So much good news comes with today's podcast. First, host Kristine D'Arbelles records her first episode with her new baby. He was a good little boy and napped (almost) the entire time of the episode.

Second, after almost three years, hosts Kristine and Julia welcome a new co-host - Ross Simmonds. You have heard his voice a few times before in interviews and as a guest host. Young PR Pros is very excited to welcome Ross and can't wait to hear what he has to say on future episodes.

This week's episode is about the importance of doing real-life projects while you are in school. In the Spring, Kristine sat down with professor Renée Filiatraut and her student Marley Lewington from Algonquin College to talk about the College's yearly student PR campaign - a real-world class assignment (full interview here). The assignment takes the students out of the class and encourages them to build relationships with organizations in their local community.

This prompts a discussion among our co-hosts on the importance of real-world assignments/project.

• Ross encourages young professionals to spend less time worrying about finding a job "that pays" and spend more time finding a job that will offer good experience - even if that means taking an unpaid internship.
• Kristine shares her experience of doing real-life assignments for her public relations diploma.
• Julia talks about building relationships with people who helped her career during internships.
• Ross and Kristine discuss job shadowing and informational interviews to learn about company cultures and network.

Listen to the full episode and then share your opinion.

What kind of real-world assignments did you have to complete? If your school didn't have real-world assignments, what did you do to get hands-on experience?

Share your opinions by writing a comment below, or on our Facebook Page, or on our Google+ page, or send us an email at youngprpros@gmail.com, or send us a message on Twitter @youngprpros, @kristinedarbell, or @kentjulia and @thecoolestcool.

Do you have plans this summer? Don’t forget to visit youngprpros.ca and catch up on old episodes. Go back to class September with fresh new ideas and succeed in your career.