Path to Prosek: From Horse Girl to PR Girl – How One Equestrian Found Her Way Home

Since joining Prosek, I’ve interviewed many potential candidates for the firm who have asked me how I ended up here. One thing I’ve realized during this process, is that my answer about my path to Prosek and why I joined is far less important than my answer to why I – and so many others – stay here. Across the firm, our paths to getting and staying here are all different—but they all speak to how where you work can be more than just a job.

I spent the first 18 years of my life dedicated to being an equestrian. Spending hours at the barn 6 out of 7 days a week no matter the season. Traveling the East Coast competing; and prioritizing my four-legged partners above all else. I “retired” my freshman year in college (after a gap year to, you guessed it, ride), ready to find some balance, find out what I had been missing on nights and weekends and perhaps find a passion that I’d pursue in a professional capacity.

While I didn’t quite find that in school, the equine world came back to direct my path to PR and kick off my long road to Prosek.

The winter of my senior year, I excitedly accepted an Account Coordinator position at a scrappy startup agency in Boston that operated exclusively in the equine world. My boss was confident that my liberal arts education and history major would translate well to the task – writing, effective storytelling, editing, resourcefulness….you get the picture. I took to the work like water. I started working part-time while still in school and then dove in headfirst after graduation. Just as I had while competing, we traveled up and down the East Coast, representing some of the biggest brands in the sport, professional equestrians and equine organizations and events. I learned the basics, and I learned them quickly, and I loved my job. I never thought I’d be able to combine my experience as an equestrian with a career, and here I was.

As a young person does (and should!), I decided I needed to make a big change and move to the West Coast. And with it, came a string of new jobs, ranging from communications at an international nonprofit and eventually to a PR agency specializing in financial services that would lead me right to Prosek’s door a few years later. After another cross-country move and a move overseas to Japan (I told you it was a long road), I finally made my way back to Boston. One of my former colleagues on the West Coast had made the move to Prosek in New York and noticed that I updated my LinkedIn location to Boston. She had me having coffee with a local Managing Director in record time. And in just literal weeks later, I started at Prosek, and I knew I was officially home (geographically and professionally!).

And we’re back to the start. What did Prosek offer to satiate my pursuit for meaning, challenge and growth?

• The people: Prosekians are diverse people from a range of backgrounds. Former journalists and news anchors, lawyers, folks who have worked in entertainment, professional sports, for consumer brands, and of course for some of the most prestigious financial firms in the world. All of this contributes to an exceptional level of expertise and diversity of thought, which I, and our clients, benefit from every day.
• The clients: The organizations we work with are premier within their respective industries and have global influence. It’s an honor to advise their communications, PR and marketing programs, especially when they can have a positive impact on such a large scale. And like Prosekians, our clients are incredible people, and I’m lucky enough to call a few of them mentors.
• The culture: Prosek’s culture has to be one of the warmest out there. I know in a pinch that any of the Partners will answer a call or text and advise on a scenario. If I want to customize my career, my manager and HR will make it happen. Outside of client work, we have a million and one opportunities to get involved with the organization or with our local communities – whether it’s planning a stellar holiday party to celebrate another year in the books, or organizing programs with local nonprofits.

Prosek has it all – the best people, clients and culture. And that’s why we come and why we stay.

Now if only I could get our head of sports to a horse show…