College Relations office welcomes Spencer, Guistina as new members
September 2, 2010
By Erica Smithson
The College Relations Office, located in the basement of Long Hall, handles the media and public relations facets of Lycoming College. Its work includes bringing awareness of student and faculty activities on campus, publicizing all of the athletic teams, and connecting with alumni by helping to organize events such as homecoming.
The office is directed by Jerry Rashid, and has welcomed Casey Spencer as the college relations specialist, and Joe Guistina as sports information director. Both employees began their duties in the summer. And both will also tell you that the most rewarding part of their job is bringing the stories of Lycoming to the public.
Spencer has had a multi-year history with the College. He graduated from Lycoming in 2005 with degrees in both English literature and psychology, and immediately after, worked in the Admissions office as an admissions counselor. Now, as the College Relations Specialist, Spencer is responsible for constructing press releases about the College’s activities, producing web content, and communicating the school’s news electronically through such publications as alumni newsletters.
“I like the community,” Spencer said about working for Lycoming. “While I mostly focused on prospective students in the admissions office, I now can work more with students and alumni.”
While Spencer has encountered changes in methods of communication since he began as an admissions counselor (Facebook use is ever-increasing in his work), he values a love of writing as one of his most effective communication tools. “I like writing; I have a degree in English,” he said. “I was able to do some writing in admissions, and [in College Relations] I can do more.”
As he begins to publicize the events of the new school year, Spencer’s overall goal is to “share more about what’s going on [here], whether it’s through writing, pictures or video.” He loves telling the story of Lycoming and sharing all of the interesting things that make this school unique.
Guistina comes from a varied background in sports publicity work. Prior to working for Lycoming, he had held jobs at the University of Buffalo, Michigan State, and most recently, University of South Carolina Upstate. The three schools vary greatly in size—Michigan enrolls upwards of 40-50,000 students and USC Upstate was home to about 5,000 and was transitioning to Division I status while Guistina worked there; however, he added that he learned a lot from each place.
Guistina graduated in 2004 with a degree in journalism from Susquehanna University. While at Susquehanna, he was a pitcher for the baseball team, covered sports for the school newspaper, and also worked in the sports information office. From South Carolina, he came to Lycoming because he and his wife wanted to be closer to home (they are both New York natives). He knew the area (Susquehanna and Lycoming are about an hour apart) and he knew that Lycoming has a good football program.
He also was looking for a higher-level job with more responsibility. At previous schools, he had either worked as an assistant, or part of a sports information team. Though he likes being the person directly in charge now, he still values the importance of the group effort. “There are always times when I wish I had more people to help me,” he says, “but Jerry [Rashid] has been very helpful in ensuring that I have all of the resources I need.” He said he hopes he can influence those who work for him and assist them in their careers as writers.
Guistina also recognizes the importance of sports in fostering connections and relationships between people, especially when people begin playing them in childhood. What he has learned from his job is that a sports publicist’s responsibility is reporting the athletes’ stories for their community. “I’m not interested in getting stories in Sports Illustrated or on ESPN. I’m more interested in letting parents know how their athletes are performing,” he said.
Though he counts himself a lifetime baseball fan, covering other sports for his job has allowed him to build respect for all types of athletics. One of the sports he covered at Buffalo was wrestling. Though he had not counted himself a fan of it before, he admired the training and preparation that the wrestlers and coaching staff went through to become the best team they could be. “I loved wrestling after that, and similarly, I had respect for all of the athletes and coaches who were so dedicated to their performances,” he said.
As a journalist, Guistina looks more for the story itself than the game, whether the story is that of an extraordinary athlete or a team’s championship success after overcoming a rough season. Through telling these stories, he has made longtime connections with the athletes he has worked with and looks forward to doing the same at Lycoming.
“No matter what school I worked for, the best part of my job was going to a game and seeing the team I wanted to win,” says Guistina. “There is nothing better than seeing athletes come off of the field with smiles on their faces.”
Students who are interested in working for the College Relations/Sports Information office should contact either Spencer or Guistina by e-mail.
