Awards Award Winners 35 Under 35 Honorees Mandi LeCompte

How many years have you worked in school PR?
6 years (+ 5 years in higher education communications)

This profession is filled with incredible people who want to help you grow. Being part of the WSPRA and NSPRA community has been invaluable — these vibrant communities represent how many of us are in it together. I know I could call up anyone in my state to ask for help or advice, and they would give it to me. There are no trade secrets, because in the end it’s all to the benefit of our students, and our students are our future. Education is powerful, and it’s amazing we have a small hand in it. School communicators are uniquely positioned to advocate for change. We help our districts stay accountable in their promises. We help our community understand what’s at stake. We also get to be hype people — celebrating the successes of our students and staff.

Balancing it all. From strategic work to tactical work, to crisis communication or visual design, there are a lot of caps to wear and a lot of lenses to consider. Some days my to-do list is obliterated by a school incident—but I love being able to call up a principal and give them the support they need when their day is spiraling. To combat that, I’m always striving to master the art of prioritizing. Our team is amazing at asking for help and giving help when a team member needs it. We do great work because we are a great team.

Highline holds a districtwide equity symposium each fall to kick off the school year. I’ve been on the committee for the last four years. It’s been a rewarding experience to develop strategic, in-depth communication plans for a culture-changing event and to collaborate with colleagues across the district on advancing our equity work. It’s not easy work, but it’s needed work and we’re learning how to accomplish that work better each year. It’s a great skill set sampler. I get to do a lot of everything—from building out a virtual event platform to designing a theme and getting the word out to nearly 4,000 staff members.