From racing for a cure with her fellow PRSSA members as a sophomore in college to running the social media for one of the most well-known childhood cancer foundations in the world, Mina Lezenby is helping fight the battle against cancer from the PR side of it. In her time at Temple, Lezenby joined PRSSA as a sophomore being new to the major and wanting to learn more about the industry. She went on to serve as Vice President her senior year and graduated in May of 2017 earning a B.A. in Strategic Communications with a focus in PR.
Upon graduating, Lezenby tried her hand at a content marketing agency position in Center City Philadelphia. She gained experience working on written materials and social media strategies with B2B clients in an array of fields.
Today, she is the Social Media Specialist for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), responsible for managing all social media channels for ALSF and its programs, creating content, connecting with supporters on these platforms and helping empower people to cure childhood cancer.
When 4-year-old cancer fighter Alexandra “Alex” Scott, made a lemonade stand in her front yard to raise money for a cure for pediatric cancer, ALSF was born. The Foundation is now one of the leading funders of pediatric cancer research in the United States and Canada having raised over $150 million so far. These proceeds go towards nearly 1,000 different research projects as well as helping the families affected by childhood cancer.
According to Lezenby, “No two days are the same at the Foundation and I love that my role gets the chance to work and learn from each of our departments to help tell the story of the Foundation on social media.” She has been with ALSF for almost a year and is gearing up for fundraising season, the busiest part of the year.
Fundraising is nothing new to Lezenby. She recalled one of her most challenging and rewarding experiences in PRSSA to be helping execute the 5k walk/run, “Race for Cure”. As a member of the community service committee, she helped organize the event and raised money for the Fox Chase Cancer Center, instilling a passion for non-profit work within her.
Lezenby attributes her success to the writing and strategy skills she learned in her courses but also the hands-on experiences that came from PRSSA. She said the chapter exposed her to new areas in the communications field and career opportunities and have transformed her into the well-rounded PR professional she is today. She was also able to build her network by making valuable friendships and connections from the club.
When asked what advice she had for her past self, she responded that she wished she had celebrated the hard work she had completed for her degree, PRSSA and PRowl more. She also wished she had not panicked as much about finding a job and comparing herself to those around her. While Lezenby may not be able to go back and time and tell herself these words of wisdom, hopefully they help settle the nerves of current graduating seniors.
Mina Lezenby is a stellar example of an alumni who is working for her passion. By mixing non-profit PR with social media strategies, she helps ALSF reach its audiences and achieve its organizational goals.
Lezenby loves connecting with fellow Temple Owls on social media to talk all things PR. Also, if interested in learning about ways you can be a part of the search for better treatments and cures for kids with cancer, feel free to follow her on Twitter (@minalezenby) or connect with her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilieminalezenby/).
This blog post was written by Paige Kunkel, Director of Recruitment.
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