We Are PR, We Are TGC

By Eve Miller

Tehama Group Communications is a community of PR professionals that was created in the late 1980s. Since it first opened in 1990, TGC has allowed thousands of students to come together in a team environment where they work directly with real clients to create PR strategies and take on responsibilities for client projects from start to finish.

With new clients each semester, TGC staffers are able to have hands-on experience that only select university students get. Of the 23 CSU campuses, only ten have student-run PR firms, with TGC being one of the first. 

Tehama Group Communications has started many students’ careers. It teaches them hard skills, such as email marketing or running a campaign, and soft skills, like working with different types of people or pushing through when things go wrong. 

TGC alums work in positions that range from vice presidents to entry-level workers. As the community of staffers continues to grow, alumni of all ages, all over the world, are willing to help others with tips and tricks, even finding open positions within their prospective field. 

Now more than ever, Tehama Group Communications is highlighting the significant number of past, present and future students and how we can all come together as one. Each student who has walked through the door to Tehama 310 is unique and has their own skills. 

No matter who they are, one thing is for sure. We are PR. The slogan ‘#WeArePR’ was created last semester by the TGC public relations team as a way to bring staffers together through our shared career paths.

As an agency, we are creative, we are professional, and most importantly, we are family.

This Giving Day on March 1, TGC aims to raise $6,000 to help keep the program running. All donations will go towards a multitude of things such as:

  • Funding the TGC student scholarship
  • Sponsoring monetary awards for student leaders
  • Maintaining TGC site visit opportunities
  • Serving pro bono clients
  • Providing gifts to our alumni guest speakers

All donations, no matter how small, make a difference in helping the agency thrive. It helps set up generations of staffers for a better future. 

Whether you were a part of the agency in 1990, a recent graduate or a future staff member, you are a part of something bigger than yourself. Mattie Orloff, a spring 2022 graduate of Chico State and the PR Director for her last semester in TGC, says she still feels connected to the program.

“I grew a lot. When I joined TGC, that’s when I started to really take my education and career seriously…I still follow my old TGC coworkers on social media and keep up with the TGC Instagram,” says Orloff. 

Orloff received a job offer from The Hatch Agency in San Francisco a week before graduating and was recently promoted from her six-month internship to a full-time position. With at least three TGC alumni, The Hatch and other firms like it are becoming familiar with the TGC community, showing how connected we are. 

Orloff, many other alums, and even current students of Tehama Group Communications, have been given the opportunity to learn and grow in various ways. Each position within the agency is crucial to making TGC run smoothly. Ranging from graphic designers and videographers to account executives and general managers, students’ different skills play a huge part in creating PR strategies and plans for clients each semester. 

Butte College IDEAA team meeting.
Photo by Eve Miller

One of our recurring clients, The Butte College Office of Inclusivity, Diversity, Equality, Accessibility and Anti-Racism, asks the team to work on creating stories for their newsletter. By reaching out for interviews and producing their own images, the team creates quality writing to add to their resumes while staying on top of their client’s social media platforms.

Taking on anywhere from four to six clients a semester, TGC aims for excellence in each team. This semester, the agency has six clients, with each staffer assigned to two clients. 

Whether the teams are helping Krōōd with their upcoming campaigns and outreach or assisting Chico State’s Asian American Studies department in creating a logo and gaining enrollment, each team is constantly improving their skills. No matter their starting skill level, all staffers grow and become part of the family at Tehama Group Communications. 

Current General Manager, Skylar Trostinksy looks back on her time in TGC.

“Not only has TGC given me the tools to better my future as a PR professional, but it’s provided me with a community of life-long friends and connections,” she says, while noting how corny it sounds. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be general manager this semester and grow my leadership skills one day at a time.” 

Having been a part of TGC for two semesters now, Trostinsky has been able to watch herself and others grow into the PR professionals that the agency strives for. 

Tehama Group Communications has brought a sense of belonging to many. It’s a safe place for anyone willing to work hard and grow their skills. 

Not only do you learn who you are as a professional during your time here in TGC, but also as a person and worker. You create long-lasting friendships you didn’t know you needed. Once you step into Tehama Room 310, it doesn’t matter your background or your aspirations, you work together as a team in the present without worrying about the past or future. 

As an agency, we are creative, we are professional and most importantly, we are family.