The communication field has always been familiar to Carolyn Bernucca. With politically active parents, including a sports journalist father, Bernucca has been surrounded by media her whole life.

She shares, “My parents never really sheltered me from anything, and truth and transparency are two very important aspects of public relations, so I think that the way I was raised definitely sparked my interest in the field.”

Bernucca’s passion for public relations has carried her to success as a MAIP (Multicultural Advertising Internship Program) participant. MAIP places advertising and public relations students in internships for the summer. At the end of the program, the young professionals of MAIP attend a job fair with participating companies and many end up taking jobs with them.

Bernucca will be interning this summer with Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s leading global public relations firms.

Part white but with Mexican and Native American heritage, Bernucca is most excited about the Multicultural aspect of the program. She is eager to be a part of a program that embraces multicultural identities in a world where the systemic oppression of non-white individuals is constantly exposed in the mainstream media.

Bernucca explains, “Those in the communication field are cultural gatekeepers, able to control the messages distributed to the masses, and I want to be one of those gatekeepers and keep encouraging transparency between institutions and the general public.”

For the program’s application, Bernucca was required to submit a resume, two letters of recommendation, responses to four essay questions and a 2-3 minute video about why the program should pick her. CCI’s Dr. Patrick Merle supplied one of the letters of recommendation, and Bernucca feels that her Advertising Research and PR Techniques classes with him have been the most integral to her college learning experience.

She says, “I feel like I am learning things that are going to directly help me in my future endeavors as a PR professional.”

In addition to this impressive accomplishment and her ingrained passion for PR, Bernucca is also a co-editor of The Eggplant, one of the top college satire websites in the nation. She started off as the Head of PR, but was appointed to co-editor after one of the original founders graduated. She and the other co-editor are responsible for curating, editing and publishing 5-7 articles per week based on the headlines and drafts created by the eight other talented staff members.

When she has some spare time, Bernucca finds solace in writing in her planner and figuring out what assignments and responsibilities she has coming up. She also enjoys working on the approximately 40 new year’s resolutions she created for herself this year, which include educating herself about economics, complimenting strangers and reading for pleasure more often.

When asked where she pictures herself in five years, Bernucca shared, “I will be unmarried and thriving in either New York or Chicago. Hopefully Beyonce will be President and I will be able to afford a venti chai tea latte at Starbucks.”

To learn more about the Public Relations program at Florida State, follow this link.