Written by: Jasneet Singh
The CPRS Toronto Educator of the Year award went to Paolo Zinatelli, a professor at Centennial College.
Mubashira Nusrat Farooqi, a graduate student at Centennial College said, “This is not only because he makes the material he is teaching both engaging and relevant to our careers, but because he also treats us like peers, rather than subordinates.” She added, “Please be aware that it is not just a colleague and two former students of Paolo’s that are nominating him. It is also the entire graduate class of 2020.”
For Paolo to receive this award, and to be recognized by an entire class of graduates, is a tremendous honour. It also highlights how much he values his students.
The greatest thing about teaching for Paolo, apart from his students, are the interactions and discussions he has with them. He strongly believes that teaching is a two-way street and that teachers and students need to learn together. Along with teaching and inspiring students, Paolo is a copywriter in the marketing and digital strategy division of Cabinet Office in the Ontario Public Service. In this role, he has worked on several marketing campaigns, including recently COVID-19 and flu shots. Prior to this role with the provincial government, he was a journalist at the Toronto Star, and before that was at the National Post for over eight years as an editor and art director. Paolo has more than enough experience in the industry to lead students in the right direction.
Challenges arise when a personable teacher like Paolo has to shift to strictly teaching online. With COVID-19, all classes have been moved online and the biggest challenge he is facing, aside from technology, is getting to know his students on a more personal level. For the summer term that began this past May, he hadn’t met any of the students in-person before the start of class and wasn’t able to put faces to names. He eventually got to know them better, but it wasn’t the same as being in the classroom. He said it’s incredibly important to recognize teachers and that teachers had a huge impact on him and his career. He now recognizes how much planning, effort and dedication his teachers put into lessons. When asked specifically about teaching public relations, he said that people often think about communications as a soft skill and that it doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.
Paolo said the best advice he’s been given is not to ‘BS’ the students. Blunt but true. “Don’t pretend as a teacher that you have all the answers and you know everything. Because you don’t. You’re also human,” Paolo said. He believes that if a student asks a question and you don’t know the answer, admit it and learn about it together with your students. Try to create as many teachable moments as possible with your students.
Lastly, when I asked him to give advice to public relations professionals who are looking to teach, he made it clear that you should only do so for the right reasons. Don’t do it to pad your resume or your bank account. Public relations professionals should teach because they have loads of valuable knowledge and insight to share with the next generation.
Teaching is a job that, if done right, can help mold and inspire students to change the world and their respective industries. Paolo Zinatelli does exactly that and is rightfully so the CPRS Toronto Educator of the Year.