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Last Thursday, seven students from PRSSA Kent’s Executive Board arrived at the PRSSA National Conference in San Diego. We were among 1,000 PR students at the conference. PRSSA Kent was able to learn more about PR, network with professionals and learn from fellow PR students from around the country.
The PRSSA National Conference had sessions on career prep, corporate vs. agency, crisis communication, diversity, employee relations, entertainment and sports PR, environmental public affairs, etiquette, event planning, fashion PR, financial communications and ethics, health care, networking, nonprofit PR, portfolios, public affairs, resumes, social media and tourism.
During the conference, PRSSA Kent received the Teahan University Service Award. PRSSA Kent’s application for this award included voluntary projects that benefited Kent State over the last year. It also included fliers, brochures, photos, screenshots and documents that portrayed service to the university.
President of PRSSA Kent, Mary Jo Spletzer, said she was shocked when Kent State University recieved the award.
“When Kent State University was announced as the winner of the University Service Teahan, I was shocked and excited,” Spletzer said. ”Our hard work paid off, and it was wonderful to receive national recognition.”
Attending a National Conference or any professional conference can help to steer your career in the right direction, help your networking skills, give you professional skills and will leave you with an unforgettable experience.
This Wednesday, stop by room 213 in Franklin Hall at 7:30 p.m. for PRSSA Kent’s Integrated Communications and Health Care Meeting!
The meeting will be a great way to learn more about a career in integrated communications and health care public relations. Ralph Davila, director of public relations at Keathley Advertising, and Erinne Dyer, assistant director of public relations at Cleveland Clinic, will discuss careers in these fields.
Also, don’t forget about the Greater Cleveland PRSA Student Day. PRSA Student Day is a great place to learn the ins and outs of public relations while building relationships and networking with professionals. The Greater Cleveland PRSA Student Day Friday is Nov. 13 from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Wolstein Center. Come and get tips on your resume, learn how agencies and corporations operate, learn about event planning and social media and learn how to land an interview. Student Day is a great way to expand your network, especially if you’re looking for an internship or a job.
Registration is $35, but PRSSA Kent will refund $10 to the first 10 dues-paying members who register. To register and learn about carpooling opportunities, contact Stephanie Mathias at smathias@kent.edu or go to http://prsastudentday.eventbrite.com/.
And, stop by room 213 at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Franklin Hall to learn more about career in integrated communications and health care public relations!
Name: Jenn Yokley
Officer Title: Intercampus Liaison
Class Standing: Senior
Hometown: East Palestine, OH
Expected Graduation Date: Summer 2010
Are you involved in any student organizations? RA in Manchester/Fletcher, Kent Student Ambassadors, Mortar Board, KIC, intermural broomball and softball.
What do you like do in your spare time?
I love running, reading, being crafty and visiting with friends and family
What is your favorite movie? Drive Me Crazy or The Little Mermaid
Where would you like to travel?
Greece, Sydney, Italy, Spain, the Caribbean and South America.
If you were an ice cream flavor, which one would you be and why?
I would be Rocky Road. Surprises here and there, but is always a classic.
What was your favorite childhood toy?
My little red corvette! I would drive that electric car all over my basement and front yard.
What are your goals for PRSSA this year?
I really want to reach out to other campus organizations and find ways to collaborate with programming, events, etc.
Have you had any internship experience?
I interned at the Summit County and Portage County Red Cross, and I currently work for the Dining Services marketing team.
Describe what you do in your internship?
I helped a lot with set-up, prep work and Web development for the Red Cross. For Dining Services, I do more news releases, social media and archiving of events and programs.
What type of job do you hope to have as a PR practitioner?
I dream of the day that I work for Disney World.
Only one week separates me from sun and fun in San Diego.
That’s right. Instead of slipping on Uggs and trudging through falling leaves on a chilly Ohio day, I’ll be strolling through the Gas Lamp District in flip flops and soaking up rays of sunshine.
Although the mere thought of heading west was enough to convince me to attend the 2009 PRSSA National Conference (http://www.prssa.org/conference/), I know the real treasure lies in the informational sessions, workshops and networking opportunities conference provides.
