By: Thea Nagle, PRSSA Secretary
PRSSA kicked off its Candid Conversations Series for the Fall 2020 semester with Matthew Sacco on Monday, Oct. 19. We connected on Zoom for an honest discussion between Sacco and the students. The event opened with Sacco summing up his professional journey from starting his collegiate career as an architecture major, then making his way into the sports, entertainment and political communication industries. After sharing his journey, students engaged in a Q & A session to learn more about the realities of working PR. Some students asked questions about starting their careers, advice and skills needed while others asked specifics to his past and current positions.
“I found out it wasn’t the path for me (in reference to architecture),” said Sacco, earning group nods of approval as most of the audience has felt the same. Prior to exploring working in PR, Sacco was an architecture major at UMass Amherst before realizing he wanted to go into a communication field. He accepted a role with a campus newspaper and found a calling in writing and communication. After graduating he reported on lacrosse until a connection passed his resume off to someone at the Florida Panthers, where his career in sports PR began. After 10 years with the Panthers and working his way up through the ranks, he shifted into a new role in the entertainment public relations industry. Sacco joined Roc Nation to help create and manage a new arm of the organization and offered him an opportunity to return to New York and his family. After achieving success in New York, but realizing he wanted a better work-life balance and to pursue more stimulating work, Sacco returned to Florida to work as a political consultant and lobbyist. Sacco is currently a governmental consultant for Rubin, Turnbull & Associates. Here he offers clients seasoned lobbying expertise as well as advising on business strategy.
Working in lobbying “is very entrepreneurial in nature,” Sacco says. By setting his own schedule and agenda he works with more predictable outcomes and can better control his and his client’s destiny. Lobbying requires finding mutually beneficial solutions with clients. He represents clients in every regulated industry to find different strategies to change decisions. The specific examples Sacco provided about what kind of clients he has worked with and what they accomplished, helped to illustrate political communication.
Sacco’s biggest piece of advice for college students is to “find mentors in people you admire, and ask them to invest in you to help you learn and grow.” A mentor encourages their mentee to constantly work on themselves and become a top mind in their field. If you can be an expert in the room then you automatically elevate yourself and set yourself apart. At Emerson we have the opportunity to acquire and perfect the skills that will launch us into our future career. Sacco inspires us to set a goal for learning and gaining as much experience as we can while at Emerson.