Melinda is the Administrative Assistant for Advancement at Stonehill College in Easton,
MA. She has her BA from Wellesley College and is currently enrolled part-time in the
Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Master’s Program at Stonehill College.

You can read her winning essay here.

Melinda will be honored for her achievement at our Annual Meeting on December 4 th at
District Hall (75 Northern Ave., Boston). This is a must-attend event where we will be electing
the 2019 Board of Directors, including the 2019 PRSA Boston President, Dan Dent, APR. We
will also honor PR Great Nancy Sterling with the Diane Davis Beacon Award and have a
“fireside chat” with Boston Celtics’ SVP of Communication Christian Megliola. This is a
great opportunity to be more involved and network with PR’s best in the field.

Get your tickets today!

1) Why is the topic of ethics an important subject to you?
Knowing right from wrong helps to establish trust in relationships, provided the intent is also
ethical and sincere. It doesn’t matter whether these relationships are professional, personal,
familial or communal, acting with integrity, honor, fairness and decency are qualities that one
should always aspire to. However, when your reputation is at stake or your loyalty to others is
questioned, choosing the right path is not always easy to do. The topic of ethics is important to
me because negative consequences and regret inevitably follow when you make the wrong
decision – and these can, at times, be irreversible. An ethical dilemma is one where the right and
wrong path is not always clear-cut or obvious. It is therefore necessary to examine your intent,
weigh consequences, and sometimes even enlist the support of others when attempting to make a
good decision. If I can avoid making a bad decision, I know that I will sleep better at night!

2) Can you think of a time when you struggled with an ethical issue? 
As an undergraduate student at another college, I was selected for a fellowship that required me
to do a research project with a faculty ad visor. The faculty adviser questioned the fellowship
selection process and wanted to meet with a member of the fellowship committee prior to being
amenable to advising or assisting me. At the time, I remember that this made me feel insecure
about being selected by the fellowship committee. I felt frustrated by the faculty adviser’s
questioning my qualifications, but I also knew that these concerns were valid as this professor
was being asked to assist me without having a say in the fellowship selection process. Despite
my insecurity and frustration toward the faculty member whom I wanted to be my adviser, it was
necessary for me to establish this professor’s trust and respect if I were to succeed in
accomplishing my research. I needed to remain humble as I continued to ask for assistance, even
though I felt uncomfortable and honestly just wanted to sever the relationship. I would not have
succeeded in my research if I had burned a bridge with my faculty adviser early in the process.
By the end of the research project, I had earned my faculty adviser’s respect, albeit slowly and
more gradually than if circumstances had been different. I also realized the debt of gratitude that

I owed to my faculty adviser for taking the time to assist my efforts and guide my research,
despite their initial reservations and disbelief in my ability.

3) What made you decide to go back to school to attain your master’s degree in IMC? 
It was an easy decision. I am a life-long learner! I am excited to challenge myself intellectually.
There is no greater feeling of accomplishment than putting your heart and soul into your work
and getting an A grade on an assignment. The Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
graduate degree program at Stonehill College not only helps me to further my education, but also
provides the opportunity for me to be more attractive to potential employers. This education can
help me advance professionally because I am acquiring a creative toolkit of best practices and
strategies for use in the marketing and communications industry. I love the IMC program,
including the high standard of academic excellence and rigor, the professional affiliation with the
AACSB International accreditation, and the dedicated and committed faculty and staff. If it were
not for this program, I wouldn’t have heard about the PRSA Ethics Essay Challenge as my
professor, Dr. Kirsten Whitten, told us about it in class and posted it to the Blackboard course. I
am grateful of Dr. Whitten for not only exposing me to this opportunity, but for guiding me to
being more involved as a member of PRSA Boston. Winning this essay contest is a testament to
the strength of the IMC program and further supports what I said earlier, that seeking advice and
enlisting the support of others is essential to becoming an ethical, responsible and successful
person. In fact, it’s not only my professors who challenge me to be more involved, but my
classmates and fellow cohort of professional students in the IMC program also challenge me
intellectually and encourage me to contribute my unique perspectives and experiences in
classroom and group projects. I am honored to be part of the first inaugural IMC class at
Stonehill College.

4) What’s it like to be an adult going back to school? 
It is difficult to achieve a work-life balance. I work full-time and attend the IMC program part-
time by taking two courses per semester at night and on Saturdays. Juggling everything,
including family responsibilities, such as providing for my family and spending time with my
daughter and her dad, as well as maintaining friendships, attending classes and finding time to
study and write papers, is challenging, but extremely rewarding. I prefer to be busy and
purposeful. Although not easy, I find that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to,
provided you have the necessary resources and a community of supporters and advocates in your
corner. Leaning on others and asking for help is essential to maintaining a healthy perspective.
When I graduate from the IMC program, my accomplishment will be in large part due to the
support I have received from others, including my network of family, friends, professors,
advisers and peers.

