Comm Student Feels 'Rosy' Planning Events, Developing PR Campaigns for Internship

As a member of student council in high school, Jennifer Ramstetter loved planning proms and pep rallies. It was when she was watching an award show that she realized someone behind the scenes must be planning limousine drop offs, organizing hotel rooms and ordering people to line up.

“It just sounded like so much fun being able to plan events for a living.”

Ramstetter, now a senior in the

Department of Communication

at the University of Cincinnati earning a

certificate in public relations

, is immersed in event planning for her internship with the

Aubrey Rose Foundation

, a nonprofit organization that helps families caring for children with life-threatening illnesses.

Since last spring, Ramstetter has been volunteering and interning with the foundation, helping with public relations efforts, soliciting corporations for sponsorships and organizing their biggest event of the year: the

American Girl Fashion Show

.

“The American Girl Fashion Show features more than 300 girls dressed up like the famous American Girl dolls,” Ramstetter says. “The girls raise money to be in the show and it’s so fun watching little girls get so excited about their participation. I’ve had girls come up and hug me and exclaim, ‘This was the best day of my life!’”

This year’s event took place April 23-25 at Cincinnati’s Music Hall.

Ramstetter has helped with planning for the Aubrey Rose Foundation since September when she went around to local elementary schools to advertise the event to girls who would be interested in auditioning for the show. With so many girls involved, the foundation even added a seventh show this year to give more girls an opportunity to participate.

“Jen has gained a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ experience this year, including soliciting auction items, securing sponsors, managing PR campaigns, selecting models, creating e-newsletters, organizing data and more,” says Margo Jokovich, event coordinator for the Aubrey Rose Foundation and president of McKinney Marketing. “She is constantly looking for ways to help the foundation and has helped establish some very valuable partnerships.”

Ramstetter contacted Jokovich, a graduate of the communication department (’93, BA), last year to see if she could volunteer and shadow her while she worked. A year later, she says it’s opened her eyes to the kind of work she hopes to do in her career.

“Working on this event has made me see how much I love planning events that are benefitting a foundation,” she says. “Long term, I could see myself having my own foundation and working toward something so close to my heart.”

She continues, “The work I’m doing is just so much fun. This has really been an incredible internship experience.”