Professor-student collaboration supports PR News article

Before PR News published Julie Lellis’ Nov. 25 article, titled “3 Steps to Becoming Your Own PR Editor,” the associate professor and associate department chair in the School of Communications enlisted the help of one of her students. Their collaborative efforts are now online for more than 150,000 PR and marketing professionals worldwide to read.

As part of senior Nicole Appleby’s independent study, titled “Advanced Case Study Writing,” Lellis asked the strategic communications major to research content for her upcoming PR News article discussing writing and editing tips. Appleby was already collaborating on case studies for Lellis’ upcoming book about identity and strategic communications. This specific opportunity directly related to Appleby’s academic pursuits as a professional writing studies minor at Elon.

“Working as a team makes for a better piece at the end because you have two sets of eyes, and in this environment the student learns along the way what happens ‘behind the scenes’ during the writing process,” Lellis said. “It was a fun process to do it with a student.”

​“This has been a great opportunity as I was able to receive immediate feedback and one-on-one attention from Dr. Lellis,” said Appleby. “I am a more confident writer and editor because of this experience. I feel like I have a unique experience to talk about with future employers when I interview for jobs in the spring.”