McCain's press secretary is proud UF graduate

April 15, 2008

Melissa Shuffield was done with politics.

After working as Sen. Mel Martinez’s press secretary for nearly three years, the University of Florida alumna was ready to try something new — that is, until Sen. John McCain’s office called.

“It’s only once in a lifetime that you have a chance to work for, possibly, the next president of the United States,” said Shuffield.

So the 2002 Gator grad accepted the position as McCain’s press secretary, ensuring that her life would never be the same.

Originally from Miami, Fla., Shuffield didn’t grow up bleeding orange and blue. Her mother attended Florida State University, and Shuffield followed in her father’s footsteps at the University of Tennessee. But this Florida girl couldn’t stay away for long, and after studying overseas in Seville, Spain, she transferred to the University of Florida to study public relations and discover Gator pride.

“My time at UF was so great — there’s nothing I can say that’s bad about that school,” she said. “Go Gators!”

Shuffield’s public relations degree serves her in good stead to this day, she said, providing practical knowledge that helps her organize her thoughts and create public relations plans for any occasion.

“I think it’s really interesting to learn and observe every day how people communicate, and the best way for me to communicate with others,” she said. “The PR and journalism education that I got at UF prepared me in so many ways for what I’m doing today.”

As McCain’s presidential campaign continues to gather steam, Shuffield is aware that she’s under almost constant surveillance from members of the public and the press, who assign a myriad of meanings to McCain’s every move.

“I’ve noticed more and more that with the bigger focus on my boss, there’s a bigger focus on me. You start to realize that people are always watching,” she said.

Even with such high stakes, Shuffield can’t spend her time worrying about what might happen. There’s enough work to do without imagining more, she said, and if something does go wrong she simply steps back, evaluates the situation and creates a plan.

“Execute. Implement. Go,” she says. “It doesn’t help to get excited.”

It wasn’t always so easy.

“Those first two weeks with Martinez were awful, especially when they put me on TV,” she recalled. “I thought I was in way over my head. I’m a better person for it now, but at the time it seemed almost impossible.”

Being press secretary is second nature to her now, and while the work is getting intense, she’s enjoying the time she gets to spend with McCain as he gears up for the home stretch of his campaign — 203 days, she points out.

“Working with him on a consistent basis, I feel confident about his leadership skills and his foreign policy knowledge — but the most important thing is that he relates to real people,” she said. “He can also recite more books off the top of his head than I have ever read,” she added.

If there’s anything she’s learned from a “grassroots campaign” to find post-graduate employment — two years at Porter Novelli, a major public relations firm, and years on Capitol Hill — it’s that the connections made during and after college are vital.

“You’ve got to use your resources. Never give up an opportunity to make a contact, because at the end of the day you have to be qualified — but it’s really important to have a good base of contacts,” she said.