Mary Kennedy Writing Samples

1. Press release written during Public Relations Internship at ONeill and Associates
2. Press release written for nonprofit Our Space Our Place as a volunteer
Communications Advisor
3. Blog post for Continental Title Company
4. Article written for WERS radio station website
5. Student profile written for Emerson College Magazine
________________________________________________________________________

1.
Celebrities Wish Boston a Happy Pride Week
By Boston Pride | Published: June 6, 2014
Boston Pride Facebook Page to Post Celebrity Videos Daily throughout Pride Week

Boston Pride is excited to announce that for the fourth year in a row, videos from the
entertainment industrys most beloved celebrities will be posted to the Boston
Pride Facebook Page with customized messages to Bostons LGBT community each day
during this years Pride Week (June 6-June 15).

The positive support Boston Pride receives from celebrities is incredibly inspiring, said
Sylvain Bruni, Boston Pride President. Each video proves how much love and
admiration people from all over the country have for Bostons LGBT community.

Boston Pride has been gathering celebrity videos since 2011, and now in its fourth year,
has collected a diverse selection of 40 videos with greetings from famous entertainers,
newsmakers and others. Boston Pride will continue the tradition this year, unique among
Pride organizations, with the start of Pride Week 2014 on June 6thfeaturing an array of
celebrity greetings including the outrageous Joan Rivers, media maven Maria Menounos,
beloved Brady Bunch star Florence Henderson, rock star Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees, and
more!

To view the unique videos each day throughout Pride Week, be sure to check the Boston
Pride Facebook Page and website www.bostonpride.org

Boston Pride Week 2014 is June 6th through June 15th. This years theme is Be Yourself,
Change the World. The week kicks off with the annual Flag Raising ceremony and also
includes Pride Day at Faneuil Hall, a Human Rights and Education Public Forum, Latin
Pride, Black Pride, Pride Queeraoke, Pride Night at Fenway Park, the Boston Pride
Parade, the Boston Pride Festival, the Pride Youth Dance, the Back Bay Block Party, and
the JP Block Party.

For real time news and exclusive updates download the app for
your iPhone or Android today!

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @BostonPride and on Instagram

@Boston.Pride

For more details on specific events during Pride Week 2014 visit www.bostonpride.org

About Boston Pride

Boston Pride produces events and activities to achieve inclusivity, equality, respect, and
awareness in Greater Boston and beyond. Fostering diversity, unity, visibility and dignity,
we educate, communicate and advocate by building and strengthening community
connections.
2.

Contact: Mary Kennedy

Telephone: 339.225.1371
Email: mjg.kennedy@gmail.com
Website: ourspaceourplace.org
givingtuesday.org

Celebrate Giving Tuesday with Nonprofit Our Space Our Place, Inc.
Boston nonprofit seeks to raise $13,482 to provide transportation to Boston-area blind
students

[Boston, MA, Nov 17] Our Space Our Place, Inc. is participating in this years Giving
Tuesday on December 2nd. These twenty-four hours are devoted to shifting our
communitys focus from consuming to giving. Giving Tuesday was founded in 2012 as a
grassroots effort, and has generated more awareness and conversation for nonprofits each
year. Our Space Our Place has launched a Giving Tuesday campaign with the goal of
raising $13,482 in order to provide transportation to blind students in Boston.

Our Space Our Place has been integral in the success of many visually impaired students
since it was founded in 2005, guiding high schoolers through the process of applying to
their first jobs, participating in sports, and creating meaningful friendships. As the
organization has grown, transportation has become an increasingly important issue for
students who want to join.

We empower visually impaired students by giving them a place to be themselves, says

Our Space Our Place president Cheryl Cumings. Renting vans and drivers will enable
students to attend programs without having to worry about how they will get there or
travel home at the end of the day.

Anyone can celebrate Giving Tuesday by donating to Our Space Our Place here:
www.indiegogo.com/projects/our-space-our-place-inc

###
The mission of Our Space Our Place, Inc. is to prepare blind youth for their future as
productive and successful adults by promoting their self-confidence, determination,
social and independent living skills through activities that support self-exploration, social
integration, and the investigation of college and career opportunities.
To learn more about Our Space Our Place, Inc, visit www.ourspaceourplace.org and
follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ourspaceourplace
3.
Protect Yourself From Email Fraud
Continental Title Blog Post, April 2016

At Continental Title, we pride ourselves on providing exceptional customer service to our

clients. We hold ourselves to the highest standard when it comes to protecting your
information, and want to alert you to a recent security threat in the industry. Whether you
are a realtor, lender, attorney, buyer, seller, or anyone else who works with sensitive data,
we hope you can use this information to protect yourself from the recent increase in email
fraud.

