Navigator Winter 22/23

Hidden Figures

Who better to articulate the spirit of Xaverian than the very students who experience Xaverian firsthand? That was the idea behind PRAX (Public Relations at Xaverian), a communications and brand building ambassadorship started by Director of Communications Stephanie Lorenzo in 2017. Each year, rising seniors are offered the yearlong internship where they use their knowledge and creativity to engage the Clipper community and promote the school.

Mrs. Lorenzo, who mentors and guides the interns, says PRAX has been vital to the growth and success of Xaverian. She often compares the group to “Hidden Figures” — the NASA mathematicians who worked behind-the-scenes to launch America into space. As an underclassman, Gianna Greco ’22 watched previous PRAX teams engage the community in inventive ways on social media. “It was so cool the way they were showing school spirit. I just knew I wanted to get involved,” she recalled.

The contributions of PRAX became even more vital once COVID-19 began. Gianna credits previous teams with establishing a strong following on social media. “Previous interns made our Instagram so fun and vibrant,” she explained. “They made it so people would want to see what’s on our next Instagram story and would want to engage.” Since Xaverian returned to in-person learning in 2021-22, the ’22 Interns’ energy and enthusiasm (Gianna, Kelly Baker ’22, Makaylee Barbara ’22, Brandon Mancusi ’22 and Michael Nocera ’22) was certainly infectious! The team produced Clipper Close Ups, and “A Day in Our Lives” to demonstrate health and safety protocols. They were also the force behind live stream Music at Xaverian (MAX) performances and real-time social media content from the

Spirit of Xaverian Gala.

“PRAX was honestly built out of necessity — our school has doubled in size over the past few years, and that means more events, more posts, more opportunities for us to get out there on social media. Now, seeing how many of the senior interns move on and study Communications and Marketing in college, and have a leg up on other students when they get to tell their teachers that they already have experience in marketing and public relations — well, it’s a great thing,” said Mrs. Lorenzo.

Gianna, who is studying business and marketing at Fairfield University this year, is grateful for the experience. “PRAX taught me how important it is to be involved in the community,” she stated. “We made our mark and now it’s time for the next round of PRAX interns to step up and shine.”

The 2022 Senior Interns are off to a great start!

Pictured L to R: Matthew Calvo, Sydney Whitehall, Charlotte Mitchell, Daniel Nigro, Juliette Paradise, Alexandra D’Agostino and Anaya Walcott-Gullap.