Montclair CCOM Alumni Spotlight: From Montclair to Manhattan with Miriam Aguirre ’24

“Always be eager to learn and be intentionally proactive. It’s what makes you stand out.”

Before becoming an Account Executive at Lippe Taylor, a well known “Earned Marketing” agency with a strong reputation, Miriam Aguirre started at Montclair as Business Administration major with a concentration in Marketing. Her love for social media including storytelling, content creation, and influencer marketing drew her to change her major to Social Media and Public Relations.

To understand whether she made the right decision, Miriam explored different organizations and courses to get first-hand-experience of what the major had to offer. Everything changed once she joined PRSSA’s 2022 Bateman Competition. “My professor, Mary Scott, introduced me to the Public Relations Student Society of America and its Bateman Competition, where the task was to research, plan, execute, and evaluate a campaign for a real-life client.”

Apart from Bateman, Miriam was also the Vice President of Montclair’s PRSSA chapter. Along with the other members, they invited professionals to their planned events. One of their most successful events was their Networking Under The Stars panel.

With her experience and guidance from her professor, Mary Scott, Miriam landed her first internship at Edelman, a global communication firm, as a Brand Intern. “I am so grateful for Mary Scott who saw something in me and, to this day, continues to support me. She got me an interview for Edelman’s Summer Internship. This position showed me I wanted to work in a city and at an agency, working with multiple clients.” From there, Miriam got another internship at Litzky Public Relations and then at Lippe Taylor, where she currently works.

“As the first one in my family going into corporate America, I was honestly intimidated. However, my professors, peers, and mentors at Montclair were the best support system.” At Lippe Taylor, Miriam has been involved with multiple clients and different Employee Resource Groups. She is currently working in the world of Pharmaceuticals, where she is making a difference.

“Doing impactful work has changed my perspective on the industry. We work with patients, caregivers, and HCPs on content that makes an impact on communities which are often overlooked. I hope to continue working in a regulated space to gain more experience and take my experience to the beauty/skincare industry”.

Written by Jennifer Barrales-Solis

About the College of Communication and Media: The College of Communication and Media (CCOM) offers a range of dynamic programs to a talented and diverse student population of over 2,000. Offering degrees in advertising, animation and visual effects, communication and media studies, film and television, journalism and digital media, social media and public relations, sports communication and an online, asynchronous MA devoted to strategic communication and media, the College prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. Founded in 2012 and housed in world-class, state-of-the-art facilities just 12 miles from New York City, the College is the only program in the country that offers the following opportunities for students: a radio station (WMSC), newspaper (The Montclarion), strategic communications agency (Hawk Communications), sports network (Red Hawk Sports Network) streaming platform (Hawk+), digital newsroom (News Lab) and studio, and a social media listening center (Joetta DiBella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication). The College also has a Career Services team dedicated to preparing students for the internship and job search process. Student projects and programs have recently received national recognition from PRSSA’s Bateman Competition, an Edward R. Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and College Television Awards (“Student Emmy” awards) from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The College is also home to the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism and media. Through $7.1M in grants awarded over the last five years, the Center focuses on collaboration in journalism, media equity, media coaching and training, civic science and research. The Center is also home to the NJ Civic Information Consortium, the largest funder of media and journalism in New Jersey, granting more than $10M over the last five years to support independent local media, journalism and training initiatives.