Senior to Watch: Kellian Reed

The moment I sat down with Kellian Reed, her enthusiasm and spark for life explained what has fueled her many successes  thus far. Reed  is an outgoing and  articulate person who  wears many ‘hats.’ Let’s explore her background and see where she envisions her future.

Reed is a senior public relations major with a minor in civic engagement. Her true passion lies in public relations, but she hopes that her studies in civic engagement will bring a multicultural aspect to organizations that struggle to reach everyonepeople of around the world.ll regions . Reed came to Illinois State University as a sophomore. After hearing about the strength of the Illinois State University Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, she decided to take a stab at public relations her junior year, not knowing exactly what she was getting herself into. 
 
The idea of professional opportunities and building relationships was something that Reedlooked forward to by becoming a member of ISU PRSSA. Since joining her junior year, Reed has been involved in two different committees: development and relations. She spent her time in development her junior year and really enjoyed it. For her senior year she wanted a bit of a challenge and joined the relations committee so she can improve her writing skills and build her portfolio. In addition, Reed attended PRSSA 2013 National Conference where she was able to improve her networking skills. She is attending PRSSA 2014 National Conference and is looking forward to expanding her knowledge and communicating with professionals.  

Reed’s past internship experience is extensive and definitely worth noting. Her first internship was with ISU’s Ice Hockey Club team as the marketing and promotions intern. By the end of her time with the team, attendance increased more than 50 percent. Her next internship was at Campus Recreation as a marketing assistant. Reed was responsible for scheduling interviews and collecting new student stories about the Student Fitness Center. In addition, she also ran the Facebook account and Twitter handle. This past summer Reed was a public relations intern at Golin. This internship  has been her most rewarding and exciting, she says. At Golin, she worked on consumer brands and business to business. She did traditional media monitoring, such as the New York Times. While monitoring, Reed looked for brand placement, and scanned for new discoveries and products relevant to the clients on which she worked . She was also a part of strategic planning for campaigns of current clients and performed a ton of research. Reed accomplished more than she ever thought she would and learned a lot in her short time there.  

When I asked Reed what advice she would give to younger students in the field of public relations at ISU, she gave me a few gems of wisdom. Reed says to never underestimate the power of a conversation. She advocates for building relationships with professors and taking advantage of the guest speakers in all classes. 

“Those conversations will help you along your journey,” Reed said. “Also, put yourself out there. Do not be afraid to talk to anyone and stay involved.” Studying abroad is also something she recommends. Reed wishes she would have done this in her time at ISU and regrets not taking advantage of the ability to see another part of the world.

I decided to ask Reed some fun facts about herself. If she could go anywhere in the world it would be Luxembourg because it has beautiful castles and amazing food. Her favorite place is her grandma’s small town in Arkansas with around 500 people. The peaceful scenery with acres of hills and corn is worth the no cell phone service to Reed. 

Post-graduation, Reed plans to stick with agency public relations. She loves putting her hands in a lot of pots and thinks that she could go somewhere with agency life. I can tell that Reed’s fiery ambition to change the world for the better will take her far.   

Interview by Cindy Kirchner

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