University of South Carolina student Alicia Caracciolo was elected international president of the Public Relations Student Society of America at the organization’s leadership assembly in March.
Caracciolo is a third-year public relations and Honors College student at USC. She will assume the role of PRSSA international president in June and serve for one year.
Caracciolo got involved with USC’s chapter of PRSSA her freshman year with the help and encouragement of two older students.
“I joined the Garnet Media Group marketing team during my first week on campus, where I met Gracie Bryant, who is now an alumna,” Caracciolo said. “She took me to PRSSA and introduced me to her roommate, who was the chapter president at the time. The two of them really took me under their wing, and for whatever reason saw something in me. They made me feel like I should keep coming back, and I did thanks to their encouragement."
Joining PRSSA her first year helped Caracciolo develop a network in her field early on, she said.
“Going to these meetings introduced me to not only upperclassmen in the public relations department, but also to the different career paths in PR,” Caracciolo said. “We bring in guest speakers for most of our meetings and spend time on Q&A. For me, being able to just start as a freshman — start to ask questions, network, learn — was a huge benefit."
Fourth-year USC public relations student Megan vanVollenhoven, a member of USC’s PRSSA chapter and PRSSA national vice president of career services, worked with Caracciolo within USC’s PRSSA chapter and on the international board.
“I've known Alicia since she was a freshman, and she was one of the few freshmen that showed up regularly to meetings while I was on exec. So, I got to know her there and then throughout the years we've worked together,” vanVollenhoven said. “I know that Alicia's a very organized, hard-working and driven individual, and she always accomplishes whatever she puts her mind to. I'm excited to see everything that she'll do as the international president of PRSSA.”
I was overwhelmed with gratitude that people trusted me and people put this kind of faith in me to serve them. I can't wait to keep being a leader in this society.
-- Alicia Caracciolo
Before serving on the international board, Caracciolo served as the district conference coordinator for the 2023-24 southeast district and organized PRSSA’s district conference, an annual event that brings together PRSSA chapters for networking and professional development.
“We held a two-day event in February 2024, and there were six of us on the planning team. it was truly a team effort,” Caracciolo said. “Every single person in the chapter and every single person who got involved with that committee made it a success. The best thing about PRSSA is its community. You can't do it alone, and it's unreasonable to expect yourself to. The community was really emphasized to me through that district conference process.”
Serving as the district conference coordinator led Caracciolo to apply to join the national committee. Her experience as district coordinator motivated her to give back to PRSSA by serving on the national committee.
Caracciolo served as the national vice president of events and fundraising during the current academic year, during which she met with more than 60 chapter leaders to help them get fundraising and sponsorships.
“It's honestly the most rewarding thing I've done in college. I get to work with chapter leaders all across the world. I'm very passionate about the fact that money shouldn't be a barrier to entry,” Caracciolo said. “Nothing makes me happier, and it's not because of me. The chapters are the ones doing all the work. I'm just a bank of ideas. But knowing that that sponsorship will help them go somewhere or meet someone that may change the trajectory of their career is a really powerful thing.”
After serving on the national committee for one year, Caracciolo was eligible to run for international president.
The application process included completing an essay about her leadership style and a promotional video, but actual campaigning was not allowed. “We're very strict about the fact that you cannot campaign, so you can't just go and post your video online," Caracciolo said. "That's the type of environment it is, because it should be about the merits. It should be about how you present yourself in person.”
All international board positions are elected at PRSSA’s annual leadership assembly, which took place in Charlotte, North Carolina, March 6-8, 2025. Caracciolo ran against one other candidate. Both candidates gave speeches and answered questions from PRSSA members at the leadership assembly.
“It's a little intimidating at first because you're standing up there in front of a room of 200 people and answering questions,” Caracciolo said. “You don't know what the questions are going to be, and it's just about knowing how to trust yourself. Trust your platform, your ideas and the reason you're up there.”
Each of PRSSA’s 380 chapters is allowed to send one representative member, called a voting delegate, to the assembly to vote on the international president. The voting is done live, and candidates find out right away who won.
Caracciolo described the moment after finding out she had won the election as “crazy.”
“I was overwhelmed with gratitude that people trusted me and put this kind of faith in me to serve. I can't wait to keep being a leader in this society,” Caracciolo said.
USC public relations professor and PRSSA faculty sponsor Kelly Davis said she was not surprised when she learned that Caracciolo had been elected.
“I felt pretty strongly that she was probably going to be the winning candidate,” Davis said. “Alicia is an incredibly dynamic person. She has been very deeply involved in the organization, did a phenomenal job here on our executive board for PRSSA at USC and served incredibly well in her national leadership role over the last year.”
While her platform is not fully finalized, Caracciolo said she ran on the pillars of community building, connections and chapter development.
“I've learned the importance of connections is not just within your chapter, but on a broader scale. We are 380 chapters. We are more than 6,000 members. So, no one should be limiting themselves to viewing the society as just a club on their campus,” Caracciolo said. “For me, a big goal will be figuring out how to help members make that mental shift, and collectively providing those resources in a way that meets our members where they are.”
Former PRSSA International president Milagros Orcoyen, a public relations graduate of the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, is confident that Caracciolo will do well in the role.
“I've seen her grow through all her PRSSA experience,” Orcoyen said. “I feel like Alicia and I are similar in many ways. I mean, there's a reason why we both served as VP of events and fundraising. We are very organized, productive. We live with our Google Calendar in hand. I see many things in her that I see in me. And I loved seeing her grow throughout her PRSSA experience, and I know that she will be an amazing president.”
Orcoyen will serve as immediate past president for the upcoming year, mentoring Caracciolo one-on-one and providing guidance as she navigates her position. Orcoyen emphasized that Caracciolo’s leadership style would be effective as international president.
“I really like how creative she is when it comes to decision making and what a thoughtful leader she is,” Orcoyen said. “She really focuses on getting to know those on her team. I think that's a very important aspect of leadership, making sure you're empathetic, inclusive and get to know your team at a personal level.”
As a member of the international board, Caracciolo cannot hold an executive position in USC’s chapter of PRSSA, but she will still attend meetings and serve as a mentor to USC students, she said.
“I love sitting in there and just being a fly on the wall, getting to see what people are interested in,” Caracciolo said. “Something I actively try to do this year is engage with those younger students, engage with the freshmen and the sophomores who come, because that's what someone did for me.”
Caracciolo said she aspires to work in sports communication after she graduates because it is an effective way to bring people together.
“I find it important to find ways to connect with my community. I love sports communication specifically because it is unifying. Except for maybe the Carolina-Clemson game — your rivalry games — you're not trying to divide people over what you're doing. Sports is a unifying thing. It brings a group of people together around a common positive thing that I just think is so special.”
