Author Archives: uwirepr

STUDENT DEBT IS THE TERRIFYING VILLAIN IN SHORT HORROR FILM

The anxiety recent graduates experience when confronting their loans reappears in “The Red” with advice and tools on how to manage it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOSTON – Now that graduation has arrived, students around the country are about to be hit with their student loans for the very first time. A campaign by American Student Assistance™ (ASA) just launched to help students and recent graduates manage these loans. Through a short, psychological thriller film, The Red spins a story about the anxieties of being in debt and the relief that comes from facing them. The Red is part of a multi-media campaign created by ad agency SS+K to compel and empower young people to take control of their debt on a practical, day-to-day level.

The Red also introduces SALT™, a free, nonprofit resource created by ASA™ to help students and graduates better manage their loans and enter the real world on more solid financial footing. When signing up for SALT, they can enter for a chance to win $10,000 to pay for college or pay back their loans at FaceTheRed.com.

Nearing a trillion dollars, student debt affects nearly 15 million Americans under the age of 30. Few students and recent graduates even know what they owe – and they aren’t actively seeking advice on what to do about it.

“It isn’t easy to get young people who feel panicked about their debts to do something about it,” said Sue Burton from ASA. “To connect meaningfully with them, we produced something very entertaining that acknowledges how frightening it can be, yet portrays their own power and offers a path out of the nightmare.”

In “The Red”, which premiered in theaters across the country and launched nationally online at FaceTheRed.com, a 20-something girl is terrorized by ominous red smoke. The smoke follows her at every turn, mirroring the suffocating financial strain of a post-college world. No matter how hard she tries, she realizes that there’s no avoiding The Red. The only option is to face it.

“The Red” was directed by the Borderline Films trio of Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin and Josh Mond — the critically acclaimed filmmakers behind the thrillers “Martha Marcy May Marlene” and “Simon Killer.” The filmmakers know firsthand the horror of mounting student debts and the paralyzing fear that it can create. “We know exactly how scary it is to owe a ton of money for school and have no clue how to pay it back,” said Mr. Campos. “This is a story we related to. The feeling of ‘The Red’ made sense. And we embraced the opportunity to work on this project.”

“The Red” premiered in Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C. – focusing on cities with a large student population and high percentage of young people with student debt. Beyond the film, a main focus of the campaign is to bring information and resources to students and recent grads through platforms and mediums that they already consume and trust. The campaign includes multiple content partnerships with millennial-focused media outlets like The Onion, BuzzFeed, College Humor and MTV.

About SALT & ASA: SALT is a free educational resource that provides simple, smart, personalized ways for college students and recent graduates to take control of their student debt and manage their finances. With a combination of helpful tools, tailored information, and unbiased expertise, SALT helps young people borrow less, borrow smart and repay their loans in a way that works for them. SALT was created by American Student Assistance, a nonprofit organization with 50+ years experience helping people make better decisions about financing their education and repaying student loans.

About SS+K: SS+K is the marketing/advertising agency that produced the most-discussed video of the 2012 presidential campaign, “Your First Time,” featuring Lena Dunham, and the award-winning “The Most Honest City” initiative for Honest Tea. SS+K helped GM introduce the Volt, and with Pfizer created the “Get Old” campaign. Current clients include VW, the College Board, Wells Fargo, Travelers, Kraft Foods and Fwd.us, the organization launched by Mark Zuckerberg and other technology leaders to promote immigration and education reform. In 2004, working with Nike, SS+K introduced the iconic yellow Livestrong wristband. Founded in 1993, SS+K is partially owned by the Hollywood agency CAA.

Get Published, No Experience Necessary

Publishers Call Out For The Next Bestsellers

By NICHOLAS MILANES
Originally Published in the Fordham Observer
Blog Editor
Published: May 1, 2013

As final exams draw near, easily distracted as the collegiate mind with summer approaching, we have all asked ourselves what to do this summer. Here’s an idea: why not write a book?

Besides being a great way to fill the gap of time between Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, it’s a great opportunity, since publishers like HarperCollins are actively seeking young college-age authors. New Adult Fiction is making waves; HarperCollins wants to help young authors make a splash.

