Cal State Fullerton’s Latino Communications Initiative will receive a $25,000 PRIME Scholars grant from the PRSA Foundation to assist in diversifying the public relations workforce. The Public Relations Society of America estimates only 5 percent of public relations professionals are Latino, while Latinos represent 17 percent of the U.S. population.
Students from all majors may apply and 15 will be selected for summer internships. Potential employers include Weber Shandwick, Prudential, Johnson & Johnson, Ketchum, Univision, Coca Cola, IBM, Edelman, Hill & Knowlton Strategies, Wells Fargo and FleishmanHillard.
Applicants must attend mandatory training and complete a written exam. The first mandatory workshop is set for noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1 in the Career Center. To register, contact Inez Gonzalez, director of the Latino Communications Initiative.
LCI launched in fall 2013 to boost students’ career development in a multicultural and competitive job market by offering courses and certificates in Latino-oriented communications studies. LCI partnered with the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures to offer an academic certificate for proficient Spanish bilingual communications students.
PRSA Foundation raises funds to support programs that attract ethnic and racial minorities to careers in PR and develop their capacity to bring the PR perspective to the organizations they serve and to society.