Attending conference for the first time last year benefited me personally and professionally. Rachel Esterline’s blog post (http://ow.ly/vhaV) on tips for students attending conference inspired me to share my own list:
1. Sit next to someone you don’t know.
After preparing for a day of sessions at the 2008 National Conference with a large dose of espresso, Shantae (http://www.twitter.com/shantaerollins) and I headed to the Bateman Case Study session. Thanks to my caffeine fix, I decided to be bold and strike up a conversation with the young man sitting behind us. Kent State was entering the 2009 Bateman (http://www.prssa.org/bateman/) competition for the first time in a decade, and we quickly learned this young man’s university participated in the 2008 competition. He was able to offer excellent advice on his team’s successes and pitfalls, and we stayed in contact through Facebook after conference.
The lesson: We’re in public relations. Don’t be afraid to be bold! You never know what networking opportunities will present themselves.
2. Don’t skip a session you’re interested in just because your friend wants to attend another session.
The skills and information you gain at conference will benefit your chapter, but they will also benefit your future as a public relations professional. Don’t miss out on a session you’re dying to attend just because your friend wants you to tag along to their session of choice.
It’s your future: Seize every opportunity to invest your time into the sessions that interest you.
3. Take notes.
Taking notes never hurts. Once you return to class, I can guarantee one of your professors will ask you to give a presentation on conference or write a blog post. Taking notes throughout the conference will make it easier to recap once you’ve recovered from jet lag.
4. Follow up.
Conference’s benefits don’t end after conference. Social media make it incredibly easy to stay in touch after conference, which will help you expand your network. Send a speaker a direct message on Twitter to let them know why you liked his or her presentation. E-mail PR agency representatives to thank them for attending and talking about their internship programs. Login to Facebook and friend the West Virginia University student you met.
5. Sleep.
College students have this innate ability to think they don’t need sleep, yet they wonder why they’re exhausted all the time. (I’m guilty.) We all know how difficult it can be to pay attention when you’re sitting in the back of a warm room with three hours of sleep under your belt. Get some sleep so you can get the most out of each session.
I wish safe travels for every student traveling to conference next week. Hope to see you there!
Guest blog post written by Vice President of Public Relations, Rebecca Odell.
Did you attend the Poynter KSU Media Ethics Workshop?
Senior public relations majors, Kim Rodia and Alyssa Conner, at the workshop.
Members of the Poynter Institute and media professionals from broadcast, print and online came together in Franklin Hall to discuss ethical issues in social media and offer advice for students and professionals.
Students, professional journalists and Kent State faculty tweeted questions and comments that were streamed live and discussed during the workshop.
Check out the 2009 Poynter KSU Media Ethics Workshop Web site for more information.
What did you think of the workshop?
Kelly Golnoush Niknejad, founder and editor-in-chief of the online magazine TehranBureau.com, spoke about covering the news in Iran.
Welcome to PRSSA Kent!
Hello! My name is Mary Jo Spletzer, and I serve as president for the Public Relations Student Society of America at Kent State University. I wanted to take the time to welcome you to a new school year and tell you about some of the opportunities PRSSA Kent has to offer.
If this is your first time hearing about PRSSA, you should know that it is a national pre-professional public relations organization. PRSSA Kent is just one of more than 300 national chapters. Membership offers internships and job opportunities, scholarships, networking and enhanced public relations and leadership skills. PRSSA Kent is an active student organization on campus and if you haven’t already heard, we’re pretty awesome.
Our first meeting is Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. At this meeting the executive board will talk about PRSSA and how you can get involved this semester. You may want to join a committee, work on a campus campaign or find out more about the 2009 PRSSA National Conference in San Diego. This meeting will also give you a chance to ask any questions you may have about PRSSA Kent.
If you’re a declared public relations major or considering a communications-related career, I hope you will attend some of our meetings. We meet every other Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in 213 Franklin Hall. It’s a great place to make friends and mingle with other people within your major. I met two of my closest friends and now roommates at a PRSSA Kent meeting.
If you have any questions or would like more information about PRSSA Kent, please feel free to e-mail me at mspletze@kent.edu. Remember, our first meeting is Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. I hope to see you there!
Welcome to the first post on the Kent State Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) blog for the 2009-2010 school year!
