For our second Spring Speaker Series, we sat down with Garden Media Group’s newest employee, Sammie Arcieri.
New to the lawn and garden industry, Sammie has experienced a crash course in all things green living. She’s even grown a few things of her own.
As an Assistant Account Manager, Sammie manages the company’s blog, oversees the intern program and continues to nurture relevant media contacts.
Continue reading to learn more about Sammie and her experiences in the public relations and marketing industry.
What is your industry “strength?”
My industry strength is writing. I have a journalism background, so I take every chance I can to write. I graduated from Penn State in 2012 where I held several positions at The Daily Collegian, including website editor. After graduation, I interned for magazines in New York City and served the editor for a line of local community publications.
Managing the GROW! blog has been a great outlet for writing and content management.
What are your daily readings?
The New York Times, Philly.com and Billy Penn are my favorites. I also love reading Mashable and PR Daily.
If you were going to create a time capsule for your future self, what would you put in it?
I have amassed a pretty large collection of seashells gathered from my time spent growing up near the beach and traveling. I would definitely put my favorite pieces in the capsule. I would also include a copy of Tina Fey’s Bossypants and pictures of my friends and family.
What is the hardest part about PR?
Jumping head first into the gardening industry presented a bit of a learning curve. I knew almost nothing about gardening before I worked here. I started learning about plants during my first interview at Garden Media and have continued to cultivate my green thumb ever since. I successfully grew Paperwhite bulbs from Longfield Gardens in my apartment over the holidays. It was quite the accomplishment.
I think the most difficult aspect of PR in general is establishing connections with top influencers and clients when you’re just starting out.
Once you prove that you’re willing and capable to go above and beyond for clients, success isn’t too far out of reach.
Why do you like working at Garden Media?
Working at Garden Media has been the highlight of my professional career – hands down. During my short time here, I’ve been given the opportunity to really take ownership of projects.
In addition to a fantastic work environment – hello, our office is a beautiful historic home filled with dogs, candy and babies – I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better group of coworkers. I’m fairly new to this industry and am constantly asking questions. The Garden Media team has created a work environment that encourages learning along every step of the way.
