YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOU ARE GOING TO MEET

“You never know who you are going to meet”, that is my life motto and I swear by it. I truly believe I would not have had the opportunity to intern at Zapwater Communications without living life this way. I could say that my Zapwater journey started a short two months ago, but that would not be the complete truth. In my mind it all began one night out in Wicker Park last May, when I was introduced through a friend of a friend, to a young, enthusiastic, fashionable, power PR woman by the name of Kiran Advani. We got the chance to chat about PR and she gave me her business card. The next morning I could not wait to start learning all I could about Zapwater Communications. I followed them as they promoted RA Sushi, saw K.Amato designs in US Weekly and Lucky and watched the unveiling of the newly renovated Hotel Sax Chicago.

Eventually a year later my school schedule lightened up allowing me to take a summer off from classes to focus my time, energy, knowledge and enthusiasm on an internship. I knew, since that night in Wicker Park, that I wanted to intern at Zapwater. Hopefully they would realize they wanted me too.

So here I am, a year and three months later, calling myself a Zapwater Intern! Coming in with such high hopes and expectations could have been disastrous, but Zapwater sure has delivered. From day one I have been given the responsibility and trusted to work alongside the publicists in all areas of PR from writing press releases, pitching stories, creating media lists to offering manpower at the door for high profile events.

As the summer term comes to an end I am excited to accept the offer to return as an intern for yet another, what I am sure will be, eventful session. I am already gearing up to start promoting, with Publicist Holly Ramsey, our new client PJ Loughran and his company Kerosene Creative Services, a multi-facetted advertising and marketing agency. Loughran seems to have the same idea about embracing the unexpected and those chance encounters so I look forward to where life takes me, Zapwater and all our clients next!

Ashley Plaetzer
Intern

A CHANCE TO MAKE A CHANGE

Reading has always been an integral part of my life. It truly has shaped me as a person. For me, reading provides an adventure and the ability to get insight into opportunities not readily available to one’s self. I read books on varying topics to keep myself informed on important and not so important issues, or sometimes simply to escape the rigors of everyday living. My favorite reads have ranged from John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany (which made me laugh out loud but also think) to David Halberstam’s epic book about the Korean War, The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War (a book that provided me with a glimpse of a bleak time in the history of this country.)

Most books I have read leave an impact on me, but one of the most recent has left quite an everlasting impression on me and this book is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It is a story of will and desire, a story of passion and commitment, of one man’s goal to make something better. The book is the story of mountain climber Greg Mortenson. Mortenson was so taken by the hospitality he was shown in a small Pakistani village after a failed attempt at climbing K2, he decides to build the village a school to provide the village’s children a better chance of life.



This blog is not a review. I will not reveal anything more about the book. But go out and find a copy and read it, you will be rewarded. The book has given me the courage to say that I can help and here at Zapwater, we are rewarded with such a chance, after one year of service we can dedicate a week volunteering. I now intend to take advantage of this great Zapwater perk. I may not be heading to Pakistan any time soon but like Mortenson, I would like to do something, so now my adventure begins.

John Delaney
Office Manager /Special Projects Manager

I DREAM OF CARROT CAKE

In preparation for my October wedding, I have been on a mission to lose weight. I will generally try any method of weight loss and since I passed the “30” mark nothing has worked. From Celebrity Fit Club’s Fat Smash Diet to Seattle Sutton, I’ve tried it all. I might be the only person in America who actually gained weight on Weight Watchers.

I have had some success on my latest diet craze. Whether it’s the secret potion I’m ingesting or the mere 500 calorie diet of apples, strawberries and shrimp, who knows. What I do know is that I am at the end of my rope. I am tired, grumpy and hungry. This morning I was so physically exhausted that I did not have the strength to lift my blow dryer. Needless to say, I am down eight pounds and well on my way to being so thin people will be worried about me…exactly the look I am going for on my special day.The most difficult part of the diet has been that my co-workers have been frequenting HUB 51 and ordering the carrot cake without me. I have forgotten what most food tastes like at this point, but I wake up almost every night in the midst of a dream about biting into a piece of that carrot cake. It is by far the best dessert I have ever had. I don’t know what’s in there, but I do believe the extraordinary taste comes from the frosting. If you haven’t had it, I don’t know whether to recommend it or tell you to stay far far away from it. All I can do is give warning that once you’ve tasted it, you will not be able to stop until your little dessert plate is clean. I know mine will be on August 21st, my first cheat day…T minus 17 days.

Mayra Camara
CFO