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This past Tuesday I attended my first Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) luncheon for the Northeast Wisconsin chapter. The meeting was titled “Driving your PR Goals with Social Media” and featured speaker Al Krueger, founder of Comet Branding + PR in Milwaukee.
I arrived in Appleton around 11:15 for registration. I paid my dues, only $15 for undergraduate students, and then put on my name tag. We had a few minutes before lunch, so I chatted a bit with two other women. They asked about my internship and college in general, and they told me a little about the PRSA.
Lunch began at 11:30. We were offered lasagna, alfredo or tomato based sauces with noodles, salad, brownies, and soda or water. Once I filled my plate, I sat back down in the conference room. I actually saw a former supervisor of mine and we talked over lunch. It was great to catch up with her!
The presentation began at 12:00 and I found it to be very informational. Al first showed us a youtube video on the social media revolution, and then proceeded with a PowerPoint presentation. He taught us how social media can drive PR results and the importance of social media in the PR profession.
Overall, I am happy I attended the PRSA meeting. It was nice to learn about something new regarding the PR profession because I previously knew little about social media. I definitely broadened my understanding of PR work and it was just nice being in the presence PR folks (I hope to be in the same field with them some day!).
Hello,
Since we are well into spring semester, I thought I’d discuss my class credit internship. As you may know, I am interning with Aurora Health Care.
For the past few weeks I’ve been writing news releases, many of which are about new doctors practicing at Aurora. I also had the opportunity to write a community posting for an Aurora R.N. The nurse had wanted to highlight her position with the Wisconsin Nurses Association (WNA), so I wrote a brief summary in the form of a news release. My supervisor will then submit it to the newspaper for their “business people” section.
For the most part, I have only been in the office each week. I would like to do more outside work with the media, but my schedule has not been too flexible. So I have basically been stationed at a cubicle for four hours, twice a week, and that has definitely taken some getting used to. The office environment is different from my previous jobs. At my summer job, my coworkers are very verbal and there is always a lot of background noise. At Aurora, almost everyone and everything is silent; phones rarely ring and coworkers seldom talk. Secondly, I sit at an open desk at my summer job; there are no cubicles that separate coworkers. But at Aurora, everyone sits at a cubicle except for those who have their own office. Sometimes the seclusion makes work a little lonely. The walls block our ability to communicate or even see each other. I am getting used to these differences, but I definitely prefer the louder work environment (probably because I have been working in one for a longer time).
I’ll keep you up-to-date- with my Aurora adventures. This week I will be attending two different events, so hopefully I will have much to talk about!
Hi everyone,
I know many students are busy with end of the semester work and exam preparation, but I hope you had a somewhat enjoyable snow day!
I want to share with you some of my past and future volunteer experiences. First of all, I became involved with the “conversation partner program” here at SNC. I met with an ESL student once a week so she could practice communicating with an English speaker. We usually met over lunch at the caf or at Ed’s and basically just talked. Our conversations varied, but she was consistently able to speak and listen. Her goal was to practice the skills she learned in class which include speaking, listening, writing, and reading. I was happy to help her with any homework or even questions she had about American customs. I was also able to learn a little about her lifestyle in China. Overall, I was happy to be a part of the conversation partner program. I have become sensitive to other cultural values, norms, and customs as a result of this volunteer experience and the many classes I’ve taken at St. Norbert. These sensitivities will hopefully become useful in the workforce as well.
I also signed up to be a soldier’s penpal through the organization called adopt-a-platoon. I submitted my information a few days ago, and I will soon receive a soldier’s name and contact information. I thought this would be a good opportunity to continue writing, even though it will most likely be once a month informal letters. Though I do enjoy writing and I am excited to (hopefully) brighten a soldier’s day with a letter from home.
I want to continue volunteering once I am back home over winter break. Hopefully I will have more time to lend a helping hand!
Hi everyone!
This semester I am enrolled in Prof. Milbourn’s Writing for Media class and over the past few weeks we have been studying broadcast writing. Specifically, we learned about style, copy preparation, TV news story formats and scripts, as well as putting together newscasts.
