By Brian Ly | Staff Writer
Since November of last year, 15 Gabrielino High School students have been working in the Public Relations, Information, and Social Media (PRISM) Internship Group. Supervised by Samantha Theisen, the Visual and Performing Arts Program Administrator, the student-driven organization aims to promote the San Gabriel district while amplifying student voice and student agency.
“This program seeks to develop the leadership and communication skills of our students while engaging our school community in a meaningful way,” Theisen said.
Students participate in lectures, workshops, and projects in meetings held weekly on Tuesdays from 3:30 p.m to 4:45 p.m.
Projects include the year long #WeAreSGUSD social media campaign that showcases staff members from the district weekly and their blog that focuses on public interest articles the SGUSD community is interested in. Students are also working on a podcast planned for March of this year.
When projects require large scale marketing that includes graphic design such as logos or flyers, PRISM collaborates with the Graphic Design 2 class taught by Terri Hopper.
PRISM interns also created the marketing strategies for the SGUSD Arts Week planned for next month which includes a logo created by graphic design student Lily Situ, a commercial video created by art student Gabriel Martinez, and upcoming social media posts to build interest.
“There have been many skills that I have learned from PRISM so far, from producing effective graphic designs to properly marketing social media posts. I have learned a lot from working with them,” said freshman Kyla Penamante.
PRISM has had two Gabrielino alumni speakers: Jonathan Huang, who graduated with a degree in graphic design, and Katelynn Ansari, Influence Manager for PepsiCo. There are plans for more guest speakers in the future.
“I decided to join PRISM because I plan on majoring in marketing or communications in the future,” stated junior Josephine Chia. “I wanted to develop skills that revolve around marketing and communication and learn from people with more experience.”
Dr. Joan Perez, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, and Heather Wolpert-Gawron, 21st Century Learning Coordinator, also help advise the interns. While PRISM students are guided by professionals, they are also able to work with other interns.
“There has been a need in our district to increase communication and engagement with our community for a while,” stated Theisen. “I encourage interested students to keep an eye out for posts about us, as well as checking our website often for information.”
Currently, the PRISM team is set but is planning to open up applications for the next school year in April. Information about joining can be found on the district website under the “About Us” tab.