My name is Brittany Senary, and I am a senior public relations major at Kent State. I am the online media manager for PRSSA Kent and I will be managing the content on this blog.
If you’re unfamiliar with PRSSA, it is a national public relations organization that provides professional development opportunities for students. PRSSA Kent is an active student organization on campus. We meet every other Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. in 213 Franklin Hall. PRSSA gives you the chance to network with PR professionals in the area, enjoy good conversation with your fellow classmates, participate in networking events, get the help you need to get an internship, get tips on how to set up a portfolio and resume and it can be a place where you can get your questions answered.
During the school year, I plan to post meeting recaps, officer bios and other pertinent information on this blog. Feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me with any questions you may have.
2009-2010 PRSSA Kent Officers
President: Mary Jo Spletzer
Vice President of Public Relations: Rebecca Odell
Vice President of Professional Relations: Shantae Rollins
Vice President of Fundraising: Melissa Sidebotham
Vice President of Membership: Brittany Wasko
Treasurer: Liz Emery
Secretary: Jaclyn Roman
Online Media Manager: Brittany Senary
PRSA/PRSSA Liaison: Amanda Hayes (Fall), Stephanie Mathias (Spring)
Intercampus Liaison: Jenn Yokley
Faculty Adviser: Michele E. Ewing, APR
PRSSA Kent is proud to announce some awards we’ve received in the past few weeks. During the Center for Student Involvement Student Leadership and Honors Awards Ceremony, PRSSA won an Organization Excellence Award. This award recognizes an organization whose members have demonstrated a strong ability to promote its ideals, has used innovative methods in reaching goals and whose members have made significant contributions to Kent State.
Other PRSSA awards went to President Katelyn Luysterborg and Online Media Manager Rebecca Odell. Luysterborg received the Student Leader of the Year award, which recognizes student leaders who have contributed significantly to the leadership of the organization and whose campus participation has been outstanding.
Odell received the Cindy Bowlby Award, which was created in memory of Cindy Bowlby, a dedicated student leader at Kent. In the spirit of her ideals, this award is presented to a returning student leader who has demonstrated excellence in his or her scholarship, leadership and integrity.
President Katelyn Luysterborg, VP of PR Julie McKinney, Online Media Manager Rebecca Odell, Intercampus Liaison Noelle Pennyman, PRSA/PRSSA Liaison Deborah Pritchard and VP of Membership Brittany Thoma received Leadership Excellence Awards.
The 2009 PRSSA Kent Bateman Team was recognized with an honorable mention in this year’s Bateman competition. Out of 77 entries, only 15 received an honorable mention award. Congrats to Samantha Donegan, Amanda Hayes, Rebecca Odell, Shantae Rollins, Jenn Yokley and adviser Michele Ewing for their hard work.
PRKent seniors Katie Huntley and Julie McKinney (PRSSA Kent’s VP of PR) are finalists in ZooLoo’s summer marketing internship contest.
You’re probably asking the same question I am… What is ZooLoo?
Unfortunately, I can’t answer that question for you. The true identity of ZooLoo is a secret, and if one of these amazing PR Kent students receives the internship, they’ll be responsible for promoting it. Did I mention the internship is in sunny Phoenix?
Huntley and McKinney are two of the top seven finalists. In the final round, the PR Kent students will interview with ZooLoo, create a grasssroots plan and write a post for the ZooLoo blog.
Stay tuned to the PRSSA blog and follow us at @prssakent for more info on the final results.
As officer elections approach, you may be wondering: What the heck do PRSSA Kent officers do, anyway?
I asked each PRSSA Kent 2008-2009 executive board member to share her job description with potential officers. Here’s what I found out:
President (Katelyn Luysterborg)
The president of PRSSA Kent has his or her hand in every position. He or she helps each officer wherever possible and picks up any slack there may be. He or she is responsible for setting the agendas and conducting Darrow meetings. The president is also in contact with National Committee and is the liaison between the faculty and professional advisers of the chapter. Those eligible for president must have been an officer in a previous term.
VP of Professional Relations (Amanda Egut)
As the VP of professional relations, I am in charge of programming for the chapter. I contact professionals and invite them to speak at our events. This position requires a large time commitment and a lot of patience. Professionals are busy! Responses aren’t always quick.
