In high school, Lancaster County native and junior public relations student Keira O’Neal identified her passion for live production. She participated in high school theater productions by contributing to costume design and stage production, volunteered at local music festivals and even helped plan a women in leadership forum, featuring several speakers, including the CEO of Rock Lititz, Andrea Shirk.  

After that experience, O’Neal attended the Rock Lititz Career Exploration Day. Although she discovered engineering was not for her, she kept Rock Lititz, the Pennsylvania-based 150-acre production campus and collaborative hub for the live entertainment industry, in the back of her mind. The organization would come to create a defining experience for her as a student at the Klein College of Media and Communication. 

O’Neal graduated from high school unsure of her next steps, and she enrolled in Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) for a year. While at HACC, she volunteered for a week at Rock Lititz as an event production assistant, helping produce their yearly industry conference.  

Amid her volunteering and coursework at HACC, she searched for a school in Philadelphia where she could grow her skills and gain career experience. O’Neal had visited Temple University before enrolling to meet up with friends, but after attending an Experience Temple Day, she knew that’s where she needed to be. 

As a Temple student, O’Neal was browsing LinkedIn after finishing finals week when she came across a post from Rock Lititz announcing they had extended the deadline for their marketing internship application. She applied and became Rock Lititz’s first marketing intern. 

“My projects varied because they are a company going through a period of exponential growth,” said O’Neal. “This is the first time they really have had someone in this role. And, as I got into it, there were a lot more projects.” 

O’Neal produced media clippings and helped develop early plans for Rock Nashville. One of her main tasks included interviewing staff members across campus for their community bios posted on their website. She also wrote press releases and filmed videos for their social media channels.  

Although she was originally supposed to stay at Rock Lititz until the end of the spring semester, she was asked to continue her internship into the summer. Working at Rock Lititz over the summer gave her the chance to dive into more hands-on projects and connect with other staff.  

On campus, O’Neal immersed herself in student organizations and her interests. In Temple PRSSA, she served as a general body member and conference committee member for the 2025 PRSSA Mid-Atlantic District Conference “Game On: PR in Sports”. This year, as assistant conference coordinator, she is taking on a leadership role in planning the 2026 PRSSA Mid-Atlantic District Conference “Mic Drop: PR in Entertainment.” 

O’Neal is currently expanding her horizons by studying abroad in Rome for the semester. Even so, her involvement back in the states hasn’t slowed down.  

Meghan Kelly, a sophomore public relations major and lead conference coordinator for Temple PRSSA, has seen O’Neal continue to accomplish work in her role, even with the five-hour time difference.  

“Keira is always down to join in on Zooms with me and our fellow coordinators, Aidan and Graeme,” she said. “Whether it’s 3 p.m. or 9 p.m., I can always count on her to join in. She is such a great team member, and I have never once doubted her ability to participate in our conference happenings while abroad.” 

After graduation, O’Neal hopes to continue working in the entertainment industry with dreams of going on tour to promote a band or artist.