About the Sandcastle
The Sandcastle PR Lab in Providence is an innovative, hands-on learning initiative connected to Roger Williams University that gives students real-world experience in public relations. Designed as both a creative studio and professional training environment, the lab allows students to work directly with actual clients from local businesses, nonprofits, to government agencies on communication and branding projects. By blending classroom knowledge with practical application, the Sandcastle PR Lab helps prepare students for careers in the communications field while also supporting the needs of the local community and industry.
The Sandcastle PR Lab is here, and it's getting off the ground in a big way this year! As part of RWU's Center for Corporate Communication (CCC) on the Providence campus, our Sandcastle operates like a marketing and PR firm, but every account is run by a team of students acting as real account executives, handling strategy, media outreach, storytelling, content creation, and marketing, with Jenna Reo leading as the new Sandcastle director. This is a genuine agency relationship, that also happens to be training the next generation of PR and communications professionals
The Sandcastle PR Lab is the CCC's applied practice arm — the space where we take on client work to put our research and best practices to the test. Client partners work directly with our team on real communication work: media relations, branding, content development, internal communications, event planning, stakeholder research, and investor relations.
Our teams are made up of emerging communication talent working under the guidance of experienced advisors — giving clients a fresh, current perspective grounded in the latest thinking on corporate communication.
Client Teams
Each client is matched with a dedicated team and an advisor.
We complete a needs assessment and build a scope of work together before any work begins — defining what's included, timelines, and deliverables.
Clients receive a cost estimate for services and a suggested contribution amount; the final amount is at the client's discretion.
