Graduation ceremonies are often called commencements due to them marking the time in a student’s life where they will commence a new stage in their life. After college commencement, some students take a break before heading into the workforce, while others jump right into their next adventure.
Just a few short weeks after finishing her degree in media studies and production from Temple University, alumna Rebecca Richard, KLN ’22, (she/her), commenced three new parts of her life: graduate school, a new job and a new country of residence.
In January 2023, Richard moved to London to continue working at the public relations and marketing agency she had previously interned with during the summer 2022 semester.
“I thought it would be great to be abroad, but also have internship experience,” Richard said. Richard’s internship was facilitated by the Klein College Global Opportunities office.
As an intern, Richard worked five days a week at an agency that does client marketing campaigns for popular London attractions such as the Tower Bridge and the Japan House London.
Assistant Professor of Instruction Ali Castellini (she/her) had the pleasure of teaching Richard in MSP 3614: Creating a Media Business the semester before she went to London in addition to being her advisor for her internship while she studied abroad over the summer.
“Rebecca brought with her all the different characteristics needed to be in the position that she’s in right now,” Castellini said.
Richard spent the summer building relationships with others at the agency and was ecstatic to find out that they wanted her to come work for them after she finished her last semester at Temple. During the fall 2022 semester, Richard prepared to make the permanent move to London and pursue a graduate professional writing program at the University of Westminster.
“It was no surprise that they would want to keep her,” Castellini said. While some may call offers like the one Richard receives luck, Castellini is adamant that luck is being prepared enough to take the opportunities when they come, and Richard was more than prepared.
At the agency, Richard reaches out to press and clients in order to try and increase foot traffic to the attractions around London that the agency serves. She loves that her job is different every day and that it has helped her feel like less of a tourist in her new city.
At school, Richard attends classes with students from all over the world and is even the only American in one of her classes. While she is getting familiar with London, she is also excited to be getting to know more about the rest of the world through her studies.
“It’s really, really different, but in a lot of good, interesting ways,” Richard said.
Though moving to a new country and starting a new job and school in the same week may seem like an overwhelming feat to some, Richard knew that she had to take the opportunity her agency had given her and hit the ground running after graduation.
In the fall semester, Richard took her senior seminar with Adjunct Instructor James Donio, KLN ’77, (he/him).
“She stood out because she was about to graduate and had this incredible experience of having been over to London,” Donio said. Richard’s experience in the class was unique because she already knew what she was doing after graduation, but Donio noted that she still actively participated in discussions and exercises that seminar students often do to prepare for post-graduation life.
Donio and Castellini know Richard as always being professional and prepared and are proud to see her succeeding in London.
Richard transferred to Temple in the fall of 2020, and though her time at Temple was short, she attributes so much of what is helping her succeed now to her ability to explore all aspects of media studies and production during her time as a student.
“Nothing feels new because you’ve done a little bit of everything,” Richard said.