New Adult Fiction is an emerging genre centered on college-age protagonists and characters. While plenty of us enjoy Young Adult (YA) novels like “The Hunger Games,” there’s no denying that as high school shrinks smaller and smaller in our horizon, we all crave something that hits a little closer to home.

“YA has always been really popular, and New Adult is actually a much wider world than YA,” said Tessa Woodward, editor at Avon Books, a HarperCollins imprint. “High school is a very enclosed space—you know, it’s just high school. But once you have these kids get out into the world, there’s such a broader range of things that they can experience. The younger writers aren’t afraid of having crazy emotional backstories for their characters.”

The New Adult Genre is free from the constraints of many long-established genres, but has roots in the “Twilight” franchise, which pushed the boundaries of sexual subject matter within YA novels and led to “Fifty Shades of Grey”—a trilogy whose success lies in its sexual frankness.

“YA is what we call a ‘closed door,’” Pamela Spengler-Jaffee said, director of publicity at Avon. “There might be something happening, but you don’t know, because of the readership of YA, and the rules of YA. For the most part, if they’re having any sort of relations, writers don’t write about it.”

Even if the story you want to write doesn’t involve whips and/or chains, a college-age story is likely to be a little less “Degrassi” and a little more “Girls”. New Adult presents an opportunity for writers to tell stories that are raw and real.

This is not to say a New Adult writer is constrained to college matters. “They’re not all set in colleges; it’s just that age group,” Lucia Macro said, vice president and executive editor at Avon. “Some of them have those situations that deal with college or university, but some of them do not; a lot of protagonists are forced into certain circumstances.” Many New Adult protagonists must skip college and live in the real world. New Adult authors are no strangers to confrontational subjects such as rape and unwanted pregnancy.

New Adult is not only a new genre, but a new form of community. Digital publishing is the lifeblood of the pioneering New Adult author, and blogs are the heart. “There are super readers on Goodreads,” Spengler-Jaffee said. “One is this woman named Maryse. She has a well-followed blog—when she recommends a new adult book, all of a sudden, 500 people put it on their shelves to be read. She’s like the Oprah of New Adult. She’s hosting a New Adult reader festival next month—the Orlando Book Bash. There’s a whole slew of authors confirmed to attend.”

The potential audience is growing alongside the genre. New Adult authors have been self-publishing online, on blogs and dedicated websites where fans can easily access them. Publishing houses are now beginning to distribute New Adult novels in the e-book format, making it quicker, cheaper and easier to get an author’s work in the hands of readers everywhere. A growing number of readers find themselves more willing to pay five dollars to download a book to their phone or e-reader than they are to shell out twenty-some dollars for a hardback.

The possibilities are endless for innovative stories and for publishing opportunities. You no longer need prior publishing experience in order to be published. “People are writing who aren’t necessarily taking creative writing classes. They’re not necessarily learning all of the rules of, ‘well, this is what a story should be,’” and there’s a lot more freedom in that. They say, ‘this is what I want to read, so I’m gonna write it down.’” There’s no better time than now to jot down those ideas that have bounced around in your head for so long. “It’s frontier era here. It’s exciting.”

Aspiring authors, send your submissions to Tessa Woodward, at tessa.woodward@harpercollins.com, or submit directly online at www.avonimpulse.com.

Allegiant Flight Attendants Launch Ad and Website to Rename Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. Hall at University of California, Davis Business School — “Let’s set an example for future business leaders”

For immediate release May 9, 2013

Contact: Roger Kerson, roger.kerson@gmail.com, 734.645.0535

Allegiant Flight Attendants Launch Ad and Website to Rename Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. Hall at University of California, Davis Business School — “Let’s set an example for future business leaders”

Davis, CA — Flight attendants at Allegiant Air, members of TWU Local 577, launched a new ad and website urging students and faculty at the University of California, Davis to participate in the renaming of Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. Hall.

The building, where UC Davis School of Management students attend classes, was named after Gallagher, CEO of Allegiant Airlines and former officer and director of ValuJet, following a $10 million donation to the school. The TWU ad, which will run in today’s UC Davis newspaper The California Aggie, features the headline “Rename Gallagher Hall” and asks:

Shouldn’t the main classroom building be named for a leader who in your opinion has a reputation for high standards and business excellence?

