Awards Award Winners 35 Under 35 Honorees Will Argeros

Multimedia Specialist
Community Engagement Roosevelt School District 
Phoenix, Ariz.

How many years have you worked in school PR?
8 years.

The most rewarding part about working in school PR is visiting our sites and seeing our students, teachers and staff in action. I'm fortunate to cover special events and the day-to-day activities of our district, which allows me to see the kids get excited about learning and the teachers impassioned while they're teaching. It's a great reminder of who our work is about and why we our role is so crucial to the mission and success of the district. Seeing the pure joy on a student's face when a lesson finally clicks or the absolutely stunned face of a teacher getting a surprise donation is a fulfilling feeling. I'm lucky enough to experience this time and time again.

The most challenging part about working in school PR is how different the world of public relations is from the world of teaching and learning. It takes constant effective communication to bring staff into a marketing mindset. We have to build trust with stakeholders to overcome a lack of understanding that creates “bad” PR habits. This includes education on things like news cycles, production timelines, social media calendars and all the other aspects we encounter on a daily basis. This is essential to provide staff, students, families and the community with quality, accurate information in a timely manner.

My most fulfilling professional experience thus far has been attending my first NSPRA National Seminar in Chicago in 2022. It was the first time I had been able to attend a national conference with my peers and it was so enriching to hear how they overcome a lot of similar challenges in their districts, regardless of the state - or country - they were from. I left that seminar feeling inspired and ready to implement new strategies for the upcoming school year. I felt that I was able to grow by leaps and bounds professionally from being in peer-led breakout sessions, networking during lunch and events and collaborating with the vendors. It was the perfect follow up to our Arizona SPRA conference earlier in the summer. I look forward to continuing to attend national seminars and developing my skillset as a school communications professional.