Shanayah Wyche, a senior public relations major, has participated in several extracurricular and professional opportunities while maintaining an impressive academic standing. But perhaps her longest-standing endeavor is dedicating herself to representing Philadelphia and its best interests in everything she does. As a self-proclaimed storyteller, Wyche aims to tell a well-rounded narrative of the city she calls home.

Wyche was born and raised in Philadelphia and has seen how Temple has contributed to positive developments in the area. However, she also recognizes that there have been missteps along the way. She has strived to strengthen the bond between the university and its surrounding North Philadelphia community by taking her studies and commitments seriously. She began at Klein College of Media and Communication as a communication studies major, but she transitioned to public relations after discovering that the curriculum was more closely aligned with her career goal of using media to provide education and access to opportunities for her community. 

Currently, Wyche is the president of Temple University’s Black Public Relations Society and has completed public relations and communications internships with a number of prestigious organizations. For instance, she has worked with iHeartMedia, the number one audio company in the U.S., and Philly We Rise, an online platform curated and maintained by the Movement Alliance Project that explores social movements happening in Philadelphia. 

Wyche was also among the first group of students to participate in Arts2Work, the first creative apprenticeship program of its kind in the U.S. Arts2Work’s pre-apprenticeship program. The program, which ran this summer and was headed by The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture, allowed Wyche and other participating students to get involved in advocacy for arts and culture around the city and provided them with opportunities to create content that further served that mission. Wyche even helped to disseminate information about the arts and culture budget cuts that were proposed by the city over the summer.

Recently, Wyche was recognized for her efforts by the Philly Ad Club when she received the 2020 George Beach Trailblazer Scholarship Award. She was nominated by Klein faculty including David W. Brown, assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Public Relations and diversity advisor to the Office of the Dean at Klein. Brown, who worked with George Beach at the latter’s Beach Creative Communications, believes that Wyche earned the award for her commitment to finding creative solutions to persistent problems.

“George is somebody who I knew personally and the fact that he started one of the oldest Black-owned ad and public relations agencies in the country right here in Philadelphia as a trailblazer, I think that Shanayah definitely epitomizes...some of the new horizons that other folks may be a little intimidated to pursue,” Brown says.

“Any financial help or even scholarships toward me that could help me one day get to a point where I can create an organization or make a program that addresses some of the inequities within Philadelphia is an honor to receive and it’s a blessing and accomplishment to me,” Wyche says.

With a minor in healthcare management, Wyche is also ensuring that she centers the health of her community. She currently works as a COVID-19 contact tracer for the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health, a position that she was referred to by Lauren Bullock, an assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Public Relations. Bullock has previously sent Wyche, a former student in her classes, information about jobs because she always knew that Wyche was not just in college to go through the motions. Instead, she recognizes that Wyche wants experiences that can translate into the real world.

“She’s from Philly, is dedicated to the city, is really intelligent, is really hard-working, and she’s very much a person that once she finds her space of service, she’s going to have an impact on that space,” Bullock says.

Throughout it all, Wyche is most looking forward to her future after graduation. No matter where her talents take her, she aims to continue putting Philadelphia first and keeping Temple at the forefront of her efforts.

“What I want to do is circle back to Temple University one day and really kind of be a part of that ongoing conversation of, what does the Temple University community mean to Philadelphia,” she says. “Because I think Temple has a really important place within Philadelphia.”