Norwalk Community College Staff Members Featured on Podcast About College’s Support During Ukrainian Crisis

The National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) works to highlight and represent Marketing and Public Relations (PR) professionals at community and technical colleges. Recently, their podcast, Peer & Simple, interviewed two Norwalk Community College (NCC) staff members to spotlight the work they have been doing during the Ukrainian crisis.

Mario Haimindra, Marketing & PR Associate, and Pracilya Titus, Guided Pathways Advisor and Chair of the Committee for Diversity & Inclusion, spoke with the host of Peer & Simple, Jeff Julian, about the way NCC has responded to the war in Ukraine and programs which were created to support their students. During the podcast, Pracilya’s work with the Committee for Diversity & Inclusion was highlighted as she continues to meet with the committee and create new programs and events to support our students. Additionally, Mario spoke of the importance marketing and PR has during times like these, as well as the need for departmental collaboration within colleges to support their students. The duo also emphasized the need for empathy and compassion when working to support students and create programming which can often times be triggering or difficult to speak about for those who have been directly affected.

To date, NCC held two programs for its students: ‘NCC Stands with Ukraine’ and ‘The War on Ukraine: Virtual Panel Discussion’ with CT university professors. The ‘NCC Stands with Ukraine’ event gave students, faculty, and staff the chance to share stories about their connection to Ukraine; one NCC student who was born in the Ukraine read a poem she wrote while staff and students read poems written by a Ukrainian mother whose son is in the war and a child’s first-hand experience hiding in a fallout shelter. The event also spoke about resources and organizations which are supporting refugees from the country. ‘The War on Ukraine: Virtual Panel Discussion’ welcomed University of Connecticut Associate Professor of History, Joel Blatt, and University of Bridgeport Associate Professor & Chair of Global Development and Peace, Dave Benjamin to discuss how the invasion started and its effects for the rest of the world.

However, the support does not stop there for NCC. Although programs are currently still in the works for students, Mario felt it was incredibly important to continue showing NCC’s support through social media and on campus. Profile pictures on all social media pages were changed to include the Ukrainian colors while ‘I Stand With Ukraine’ stickers were created for students. Posters were also created for faculty and staff to place on their office windows and doors to stand in solidarity and show their support. A webpage was also created by Pracilya which highlights multiple organizations and resources that our NCC community can donate or reach out to and assist Ukrainian citizens in any way they can help.

NCMPR’s Peer & Simple podcast focuses on marketing professionals and experts who provide their knowledge and expertise on a variety of topics within the realm of Marketing and PR for community colleges. More information about the podcast and where to stream it can be found here.