the family! After he earned tenure at New York University, he was recruited to the University of Delaware, so we moved for that opportunity and to be closer to our families after the birth of our first kid. I took a break from the corporate life to stay home with our daughter (and later our son) and did consulting.

Later, I was introduced to the Department of Communication at UD, and they invited me to teach the “Introduction to Public Relations” course as a part-time adjunct instructor. Two years later, I joined the department as a full-time faculty member and now direct their new M.A. in Strategic Communication program for working professionals.

This is the second year of my two-year term. In 2022, our primary focus was on returning to in-person events and bringing everyone together again for connection, development and camaraderie. 

This year, our board continues to focus on providing high-quality professional development and networking opportunities for members. We know, from survey feedback, that many of them are interested in learning more about the latest digital tools and trends, how to leverage owned media and social platforms effectively, and how to navigate crisis communication in an increasingly polarized society.

What challenges have you’ve faced in your job during the past three years of the pandemic? Also, what creative ways have you seen people adapt during this time?

Adapting to the shift in my career from industry to academia during the height of a global pandemic that turned higher education upside down. It’s already difficult to transition from one career to another, but learning how to do that while juggling young children who were home from daycare frequently due to COVID exposures is something I was completely unprepared for. As a Black mother, the racial injustices that made national headlines during the last few years was another emotional toll on top of everything else.

One of the things I was inspired by during these tough times was the support and vulnerability I saw displayed by many of my colleagues, family and friends. The invisible barrier between work and life was removed when everything had to happen under the same roof.  Despite the challenges, I learned how to feel comfortable with being honest about what I was going through.

What are some of the meaningful conversations you hear among students and what are they hoping to see in the profession?

Students in PR classes today demonstrate great potential as future practitioners. There is always more for them to learn about strategies and tactics, but I am impressed by how well students from Generation Z embrace, internalize and advocate for the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion. This shapes their perception of our field and how they will communicate on behalf of future clients and organizations.

You are Accredited in Public Relations — what did you learn from the experience? What inspired you to study and obtain your APR — and why is this important to you?

I earned my APR in 2017. As someone who left corporate life to teach and consult, I saw the APR as external validation of the experience gained throughout my career. I was also inspired to pursue the credential to demonstrate to my students that I mastered the knowledge, skills and abilities expected of a top-notch PR practitioner. 

You also pursued an advanced degree while working full time. How did you find balance during this time?

Coffee! Coffee solves all problems. I will add that it’s important to manage your expectations if you want to achieve balance. For example, I took a semester off so that I could focus my attention on a major client project at work. It was a huge opportunity for me, so I didn’t want to be stretched too thin trying to juggle work and school. I had to remind myself it was OK to take a break, because it wasn’t a race.

What skills and knowledge do you think are most important for college grads to have to succeed in the real world?

Critical thinking — I have a “Keeping It 100” segment I do at the beginning of every class for about five minutes, where I give the students unfiltered advice on what to expect when they leave the hallowed halls of academia.

Much of my advice centers around the fact they won’t always know the answers in the real world unless they ask tough questions and feel empowered to do so. Students tell me they appreciate how I “keep it real” and prepare them for the realities of today’s workplace so, hopefully, my advice continues to help!