Over 10 years on from his last lecture on campus in Castletroy, Luke Hogg, who graduated from UL with a BA in Journalism in 2014 took to the front of the lecture hall on Monday evening.
Speaking to final year journalism students and students of the ‘Media Challenges in the Digital Age’ module, Mr Hogg delivered his expert insight into the modern PR landscape.
Since graduating with an MA in Public Relations from TUD in 2017, Mr Hogg has been working for Teneo where he has progressed to Associate Director.
Teneo is “the global CEO advisory firm,” who have partnered with entities ranging from Krispy Kreme to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mr Hogg discussed the challenges of advising these companies, challenges he overcomes with skills he picked from the lecture rooms of UL.
“When it comes to public relations or communications, a lot of the skills are interchangeable. Writing a press release is very similar to writing a news story, news articles.”
He added, “So those skills, they really stick to you, they come back to you. And again, it tells you you’re trying to get a story out there and get coverage for it.
It’s also good to know what a journalist is looking for, what are they going to want to see in this, and then be able to give that to them, and make their job easier as well.”
The former Limerick Voice Deputy News Editor was honoured at the privilege to come back to his old stomping ground and deliver a speech to this year’s students.
“It’s great to come back. I graduated here in 2014, so it’s always nice to do a speech here. I came back last year as well and talked to the class last year, so it’s great to come back and be able to meet the class, meet the students, see how things have changed, I suppose, since I was here.”
Indeed, it was the very lecture hall beneath the newsroom in the Engineering Building where Mr Hogg spoke that he learned shorthand.
What was evident from Mr Hogg’s speech is the skills taught to him over a decade ago and to the students of today prepare students for a wide array of jobs in the filed of work.
He explained, “You know, even looking back at my own classroom from 2014, a lot of them have moved on into different areas doing exciting things. A handful are still working in journalism in different areas and doing quite well.”
As a parting quote he offered his advice to students in their last few weeks on campus, “I suppose, try as you go looking for that job or the next move, try and do something that you enjoy doing.
“If you’re into journalism and you want to become a journalist, go into an area that you’re interested in, that you’re excited about, because that’s going to help you write stories every single day,” he concluded.