“Let’s honor business leaders who treat employees and customers with respect, while still delivering a profit to shareholders,” said Thom McDaniel, International Vice President of the Transport Workers Union. “We should name buildings after people who deliver value to customers and the communities they serve, while also representing the best values of the University of California.”

The ad encourages readers to “join us by adding your suggestion for a corporate leader fitting this profile” at the new website www.RenameGallagherHall.org.

“This is a step in the right direction for our campus. We need to start naming buildings after people that are community and worker friendly,” said Duane Wright, UC Davis campus chair of UAW Local 2865, the union representing teaching assistants, readers, tutors and other academic workers at the University of California.

Recent news reports about Allegiant have raised concerns about passenger delays, the reliability of the airline’s aging fleet, excessive fees and abrupt cancellation of routes and service to cities formerly served by the airline.

A majority of flight attendants at Allegiant voted in favor of TWU representation in December 2010. More than two years later, flight attendants still do not have a first contract agreement.

The Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) represents 200,000 workers and retirees in commercial aviation, public transportation and passenger railroads, including 11,000 flight attendants. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

###

THE MILLENNIAL TRAINS PROJECT LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE SEARCH FOR APPLICANTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

First ever crowd-funded transcontinental train journey seeks to empower 100 young artists, innovators, and entrepreneurs during 10-day train journey to help move America forward.

Washington, D.C. – Today, The Millennial Trains Project (MTP), a non-profit organization that leads crowdfunded transcontinental train journeys for enterprising, creative, and civic-minded Millennials, announced it has begun accepting applications for its inaugural journey from San Francisco, CA to Washington, DC (August 8-17, 2013).

In partnership with City Year, McKinsey & Company, National Geographic Traveler, Opportunity Nation, and the Startup America Partnership, MTP will turn a caravan of refurbished mid-20thcentury train cars into a mobile innovation lab, campus, and dormitory.

“Journeys build leaders – and Millennials are the new pioneers,” said Patrick Dowd, the Millennial Trains Project’s 25 year-old founder and CEO, “I started MTP to create a platform for people my age to explore their own personal, professional, and creative frontiers on a national scale – and to better understand our country in the process.”

To get on board, applicants will use MTP’s crowdfunding platform to propose and build support for a project that they intend to advance in each community where the train stops.

Applicants have until July 1st to reach a $5,000 fundraising goal, which covers the cost of their participation. Since the application process is a race, those that apply early have the best chance of getting on board. Anyone age 18-34 is eligible to apply, and the public is encouraged to visit the MTP crowdfunding platform to support applicant projects.

Traveling from San Francisco, CA to Washington, D.C. over the course of 10 days, 100 participants will have the opportunity to learn from on-train mentors, explore local examples of innovation, and advance their projects. Participants will be evenly allotted among the following ten professional tracks:

• Advocates: Community organizers, non-profit leaders, changemakers, lobbyists, lawyers;
• Entrepreneurs: Job creators, disruptive thinkers, risk-takers, founders, soon-to-be founders;
• Explorers: Mountaineers, conservationists, astronauts, park rangers;
• Intrapreneurs: Anyone leading within an established company or non-profit organization;
• Innovators: Inventors, hackers, engineers, scientists;
• Makers: Architects, designers, writers, filmmakers, poets, journalists, craftsmen;
• Performers: Actors, singers, dancers, musicians, comedians;
• Public Servants: Political staffers, teachers, enlisted soldiers and law enforcement officials;
• Students: Anyone enrolled in college or grad school, research assistants, fellows;
• Veterans: Anyone who served previously in the military.

“Long before the Internet brought the world to our fingertips, trains served as vehicles of discovery, connection, and economic opportunity,” said Dowd, “we intend to use them for this purpose once again.”

ABOUT THE MILLENNIAL TRAINS PROJECT

THE MILLENNIAL TRAINS PROJECT (MTP) is a non-profit organization leading crowd-funded transcontinental train journeys to empower diverse groups of Millennials to explore America’s new frontiers. Stopping in 10 cities in 10 days, MTP’s mission is to help participants and virtual audiences to identify, evaluate, and explore emerging opportunities and challenges in the communities where our trains stop – and advance a project that benefits, serves, and inspires others. The inspiration for the Millennial Trains Project comes from a similar train journey, theJagriti Yatra, that founder Patrick Dowd helped lead as a 2010-11 Fulbright Scholar in India. Learn more about the Millennial Trains Project at millennialtrain.co. For the latest news and updates, follow MTP on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.

