A Reflection on My Journey: Finding My Fit at Real Chemistry
Recently, I was reflecting on my past three years at Real Chemistry and reminiscing about meeting co-workers for the first time, learning how to build a media list, and taking in all the tips and tricks for compiling a lengthy media audit. Back when I was in college thinking about what life would look like when I was finally on my own and working full time (which certainly did not include living through a pandemic), I knew I wanted to be part of a close-knit group of colleagues where my ideas were valued and I was supported by my peers in and out of the office. Looking back at how much I’ve grown and progressed in the past three years, I’m grateful to have landed at Real Chemistry, and I wouldn’t change anything.
If we flash back to the summer of 2017 and the start of my professional career, I was living in New York’s West Village and working as an unpaid intern at a fashion PR agency in SoHo. It was everything you think it would be – running down the sidewalks with garment bags, checking out items for celebrities going on vacation, organizing the sample closet, and holding Marc Jacob’s seat during Men’s Fashion Week. At the end of the summer, I felt like Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada (except without the glow up), and knew that, whatever my next job would be, it would most likely not be in fashion.
The following summer, I found my passion for health care while serving as a corporate communications intern at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With no background in science (or corporate communications for that matter), I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing, but I knew I loved it. I enjoyed digging into the science and data behind life-changing treatments, learning about incredible patient stories, and doing work that positively impacted patients and their loved ones. Additionally, I helped facilitate Takeda’s community service day, family summer outing and participation in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk.
During my internship (and still to this day), Real Chemistry was the communications agency for Takeda. I was lucky to share a cubicle wall with someone from Real Chemistry who was completing a secondment while the Takeda Director of Public Relations was on maternity leave. I learned about the work Real Chemistry was doing, and I wanted to be a part of it. I thoroughly enjoyed my internship, but I knew I still had so much to learn in the world of health care communications. I knew I wanted my first full-time experience to be somewhere I could learn about countless disease states and therapies, work with different types of teams, be exposed to account work, earned media, social media and analytics, and forge a path that would ladder up to my passions and the types of work/projects I like the most.
I found all that in Real Chemistry, which provides the opportunity to be a part of a cross-functional organization with a dynamic role and variety of hands-on experiences. After completing a spring internship with Real Chemistry in Boston, I graduated from Boston University’s College of Communication with a major in public relations and a minor in history. Soon thereafter, I joined Real Chemistry full time as an associate in the New York office, thus beginning my first full-time job, inclusive of glamorous ferry rides five days a week between the Financial District (where the office is located) and Williamsburg.
Although I was originally hired to serve in a hybrid role – spending half of my time on account work and the other half on earned media – I knew after six months that I wanted to become fully ingrained on the earned media team. With the support of my mentors, I was able to make that transition. Through conversations with colleagues on both the account and earned media side, I devised a plan that would allow me to slowly transition off some accounts and make the move to the media team full time. I’m grateful for the experiences I had on the account side, as they have helped me be a better partner to my account colleagues now that I’m an earned media specialist.
In the last three years, I’ve learned more than I could have ever imagined. Each week continues to bring new challenges, perspectives, and insights. I support projects related to women’s health, dermatology, value and access and digital health. I also help manage our summer internship program. During the pandemic, I re-located from New York to Boston, and my professional growth hasn’t skipped a beat. I’m grateful to work for an organization that values employees both in and out of the office, and I look forward to the road ahead.