Planning and organization are skills are important to this position. Communication skills with professionals, as well as group members, are also imperative.
This position is fun! You get to talk to a lot of people in different aspects of public relations that you don’t learn about in class. Be creative! This position’s only limits are the interests of the group. Be sure to bring in speakers that the chapter wants.
VP of Public Relations (Julie McKinney)
The Vice President of Public Relations is in charge of communicating with members through a variety of media. The officer is in charge of writing and sending e-mails over the PR majors listserv, creating Facebook events, contacting the Daily Kent Stater, conducting face-to-face communication through classroom presentations and creating flyers to hang in Franklin Hall. The Vice President of PR also helps manage the PR listserv list. If appropriate, the VP of PR would write press releases to send to local or industry media.
This year, I maintained constant communication with members through e-mails, signs and classroom presentations.
VP of Fundraising (Amanda Hayes)
This position is a lot of work during fall semester, and I wouldn’t recommend taking this position if your fall schedule is fairly rigorous.
The main focus for fall will be fundraising and organizing the annual Homecoming raffle and auction. The VP of Fundraising should recruit a Homecoming committee before summer break so the group can get started before classes are back in session.
Spring semester, the Fundraising VP will lead volunteer activities and organize a committee for the Relay for Life.
This position is work but it is also a lot of fun. An organized person who can delegate work and lead a group would be a good candidate for this position.
VP of Membership (Brittany Thoma)
As Vice President of Membership, my goal is to strengthen the organization by recruiting new members. I e-mail perspective members and pick them up for meetings so they don’t have to walk in to their first meeting alone. I’m also responsible for collecting the membership dues once a semester.
My position is like being the hostess at a party, I make sure you’re comfortable, having a good time and introduce you to others. If a perspective member feels welcome, she’ll be more likely to become a member of PRSSA.
Secretary (Shantae Rollins)
As the secretary for PRSSA Kent, I am required to attend all Darrow Executive Board and General meetings. During the Darrow meetings, I take the minutes from the meeting, type and send them to all officers. Something that should consistently be done, but isn’t, is posting all meeting minutes to the PRSSA Kent Google site. In addition to taking minutes, I am the keeper of the points.
One of my accomplishments as secretary was revising the point system by creating a way for members to earn more points toward attending the National PRSSA Conference. This change increases member engagement and hopefully chapter unity. I also track meeting attendance, create business cards and name tags for certain events. I am also in charge of the distribution of graduation honor cords. I assist all other officers as needed, and I serve as an organizer for the chapter.
Treasurer (Mary Jo Spletzer)
The Treasurer position is a good way to gain accounting experience. You keep track of PRSSA funds, handle student reimbursements and pay invoices. The university system is easy to learn but it is important to be organized. You will have to keep track of forms and know what is going on in the PRSSA account. It is also your duty to let the organization know when we don’t have the funds to plan an event or reimburse students for specific things.
PRSA/PRSSA Liaison (Deborah Pritchard)
Coordinated trip to National Conference (funding, hotel registration, etc.)
Maintain relationships between PRSSA Kent and PRSA Cleveland and PRSA Akron
Update officers and members on current PRSA events; try to attend and encourage others to attend
Try to help out wherever any other officers need help. We’re a team!
Example of something I accomplished: Successful trip for 8 officers to go to National Conference in Detroit!
Intercampus Liaison (Noelle Pennyman)
As the intercampus liaison, I am responsible for cultivating relationships with other student organizations. I am charged with reaching out to student organizations for possible opportunities to collaborate with them. This semester, PRSSAKent is collaborating with the Ad Club/Handsome Duckling Agency for our first Communications Connection. Another one of my duties is to find opportunities to mentor student organizations who are looking for public relations counsel for their events or projects.
Online Media Manager (Rebecca Odell)
The online media manager is responsible for the coordination and upkeep of PRSSA Kent’s Web Communications. This includes all content on the JMC Web site, PRSSA Kent blog and Twitter account. The online media manager works with the VP of Public Relations to coordinate all communications distributed to members. A love for social media, a desire to write and knowledge of photography and design may be helpful for success in this position.