For press inquiries, please contact Jessica Straus (jessica@millennialtrain.co or 203-219-8666).

For more information, visit http://millennialtrain.co/.

SpareFoot Infographic Highlights College Class of 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTIN, TX—A new infographic from SpareFoot, the nation’s largest self-storage finder, provides all sorts of facts and figures about the College Class of 2013—from their job prospects to their living arrangements.

Two tidbits from the infographic: An estimated 1.8 million students from the Class of 2013 will earn bachelor’s degrees, and 51 percent of college graduates plan to move to a new apartment after school ends.

“As the Class of 2013 prepares to head into the ‘real world,’ this infographic from SpareFoot will give soon-to-be college graduates—and their parents—a glimpse at what the world will really look like,” said Chuck Gordon, CEO of SpareFoot.

An embed code at the bottom of the infographic allows anyone to post it on a website at no cost.

To view the infographic, visit www.sparefoot.com/consumers/tips/college-class-2013-infographic.html.

About SpareFoot

SpareFoot, based in Austin, TX, makes renting self-storage easy. Our free marketplace lets customers find and reserve storage units online. We have the largest inventory of storage units in the U.S., with a network of more than 6,500 facilities, ranging from mom-and-pop to publicly traded REIT. We reach millions of people who need storage through exclusive partnerships with brands like SelfStorage.com, Apartments.com and Penske Truck Rental. SpareFoot brings consumers and facilities together to deliver the most convenient and enjoyable storage experience possible online, offline and via mobile.

For more information, visit www.sparefoot.com.

Media contact:

John Egan
SpareFoot
512-799-1022
jegan@sparefoot.com

Next Step Realty & WilliamPaid Help Graduates Find Apartments and Build Credit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Olivia Segarra | Next Step Realty

646.568.1312 | Olivia@thenextsteprealty.com

(New York, NY) Next Step Realty and WilliamPaid today announced a partnership to help recent college graduates find their first apartments in New York City and build credit history while paying their rent online.“By collaborating with WilliamPaid, Next Step Realty hopes to help recent college graduates address the challenges of not only finding a first apartment, but also navigating the world of personal financial responsibility,” according to Next Step Realty CEO Blair Brandt. “We are committed to offering our clients an efficient, quality, price conscious apartment search, and this new suite of tools ensures that our support doesn’t end when you receive your keys.”

WilliamPaid will track and record on-time rent payments to be included in a traditional credit report, which may help customers build their credit history.

“We are thrilled to be working with Next Step Realty, and providing recent graduates with an opportunity to make their rental payments matter, starting with their first apartment search and onwards” said Jeffrey Golding, President and Co-Founder of WilliamPaid.

About Next Step Realty New York

Founded in 2010, Next Step Realty New York, LLC is a real estate brokerage firm designed to help recent college graduates find their first apartments in New York City. Annually assisting around 3,000 graduates and growing yearly, Next Step aims to provide a user-friendly experience for recent grads that in the past have been burnt by inefficiency, unqualified brokers, inaccurate online listings, and overpriced fees. Next Step contracts appropriate rental agents that are like-minded to their graduating clients, strategically matches individual graduate clients with the right in-house broker, and automatically discounts broker fees by 20-40% to kick start post-college savings. The company’s in-house, up-and-coming agents are given the opportunity to increase their short-term income potential, gain more experience in the field, and maximize the quality and size of their long-term client base, while recent graduates receive cost-effective and professional guidance throughout their first apartment search.

About WilliamPaid

WilliamPaid, an electronic rent payment processor, is the easiest, most efficient way to pay rent by providing convenient and flexible payment options that work with any landlord. Users can pay online via credit card, debit card, bank account or any combination of the three, or in cash at over 45,000 locations nationwide — giving renters the power to pay on their own terms. Renters are also given the option to schedule automatic payments with Autopay and the ability to split and track payments with roommates.

 

For more information on Next Step Realty, visithttp://www.thenextsteprealty.com/ or call 646.568.1312. Next Step can also be located atfacebook.com/TheNextStepRealty, and @NextStepRealty on Twitter or Instagram.