The College Relations Office, located in the basement of Long Hall, handles the media and public relations facets of Lycoming College. Its work includes bringing awareness of student and faculty activities on campus, publicizing all of the athletic teams, and connecting with alumni by helping to organize events such as homecoming.
The office is directed by Jerry Rashid, and has welcomed Casey Spencer as the college relations specialist, and Joe Guistina as sports information director. Both employees began their duties in the summer. And both will also tell you that the most rewarding part of their job is bringing the stories of Lycoming to the public.
Spencer has had a multi-year history with the College. He graduated from Lycoming in 2005 with degrees in both English literature and psychology, and immediately after, worked in the Admissions office as an admissions counselor. Now, as the College Relations Specialist, Spencer is responsible for constructing press releases about the College’s activities, producing web content, and communicating the school’s news electronically through such publications as alumni newsletters.
“I like the community,” Spencer said about working for Lycoming. “While I mostly focused on prospective students in the admissions office, I now can work more with students and alumni.”
While Spencer has encountered changes in methods of communication since he began as an admissions counselor (Facebook use is ever-increasing in his work), he values a love of writing as one of his most effective communication tools. “I like writing; I have a degree in English,” he said. “I was able to do some writing in admissions, and [in College Relations] I can do more.”
As he begins to publicize the events of the new school year, Spencer’s overall goal is to “share more about what’s going on [here], whether it’s through writing, pictures or video.” He loves telling the story of Lycoming and sharing all of the interesting things that make this school unique.
Guistina comes from a varied background in sports publicity work. Prior to working for Lycoming, he had held jobs at the University of Buffalo, Michigan State, and most recently, University of South Carolina Upstate. The three schools vary greatly in size—Michigan enrolls upwards of 40-50,000 students and USC Upstate was home to about 5,000 and was transitioning to Division I status while Guistina worked there; however, he added that he learned a lot from each place.
Guistina graduated in 2004 with a degree in journalism from Susquehanna University. While at Susquehanna, he was a pitcher for the baseball team, covered sports for the school newspaper, and also worked in the sports information office. From South Carolina, he came to Lycoming because he and his wife wanted to be closer to home (they are both New York natives). He knew the area (Susquehanna and Lycoming are about an hour apart) and he knew that Lycoming has a good football program.
He also was looking for a higher-level job with more responsibility. At previous schools, he had either worked as an assistant, or part of a sports information team. Though he likes being the person directly in charge now, he still values the importance of the group effort. “There are always times when I wish I had more people to help me,” he says, “but Jerry [Rashid] has been very helpful in ensuring that I have all of the resources I need.” He said he hopes he can influence those who work for him and assist them in their careers as writers.
Guistina also recognizes the importance of sports in fostering connections and relationships between people, especially when people begin playing them in childhood. What he has learned from his job is that a sports publicist’s responsibility is reporting the athletes’ stories for their community. “I’m not interested in getting stories in Sports Illustrated or on ESPN. I’m more interested in letting parents know how their athletes are performing,” he said.
Though he counts himself a lifetime baseball fan, covering other sports for his job has allowed him to build respect for all types of athletics. One of the sports he covered at Buffalo was wrestling. Though he had not counted himself a fan of it before, he admired the training and preparation that the wrestlers and coaching staff went through to become the best team they could be. “I loved wrestling after that, and similarly, I had respect for all of the athletes and coaches who were so dedicated to their performances,” he said.
As a journalist, Guistina looks more for the story itself than the game, whether the story is that of an extraordinary athlete or a team’s championship success after overcoming a rough season. Through telling these stories, he has made longtime connections with the athletes he has worked with and looks forward to doing the same at Lycoming.
“No matter what school I worked for, the best part of my job was going to a game and seeing the team I wanted to win,” says Guistina. “There is nothing better than seeing athletes come off of the field with smiles on their faces.”
Students who are interested in working for the College Relations/Sports Information office should contact either Spencer or Guistina by e-mail.
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