I wanted to share with you broadcast writing style characteristics and tips. I hope these may be helpful for anyone interested in the media profession.
1) Titles usually become before names. For example, a broadcast journalist would write “St. Norbert College junior Jennifer Seim,” not “Jennifer Seim, a St. Norbert College junior.”
2) Minimize punctuation. A lot of semi-colons in broadcast may actually be periods instead.
3) Round off numbers. For example, if you need to write “3,978” you should state “almost 4,000” instead because it is clearer for the listener.
4) Use pronouns sparingly. Too many pronouns may make it difficult for readers to understand whom you mention in your writing.
5) Put attribution before the quote or paraphrased sentence. For example, state Jenny Seim said “quote,” not “quote,” said Jenny Seim.
6) Do not abbreviate. A broadcaster only has one chance to inform the listener and abbreviations may cause confusion.
7) Avoid quotes. Try and find sound bites or paraphrase instead.
8) Personalize when appropriate.
9) Add pronouncers where appropriate. This will help the broadcaster pronounce the word more accurately.
10) Finally, avoid dependent clauses at the beginning of the sentence.
I hope you find this list helpful! Broadcast writing is certainly different from other media forms, but it is really interesting to learn.
I suggest anyone pursuing a career in journalism take Writing for Media. The course not only allows you to learn broadcast writing, but also writing for print, web, and public relations.
Hello!
I just finished registering for my spring ‘10 classes. Next semester I will be taking two communication classes, nonverbal and small group, as well as christian ethics, which counts for an upper level general education requirement. I will also be continuing my PR internship for class credit.
I am thrilled to be back at Aurora next semester for my internship experience. SNC students are required to work 120 hours to get class credit, which means I will double my weekly time at Aurora. I feel grateful that I was invited to come back and I know that by spending more time in the office as well as the hospital, I will gain a better understanding of PR.
Aurora has also done some unexpected restructuring in their communications department. Thus, I am a little nervous about what my future duties entail. I do hope to continue writing, working with the media, and attending special events.
I look forward to next semester as it quickly approaches! Best of luck to everyone as you select classes and apply for internships!
Hello everyone,
This past summer I joined Mary Kay Cosmetics and I wanted to share the ways in which the company has helped improve my communication skills.
First of all, I feel that my public speaking skills improved. There were several events where I got on stage and had to share information about myself, reasons for joining, and details about products etc. One event, in particular, where I had to speak was on the evening of my induction ceremony. I got onstage in front of a small group, maybe 10 people or so, to introduce myself to the other consultants. Another time I had to talk on stage was at a quarterly event. This time I spoke to a crowd of about 80 people and I had to share my favorite MK products. The situations were equally scary at first because of the bright lights and what seemed to be a million eyes staring right at you. But after awhile, I became more relaxed and less nervous.
I also feel that my interpersonal communication skills improved after joining Mary Kay. I attended group meetings, make-over parties, and held my own debut party- all of which made me more comfortable communicating with new people. Although shy at times, I soon found myself approaching people I didn’t know and striking up a conversation with them.
My overall Mary Kay experience has been beneficial to me thus far. As a communications major, I need all the practice I can interacting with others. In fact, several SNC communications majors became Mary Kay consultants. So it’s nice knowing that there’s always an opportunity to increase my business and pursue it as a full-time career in the future.
As you may know, I am currently working a public relations internship for Aurora Healthcare. I feel extremely grateful for this opportunity because I have gained a lot of field experience, not only in public relations, but in special events and marketing as well.
On September 19th I attended a heart walk at NWTC, a tech college in Green Bay. I arrived early at the walk to help the Aurora special events team. We set up a booth with future nurse and doctor hats, Aurora team shirts, and other giveaways as well. Then, I met with a PR manager and as she prepared one of the doctor’s for his speech and TV interview. I also wandered around the scene and took multiple pictures for the PR department.