 

For more information about WilliamPaid, visitwww.williampaid.com, their Facebook page atfacebook.com/williampaid, Twitter page attwitter.com/williampaid, or call 877.894.5542.

 

For press inquiries, please contact Olivia Segarra at Olivia@thenextsteprealty.com or 646.568.1312.

Next Step Realty New York |   21 W 46th St  |  16th Floor |  New York, NY | 10036

Baruch College, Drexel University and the University of Texas lead the way in the inaugural Institutional Investor All-America Student Analyst Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK (April 30, 2013)- Today, Institutional Investor magazine group released online the results of its first-ever All-America Student Analyst Competition, a contest that allowed undergraduate and graduate students in finance to test their mettle against like-minded participants to develop the best simulated stock portfolios. The All-America Student Analyst Competition, which ran from September 2012 through January 2013, is the result of a collaboration between Institutional Investor and Mark My Media, a Stamford, Connecticut–based firm that has built a sophisticated software platform to track portfolios, and involved nearly 700 students from 34 U.S. colleges and universities. Performance was graded quantitatively on multiple factors to determine the overall winners, as well as those in seven different industry sectors.

More than 20 schools have students who finished in the top 100, led by Baruch College/City University of New York, with 13. Drexel University in Philadelphia is second, with 11 competitors in the top 100, followed by the University of Texas at Austin (nine), Los Angeles’s Loyola Marymount University (eight) and Manhattan-based Fordham University’s (seven). The University of San Diego has the overall first place student, Daniel McAllister, a 28-year old MBA candidate. The University of Virginia has the second place finisher, Matthew Olfat, a 19-year-old systems engineering and financial math double major.

Leading traders in the competition included both graduate and undergraduate students, with seven of the top ten finishers still in pursuit of undergraduate degrees. Schools whose students performed particularly well included a number of MBA programs from well-known universities such as UC Berkeley’s Haas School, Cornell University’s Johnson School and Fordham’s Graduate School of Business. Undergraduate programs that stood out included Baruch’s Zicklin School, Drexel and the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas. Schools such as Florida International University and Loyola Marymount were well represented by students from both undergraduate and graduate programs.

“The results of the All-America Student Analyst Competition speak to the quality of finance being taught across the U.S. at both the undergraduate and graduate levels,” says Institutional Investor Editor Michael Peltz.

The rankings were compiled across seven industry sectors and one general category, utilizing a proprietary six-factor algorithm developed by Mark My Media. The general category considered net benchmark outperformance, volatility, net exposure impact, gross exposure impact, long alpha and short alpha. The industry sectors mirrored the categories used in Institutional Investor’s celebrated All-America Research Team ranking of the top Wall Street equity analysts: Basic Materials, Capital Goods/Industrials, Consumer, Energy, Financial Institutions, Healthcare and Technology, Media & Telecommunications.

“Ultimately, the competition gives students the opportunity to be more equipped for a career in finance, and the results shed light on the leading performers and their uncanny ability to deliver alpha,” says John Power, CEO of Mark My Media.

The competition was powered by Mark My Media’s ALPHASEAL® investing platform — a cloud-based simulator that provides each trader with a personal portfolio, tracking the equity value, the net asset value, and profits and losses on a daily basis and imposing the same mark-to-market discipline that Wall Street and money management firms use to measure performance. By tracking their own performance, students at colleges large and small can provide potential employers with an objective measurement of their investment acumen.

To see a full list of winning participants, visit www.institutionalinvestor.com.

About Institutional Investor:

Now in its fifth decade, Institutional Investor has consistently distinguished itself among the world’s foremost financial publications with groundbreaking journalism and incisive writing that provides “must read” intelligence for a global audience. This award-winning magazine and website is essential reading for the world’s leading financiers, corporate executives and government officials, who rely on the breadth and depth of coverage that have made Institutional Investor such a premier publication. For more information, visit www.institutionalinvestor.com.