The Federal Trade Commission and National Association of Realtors have issued an alert
to consumers and professionals to be on the lookout for money wiring scams. These
scams can be difficult to spot if you dont know what to look for, and can cause
significant financial damage to you or your client. Heres how it works: hackers break
into an individual email account to steal financial information about upcoming real estate
transactions. They then send a message to the realtor or title company, posing as the
individual, telling them the wiring instructions have changed. Of course, the new wiring
information is actually the hackers own account number. If any of the targeted parties
take the bait, entire bank accounts can be lost.

You understand the threat, now heres what you can do to protect yourself from falling
victim to email fraud:

Use a secure email account with firewalls and keep your security software up to
date.
Take time to read emails carefully before responding with private information. Is
the senders email address spelled correctly? Are typos scattered throughout the
message? Certain phrases and buzzwords are associated with fraud if the tone of
the message sounds a little off, chances are you have reason to be suspicious.
Do not accept last-minute changes to wiring instructions. If changes are
unavoidable, speak to your Escrow Closer about the process you need to follow to
get those instructions changed.
If you have sent or received wire information to or from a suspicious email
account, report it immediately to the bank and the title company escrow
department involved. Every minute matters.
Continental Title takes security very seriously. In order to keep our clients safe from
fraud, we will no longer accept wire instructions sent from an unsecured email account.
We will only provide our company wire instructions directly to the lending institution or
directly to the buyers bank, by encrypted email, fax, or regular USPS mail.

If you have any questions regarding this email fraud, please visit the Contact Us tab on
our website and send us a message.

3.

Walk the Moon, Interview and Concert Review

After a week of frigid winter weather, the Cincinnati-based band Walk the Moon
provided Boston with a much-needed burst of color. Fans of all ages braved the cold to
hear them play a sold out show at the Paradise Rock Club, and they were rewarded with
hours of pure indie-rock fun. Opening for them was Pacific Air, a feel-good alt-rock band
who successfully pumped the crowd up for Walk the Moon.

The song a band chooses to play while walking on stage can tell you a lot about
how they see themselves. So what did Walk the Moon choose? The Willy Wonka theme
song. As ridiculous as that may sound, their choice could not have been more perfect. The
members who make up Walk the Moon (Nicholas Petricca, Kevin Ray, Sean Waugaman,
and Eli Maiman) are all in a way Willy Wonkas themselves. The visual aspect of their
music is beautifully optimistic and playful, while their lyrics occasionally deal with
complex themes. It is in this juxtaposition between childishness and seriousness that
Walk the Moon finds meaning. When talking to the band before the show, lead singer and
keyboard player Nicholas explained his perspective: A vibe we often go for is in
between being a kid and being an adult. Its something were all kind of going through
currently and people even go through their whole lives. I think its that in-between place
that we try to get at with a combination of musical vibes.

Much of the show seemed like a celebration of that in-between place. Audience
members painted streaks of color across their cheeks and foreheads with facepaint
provided free at the merch table, and when the band appeared onstage playing the first
song of their set, The Liftaway, everyone immediately started dancing. The band
seemed to be radiating an infectious energy, jumping and dancing around the stage, but
they claim its really the audiences energy they feed off. Nicholas explains, In
performance, a lot of it comes from the audience. Even if we get sick of playing a song,
Ive never gotten sick of performing it and getting the reaction from the audience,
especially when it hopefully means something to them.
 Drummer Sean Waugaman agrees, saying, Really, its always the audience
keeping us fresh. In keeping with this perspective, the band incorporated the audience
into several songs during their set. During Me and All My Friends, Nicholas asked the
audience to sing the line come on over now repeatedly throughout the song, and of
course the audience participated with enthusiasm. Before playing their new song
Tightrope, Nicholas told the audience the goal of the night was to give everyone the
opportunity to be themselves, especially if that means to make a fool of themselves. This
is really what Walk the Moon is all about: getting in touch with your inner child and
finding release in just letting yourself have fun.

Walk the Moons latest EP, Tightrope, was released within the last week, but their
self-titled sophomore record came out in June 2012. It was their first time working with
producer Ben Allen, who has worked with many successful artists, including M.I.A.,
Christina Aguilera, and even Puff Daddy. Ben was really good at getting the right sound
to make the recorded version sound like the live version, making it huge and epic, Nick
explained. He captured the live energy. He goes on to explain the bands writing
process. Its different every time. I pretty much write the lyrics but the music is highly
collaborative.

Iscariot is a song off their latest album that stands out from the rest of Walk the
Moons work. They performed it toward the end of the concert, turning the lights low and
taking a moment to stop the dance party, letting the music stand alone. It has a slow,
haunting melody and melancholy lyrics. When asked about the meaning behind the
lyrics, Nick responded, Thats a song that I wrote for my senior thesis in college... the
meaning is wrapped up in a personal experience, falling out with a close friend. But its a
lot about healing from that experience and letting go. The song provided a rare moment
in the concert when that Willy Wonka innocence was replaced with the challenges of
growing up and confronting hardship. However, as soon as they finished the band quickly
transitioned into Jenny, an upbeat crowd favorite.