5) If you had a million dollars to create a PR campaign for any company or cause of your
choice, what would you take on?
I would start a non-profit organization to help women who have been incarcerated and want to
transform their lives and get a fresh start. People deserve a second chance, if they are committed
to helping themselves and have learned from the negative consequences of their actions. An
education is the first step in the journey toward transformation. Many women who have been
incarcerated were not fortunate enough to have received a quality education due to circumstances beyond their control – be it financial, emotional or geographical. Many women have also lacked
the proper family and community support. Women desiring a second chance would benefit from
health and social services in addition to vocational training, education and financial resources.
Ethics is not just about choosing to do the right thing, but it is also about doing the right thing
even after you make a mistake by taking the proper corrective action. The Stonehill College
mission statement asserts that it is, “a Catholic institution of higher learning founded by the
Congregation of Holy Cross and is a community of scholarship and faith, anchored by a belief in
the inherent dignity of each person.” I live and appreciate this mission. I believe that this
includes those who have not always made the right choices in life because they, too, deserve to
be respected and given opportunities and support to contribute to society in purposeful and
exceptional ways.

Ethical Dilemma

You’ve landed your dream job working at an agency. The first few months go well. Through your hard work, you earn a spot on the account team responsible for developing the pitch to secure a new client, PRSSA Pizza. After completing your research, you and your team members offer a list of calculated recommendations for the launch of the client’s new pizza crust with a specific budget. As your team enters the building to make its pitch, you pass a rival agency account team walking out. Your account manager turns to the team and says: “I don’t care what it takes, we have to win this account.” As you begin to present your pitch, the account manager cuts in and takes over. You soon realize the account manager is over promising what your firm can deliver and makes additional recommendations, not backed by research, for a budget much lower than the team agreed upon. You know it is unrealistic that your agency will be able to deliver the results the account manager has promised, especially within the client’s budget.

PRSSA Pizza awards the account to your agency. Later that day, one of the owners of your agency stops by to congratulate the team on securing a new, high profile account and specifically congratulates you for your contribution on your very first pitch.  What Would You Do?

I would begin the conversation by thanking the owner of my agency for stopping by to congratulation our team on the firm’s success. I would also thank the owner for the opportunity to be part of such a dynamic team of dedicated and impassioned professionals. I would explain to the owner what my responsibilities entailed regarding our pitch to the client, but also elaborate upon the individual achievements and accomplishments of each of my teammates in helping to secure the PRSSA Pizza account. Upon reflecting on the individual achievements of my teammates, I would also take the opportunity to explain how hard our team will continue to the work to meet and surpass the client’s expectations. I would be honest with the owner and say that I would be remiss if I did not convey to the owner that the team contributed additional insights and recommendations during our pitch to the client that we believe could help to enhance and deliver successful results, but admittedly our ambitious plans have not been supported or backed by adequate or preliminary research. I would admit that the team might have been a bit overzealous in our pitch to the client in terms of trying to do more with less. I would explain that limiting our resources with respect to working with a reduced budget could potentially impact the results in a negative way, but my concerns are difficult to prove and support without more dedicated research and allocated departmental resources. I would explain that despite my lack of confidence in achieving successful results with a limited and reduced budget, I am still willing to work and explore the option of working harder and more creatively to help satisfy the client. I would ask the owner of our firm to advise our team on the best course of action to take regarding consulting and working with the client, PRSSA Pizza, to encourage an open dialogue throughout the process, and also inform them of the potential challenges our team might encounter or experience that could impact the results. I would ask the owner to intervene when and if appropriate to do so to help encourage an environment of collaboration, partnership and professionalism. I would also ask the owner what he or she thought would be the best course of action to take with reference to approaching the client with any additional questions and concerns at this early stage, with the goal of driving a successful campaign that will meet the client’s overall objectives. I would end the conversation with the owner of the firm by reiterating my commitment to transparency and building a relationship of trust and honesty with our client, PRSSA Pizza. I would affirm my dedication and loyalty to the firm and stipulate how I will continue to lead our team with the highest standards of integrity and ethics as I approach all challenges. Finally, I would thank the owner, once again, for taking the time to congratulate members of our team and reiterate how proud I am to represent our firm. I believe this solution will adhere to the PRSA code of ethics by representing an honest, loyal and ethical approach to handling any potential conflicts that may arise throughout the process of meeting the client’s objectives, while also maintaining a standard of integrity for myself, my teammates, and the firm I will continue to stand behind.