About Mark my Media

Mark My Media, based in Stamford, Connecticut, produces league tables for the financial services industry and has a sophisticated software platform to track portfolios. The company’s ALPHASEAL® offering helps business students bridge the gap between what is taught in the classroom and what is expected on the trading floor by giving them a tool to track stock performance along similar metrics as those used by investment professionals. Mark My Media treats data as a precious asset and allows system-users to warehouse their data on our own hardware, an SAS-70 certified environment accessible via the cloud. For additional information on the company please visit www.markmymedia.com.

###
Media Contact for Mark My Media and Institutional Investor:

Amy Rosenberg

212-885-0581

Amy.rosenberg@hkstrategies.com

NYT Bestselling Author Martin Yate’s Book for Graduates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Bethany Carland-Adams

Phone: (508) 427-6726

Email: bethany.carland-adams@fwmedia.com

How New Graduates Can Get a Job Fast:

Advice from NYT Bestselling, Knock ‘Em Dead Author Martin Yate

BOSTON, MA—April 18, 2013— Come May, new graduates will need to get their foot in the door when searching for a new job. These young professionals need proven strategies for job search and career management right now.

Not warm ‘n fuzzy motivation and feel-good platitudes, but hard-hitting common-sense tactics that put food on the table and deliver a new sense of security in this uncertain world.

Knock ‘Em Dead — Job Search Strategies for First-Time Job Seekers: How to Manage Your Career, Find the Right Job, and Excel in the Workplace (F+W/Adams Media, April 2013) http://amzn.to/YhUDJB by New York Times bestselling author & career expert Martin Yate is exactly what new graduates will need to overcome economic obstacles, and launch their career.

First Time Job Seekers will learn how business works, why jobs exist, how to find, win and become successful in them.

The Knock ‘Em Dead approach teaches:

  • How to use understand what your customers (employers) really want.
  • How to construct a resume that will be discoverable in databases and go from the bottom to the top of the recruiter’s inbox.
  • How to build and leverage social networks in every aspect of the first-time job search.
  • How to cultivate transferable skills and professional values that underlie all professional success.
  • How to turn job interviews into job offers.
  • How to climb the ladder of success.

Praise for Knock ‘em Dead:

“He’s really just about the best in the business.”—ALL Business, Dunn & Bradstreet

“Classic winner . . . This is one of the most valuable career books on the market.” —Los Angeles Times

“Required reading.”—Library Journal

Martin Yate offers his time-tested method of job search and career management, cultivated over 35 years, showing entry-level workers how to find that all-important first job, how to keep it, and how to establish a presence in the workplace.

He draws on the wisdom of a large panel of experts, professionals in the fields of job search and career management. These insiders show what job hunting looks like from the other side of the desk and how to impress the interviewer with your professionalism and knowledge.

About the Author

Martin Yate, CPC is one of the foremost experts in the world of job search and career management. The bestselling author of Knock ‘em Dead Resumes, Knock ‘em Dead Cover Letters, Knock ‘em Dead: Secrets & Strategies for Success in an Uncertain World, and numerous other books, and former director of personnel for Bell Industries’ Computer Memory Division, he has helped millions of people turn their careers and lives around. For more job-hunting resources and advice, visit www.knockemdead.com.

Join the conversation on twitter (@knockemdead), and visit the LinkedIn Knock ‘em Dead Secrets & Strategies group http://linkd.in/SOxvCZ to keep the latest career strategies at your fingertips!

Also, participate in Martin’s weekly webcasts http://bit.ly/PS0qXq, covering everything from building a social network to getting more job interviews! Keep in touch: Follow Martin on twitter @knockemdead and facebook http://on.fb.me/14vLoxf for even more tips

###

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS NATIONWIDE DISCUSS LEAN IN WITH SHERYL SANDBERG

April 17, 2013– Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of LEAN IN: WOMEN, WORK, AND THE WILL TO LEAD, invited college students nationwide to participate in a Livestream video conference. Sandberg spoke with more than 200 Stanford University undergraduate and graduate students who joined her in-person in Menlo Park, CA, and with more than 1,000 students from public and private institutions across the country, who participated in the hour-long discussion online.

Sandberg was joined by Rachel Thomas, president of Leanin.org. Leanin.org is a nonprofit organization launched in conjunction with the book, and is a community committed to encouraging and supporting women leaning in to their ambitions. They offered insight to both women and men embarking on their careers, and provided useful tools, including the importance of body language and negotiation skills, for women to achieve leadership roles.