Of course, no Walk the Moon concert would be complete without their massively
popular song Anna Sun. The song was one of the biggest hits of the summer and has
earned the band lots of attention from radio stations, magazines, and even television.
When asked if fans should be worried their rise to fame might change who they are,
everyone in the band was quick to say they are remaining true to themselves. Nicholas
answered, I dont think weve done anything to indicate were changing who we are.
Being on a major label is a little scary for us too, but so far RCA has kept their fingers out
of the music and let us do more of what we were doing before. We can bring them more
Walk the Moon than we ever did before.

Walk the Moon will be touring the US and Europe through March. If you need a
cure for the winter blues, this band is definitely the one to listen to. At the end of the
night, Walk the Moon left everyone in the audience feeling optimistic and ready to face
the cold again.

4.
Ruby Fully Loaded

Ruby Scalera is a 1969 Camaro convertible. Well, technically shes a student at

Emerson College, just starting her senior year as a Journalism major. But shes also as
high-powered and unique as the automobile with which she identifies. Its the car that I
desperately want and would love to be, she explains, Its about being able to kick butt
and hold my own.
Scalera grew up in South Orange, New Jersey, where her father raised her to be a
car lover. Her parents took her and her younger brother Jack to car shows and collected
junkers cars that need some work before they get up and running. When Scalera says
cars have been her whole life, shes not exaggerating. I always joke with people, the first
time I fell in love with a car, I think I was three years old and in a stroller. It was a mid-
fifties, beautiful red corvette. Eighteen years later, Scalera is now twenty-one and still
madly in love with cars.
Scaleras bedroom in her Allston apartment reflects this life-encompassing
passion for all things automotive. She sits at her desk, cheerfully talking about
journalism, feminism, and life as an Emersonian. Three huge framed posters hang on the
wall behind her as a constant reminder of her favorite obsession. One is a picture of a
Mercedes SLS, another a Mustang, and the third depicts the cast of Top Gear, a British
motoring show. Corvette engine noises can be heard coming from the kitchen: its her
clock that makes car sounds every hour. Up until her sophomore year at Emerson, all this
was simply a hobby for Scalera. But now, she has realized how she can incorporate her
fondness of cars into her current work and future after graduation. I always knew
writing came naturally to me and I was never going to struggle with it. The automotive
journalism came when I realized I was good at journalism, but the hard-hitting news that
all my professors were talking about politics, war-reporting, things like that, were both
intimidating to me and sort of off-putting. I didnt know that much about it and I didnt
feel the drive to know that much about it. And I get Motor Trend magazine and theres
funny writing, you know? She laughs, thinking of an example. This car guzzles gas like
a hipster guzzles PBR.
Scaleras long blond hair, big blue eyes, and contagious smile present a challenge
to those who dont expect to find women in the car industry. One of the main things I
have to deal with is inherent sexism, she explains. Its a mix of lack of respect and
objectification, and women are inherently told not to like cars. Sure enough, a Google
search for men and cars results in articles and studies, while a search for women and
cars results in a tidal wave of pornography. It is a very male-dominated industry, and
my goal is to at least inspire some people to open their minds. Scalera currently manages
the social media for the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline as well as writes for
magazines like Throttle Gals.
Of course, there are many sides to Ruby besides the fearless, game-changing
automotive reporter. Two of Scaleras best friends, Emily Kent and Yuliya Aleksandrov,
both students at Emerson themselves, describe her as honest, sassy, and one of the most
genuine people theyve ever met. She cultivates her friendships with a sort of unhurried
diligence. Kent gushes, I think it comes from her background. Her mom loves
gardening and her dad loves cars. She's a perfect balance of the two of them, soil and oil.
She's grounded, but slick, cool. The three have been friends throughout college and even
participated in Emersons Castle Program together. Kent and Aleksandrov fondly recall
many memories of their fun in Europe until Aleksandrov plainly sums up what makes
Scalera so important to her: Shell make me laugh, shell cheer me up, and shell always
make me feel loved.
In eight months, Scalera will graduate Emerson and leave Boston behind for a city
like New York or Los Angeles. She has loved her time in Boston, but its not exactly a
city with a thriving automotive industry. No matter where she ends up, popular opinion is
that Scalera will be undeniably successful. Five years from now, I will be flabbergasted
if Ruby isnt happy, Kent says, Ruby is the girl who goes full force at what she wants,
pedal to the metal, fully loaded. Just like that 1969 Camaro convertible.