"The Possibilities are Endless" Public Information Manager Tells Students

"Community service." Women's History Month Speaker Janet Parker told South Carolina State University communication students that if they only remember one thing from her March 15 virtual talk that it be those two words.

Parker is the public information manager for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office in Charlotte. Here is her Linkedin site.  

Prior to this position, she was a broadcast journalist for many years at stations in Columbia and Charlotte where she was a producer, reporter, anchor and executive producer. During her virtual talk, Parker said at the University of South Carolina she started as a psychology major but didn't really like her first classes in that field of study.

She would switch to mass communications and during an internship at a Columbia television station, she realized this is what she really wanted to do. She said she has been guided in her career by her desire to be of service to the community.

Whether in news or public relations, she said, "It's all about messaging and telling stories." She encouraged the students to use the many digital tools at their disposal to create content and tell stories. "Corporations need people with creative minds," she said. "With today's technology, the possibilities you have (for story telling) today are endless." 

Advising the students about seeking internships and jobs, Parker said, "Never miss an opportunity to network and connect. Never feel like you are bothering someone. Show up in person (if you cannot find phone numbers or don't get responses to emails). It's the initiative that matters." Also- get on Linkedin, she said. 

Thank you to Andrea Williams with SC State's communications program for setting up Janet Parker's talk as part of Women's History Month. It was well attended with some 20 students participating, many of them from one of Professor Justin Smith's classes.

Some of Parker's work at Columbia's WACH-TV can be found here on YouTube.

Some of her public information efforts with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office can be found on the agency's Facebook site.