Addressing the audience, Sandberg stated, “You are our hope for a more equal world, you are my hope, you are the hope for my children. You are our hope to get to real equality.” She asked the audience, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”—urging each of them “go do it, because you can.”

In addition to speaking about their own personal and professional experiences, Sandberg and Thomas answered questions live and virtually about career development, starting a family, and dealing with setbacks. They addressed how men can help support women in the workplace, how to find a mentor when starting out in an industry, and emphasized the importance of equal partnerships.

Among many questions submitted was from Peter at Syracuse University. He asked, “In your book, you use the metaphor of a jungle gym, rather than a career ladder, to describe how people move from job to job these days. How did you figure out your long-term career aspirations, and what was your game plan when you were in your 20s?”

In response, Sandberg advised, “The metaphor of a career as a ladder is long-gone…I don’t know anyone who has the same job they had right out of school. I see too many people, particularly women, try to plan everything out. If I had planned everything sitting where you now are, there was no internet, so there was no Google, and there certainly was no Facebook. If I had planned it out, I would have missed those opportunities. [My advice is to] figure out your long-term dreams in a big way, but don’t try to connect the dots.”

This university-focused virtual event followed several on-campus events Sandberg conducted in coordination with the launch of LEAN IN. She has spoken at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre, an event which included students from colleges across the Boston area, at Stanford University’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research, and at Colgate University as part of their second annual Entrepreneur Weekend. The full conversation can be watched here: http://bit.ly/LIApril11Event

LEAN IN: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
By Sheryl Sandberg. Published by Alfred A. Knopf on March 11, 2013

Hardcover: $24.95, ISBN: 978-0-385-34994-9
E-book: $12.99, ISBN: 978-0-385-34994-6
Audio book: $35.00, ISBN: 978-0-385-39423-4

CONTACTS:
Erinn McGrath, Alfred A. Knopf: (212) 572-2035, emcgrath@randomhouse.com
Clinton McGue, APCO for leanin.org: (415) 500-3312, cmcgue@apcoworldwide.com

MAKERS OF TYLENOL® OFFERING A TOTAL OF $250,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS

TYLENOL® Future Care Scholarship Will Support 40 Students Pursuing Degrees in Healthcare

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ft. Washington, PA, April 15, 2013 – McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., the makers of TYLENOL®, announces the 23nd annual TYLENOL® Future Care Scholarship program. The 2013 program will again award a total of $250,000 in scholarship funds to 40 undergraduate or graduate students pursuing careers in healthcare. Winners will be named TYLENOL® Future Care Scholars and receive awards of $5,000 or $10,000 to help manage the rising costs of education.

“The TYLENOL® brand is deeply committed to caring for people who are committed to caring for others,” said Denice Torres, President, McNeil Consumer Healthcare. “To date, our TYLENOL® Future Care Scholarship program has awarded more than $8.9 million in scholarship funds to more than 6,700 students embarking on a variety of diverse career paths in the healthcare field.”

TYLENOL® Future Care Scholars will be selected based on leadership qualities, academic performance and community involvement. To be eligible, students must complete at least one year of undergraduate or graduate study by the Spring of 2013 at an accredited two or four year college, university or vocational/technical school.

The application period is now open and submissions must be received by June 15, 2013. Scholarship award decisions will be made in July and awards distributed in August.

To learn more or apply visit: www.Tylenol.com/Scholarship. Join the conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TylenolScholarship. Sign up for SMS reminders by texting SCHOLAR to 87715.

About McNeil Consumer Healthcare
McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. markets a broad range of well-known and trusted over-the-counter (OTC) products around the globe. McNeil Consumer Healthcare is most widely recognized for the TYLENOL® brand. Other McNeil Consumer Healthcare brands include BENADRYL®, ZYRTEC® and ZYRTEC®-D allergy medicines, IMODIUM® A-D anti-diarrheal, MOTRIN® IB pain reliever and fever reducer, and SUDAFED® and SUDAFED PE® nasal decongestants.

Media Contacts:
Janine Berstein
Tel: (646) 489-1770
Email: jberstein@mac.com

Holly Derrick
McNeil Consumer Healthcare
Tel: 215 273-7923
Email: hderrick@its.jnj.com

###