More recently, I went to the women’s day event at the KI Center and helped the Aurora marketing team. I assembled the “awareness saves lives” ribbons before the event began. I also helped set up our floor space with decorations and assembled other giveaways. Then, as the event opened to the public, I handed out the pink ribbons with an Aurora heart surgeon.
Being out and about in the work environment is entirely different than sitting in a classroom. You get a more clear picture of the pros and cons in different fields.
Overall, I’m glad I got to experience the activities that take place in PR, special events, and marketing.
Hello!
I am happy to announce that I joined the SNC Times as a writer for the news section of the paper. I am very excited to gain more experience because I feel becoming clear and concise writers are crucial skills to develop.
I began my assignment about two weeks ago after submitting my application and attending the interview. First of all, we met as a team in Ed’s Café and discussed article topics. I chose to write about SNC “going green.” I wanted to discover how SNC is making the campus more environmentally friendly. Then, to gather specific details, I contacted Lew Pullen of the SNC facilities department. He gave me some great quotes about how SNC is cutting energy costs on campus and what they have planned for the new sports complex to make it more “green.” Finally, I drafted my article and met with my editor to polish up the final piece.
I am also applying techniques from my Writing for Media class into my work for the Times. In class we are learning how to develop strong lead sentences as well as how to appropriately credit sources. I know this will be a good experience to display what I’ve learned in class to real work experience.
As of now, I have worked on two articles and will start the third this week. I can’t wait to get started!
Welcome back to another year at SNC!
Over the summer I began a very important step in my academic career: finding an internship! I wanted to do one because they give you tons of experience that will definitely impress employers after graduation. I met with Jenny Schroth, coordinator of internships at St. Norbert, in August to discuss what I thought would be a long and stressful ideal. But, to my advantage, Jenny makes this process extremely easy!
I began by telling her my desire to find work in the public relations field. So, she set me up on the Career Connections website and we started searching for PR internships in the Green Bay area (fyi those outside of Green Bay can also find internships on the Career Connections website). After finding several results, we read through the entire job descriptions for each opening position. I was lucky to have come across my dream internship which happened to be at Aurora Healthcare. The position incorporated writing, organizing, and internal communications- all of which interest me. Next, Jenny gave me some great resources on how to begin my application process including resume and cover letter tips. This was extremely helpful information to me! I had no idea that I should be doing things differently. For example, I learned to use action verbs when describing work experience and to not include high school information on my resume. Once I had all of the information I needed, I headed home and used those handouts to edit my existing resume. Finally, I applied and was then asked to go on an interview. I was offered the internship and I could not be any happier! This public relations internship is a wonderful opportunity and I cannot wait to clarify my career interests, expand my knowledge of PR, and develop better communication skills.
I definitely encourage everyone to meet with someone in Career Services to discuss internships. They provide you with more than enough resources to get started and find the best internship for you!
Hello to you all!
In my Mass Communications class we have been studying public relations over the past few days. I learned a lot more about that profession and I’m seriously thinking about pursuing a career in it.
My professor talked about the many companies (Coca Cola for example) and non-profit organizations (Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Red Cross) that use PR. I had no idea that PR was used so much in the work world!
We also discussed the fact that PR has a bad PR, in the sense that former PR employees used to bend the truth to promote a positive image. Although PR has a better rep today, I still am uncertain about certain aspects of the field. I personally would never be able to work PR at a tobacco company because I do not find anything positive about tobacco products. I guess one who enters the PR field must use morals to guide them in finding the work environment which suites them best.
I was also concerned that PR is not a good job area to pursue because of the economy. But my professor said that any field right now may be difficult to find work in. He claimed that in the next few years, if the economy strengthens, PR should be a great field to head into. In fact, PR may keep growing.
Hopefully over the summer I can shadow someone in the PR field. I would like to learn more details about the profession, just to see if it is really something I can see myself doing. As of right now, I am definitely interested. I really like the fact the PR uses both interpersonal and mass communications. I am also intrigued because those in PR do some writing. With a little more research and job shadowing, maybe I’ll decide to make a career in Public Relations!
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