Meet: Orlana Darkins Drewery!

Introduce yourself and profession to our readers: My name is Orlana Darkins Drewery. I am a media professional in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Throughout my career, I held key positions with several companies and organizations in the city. Presently, I am the President of The Shyne Awards Foundation, a non-profit organization that showcases the positive achievements of young adults. 
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It provides them with the resources and a platform that assists them to excel year-round. Under the umbrella of The Shyne Awards Foundation, I manage The Shyne Network, a promotional media company that equips organizations and businesses that serve people with the tools that enable them to monetize their assets. 

What inspired you to pursue this area of interest? What inspired me to pursue this career is my passion to promote the positive accomplishments of individuals and businesses that often go unnoticed.  

What advice would you share with those interested in a similar pursuit? The advice I would share with anyone interested in pursuing a career that combines media, public relations & event planning is to understand and accept the notion. Although, it is rewarding to see your work benefiting and assisting others, be mindful that the time and effort that you invest in making sure an event or marketing campaign is successful will often go unnoticed and/or undervalued.

It is truly a profession that you must LOVE doing the work every day, moreover, you must also be committed to giving back and helping others succeed. It’s imperative that you are an individual that loves to be creative, execute many projects at the same time, and a person that doesn’t mind working behind the scenes.  
 
Discuss a professional challenge and how you overcame it.  During the early journey of my career, my jobs had always been high profile public relations or electronic media oriented with many responsibilities, always reporting to the president on various projects with the pressure to always be on-point. However, I decided that I wanted to follow my ‘purpose’ and although it was initially lesser pay, longer hours, and many disappointments I’ve created a career that I love and that involves equipping individuals to strive to be their best!

How can readers connect with you online and through social media?
Facebook: @TheShyneNetwork & @Orlana Darkins Drewery 4
Instagram: @TheShyneNetwork & ODarki