I survived

As the semester is dwindling down, I have been extremely grumpy. For my very last blog, all I wanted to do was complain about my workload, because I couldn't be creative enough at 1:30 a.m. to think of a different topic. I decided to sleep on it and wake up early enough to get my last blog in on time.

As I was walking to my first final, it hit me. Instead of complaining about the misery all of my classes put me through, I would find at least one positive experience from each class.

Although this whole semester I felt as though I was buried knee-deep, I learned a lot. Here is what each class had to teach me:

Social Media: Consistency. As you all know, we had to blog and comment on three other blogs per week. At first, this was such a hassle. But because we had to do this for 15 weeks, it eventually just became part of the routine. My goal is to blog at least once a week, even after the class is over.

Styles: How to cite in APA. I can do this without looking at a book, and I am proud.

Advanced PR Writing: Everything will be okay. Dr. Fleck has a personality that makes me want to be calm. She taught me that nothing is worth stressing over.

Relationship selling: If I knew everything, I wouldn't be in school and there would be no need for  critiquing. We are here to learn from our mistakes.

Typography: Sometimes, it's important to forfeit your own style in order to appease the person above you. This was a design class and the professor has a very particular style (heck, he only approves of three fonts). Even if I wanted to use Arial, I knew to just suck it up and use Helvetica. And designers will disown me for saying this, but I hate Helvetica. Anyways, by the end of the semester, I was able to save myself a lot of time by just doing the work how he wanted it the first time.

This semester was by far my most stressful time in college. However, it will be over in four days, and so far, I have survived.

Dr. Joe Trahan

Today, we had film training with Dr. Joe Trahan. Honestly, I woke up dreading the day. The event would be eight hours long, which means there would be no time for a nap. And to be frank, days without naps stink.

However, I am glad to say I was wrong. Not only was Dr. Trahan incredibly knowledgable, but also extremely entertaining. The event did not drag at all; the day actually went by really fast.

Because I am such a worry-wart, it was such a relief to learn these three things:

1) It's okay to be nervous. If you aren't nervous, you're dead.
2) The first step to a good answer is a pause.
3) It's okay to say, "I don't know."

When being interviewed, I am always terrified I won't know an answer. Also, I always feel like I have to answer immediately. For me, this is difficult, because I need time to think about my answers - to craft them, scrap them and start over when they aren't perfect.

Dr. Trahan let us know that it's okay to pause and think about what to say. It's not necessary to spurt out the first thing that comes to mind or talk a mile-a-minute. Also, if an answer is unknown, it is better to be honest than to make something up.

Lastly, we had personal sessions on-camera with Dr. Trahan. This was very nerve-racking, because we did it infront of all our peers, but I was so impressed with every single student. It was obvious to see how passionate we all were about PR. That, and even the shyest people seemed to have confidence.

I am very happy I went to his event and took away so much information that will be beneficial in the future.

Thank you Dr. Trahan for all that you taught us, and maybe next time you can have an interview with the silent polar bear!

Personal Brand

For class, we had to develop a "personal brand" website. This was probably my favorite project from the whole semester, because it was basically like online scrap-booking.

Also, the project forced me to update my resume as well as gather all of my work for my portfolio.

When creating the website, we had to decide what content to include. I had a conversation with Jeni, and we were discussing how much "personal brand" is too personal. I didn't want the website to be strictly professional, because that's just not me.  I wanted my own personality to seep through the colors I chose and the content I deemed most important. However, I want to be taken seriously at the same time.

Jeni and I ended up deciding that it's important to show personality. And if a company doesn't like it, it probably isn't the right fit anyways.

To check out my website, click here.

Mentorship

At this week’s PRSSA meeting, Megan James, of Blanchard Valley Health System, spoke to us about the mentorship program that is in place at ONU and how we can take advantage of this opportunity.

As students, reaching out to professionals and maintaining a relationship with them can be very intimidating. To help us out, Megan (who is my new mentor, by the way!) gave us a list of what we can do to maintain a relationship in a very organic way.
Last year, my mentor was Bruce Hammond, and I think our mentor-mentee relationship was a huge success. As it turns out, I was already doing a lot of the things Megan suggested (i.e., find connections outside of business, use social media, share PRSSA group happenings, Google alert, etc.)

However, there were a few things on the list that I didn’t think of (or didn’t do, because I am too afraid).

Mock interview – I don’t know if everyone feels this way, but the thought of an interview makes me highly uncomfortable (even if it is a mock one). I know that I need to practice, and that practice will make the real ones less intimidating, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

Resume/cover letter review – This is the worst! The idea of having my work critiqued gives me shivers. I know this is something I need to get over, but it’s hard. I have a minor in graphic design, so I spend a lot of my time in the art department, where our work is critiqued at least once a week. I used to dread critique days like going to the dentist. Now, I am getting quite used to them, so thank you art department!

Meet over coffee/lunch/drinks – Bruce lives in Chicago, so this wasn’t plausible. However, he did set me up with some awesome people in Ohio (Todd Bailey and Aaron Brown), but I completely flubbed up that opportunity. They both said they wouldn’t mind grabbing a coffee sometime, but I was too afraid to follow up. It just seems so intruding! I know how busy they must be. That, and what would we talk about?

So, even though my mentorship program was a huge success last year, there is a lot I plan to work on this year. Thanks for the awesome advice, Megan!

Life goes on

Yesterday, Jeni and I had a sales call with a real company, The Maids of Cincinnati. We spent weeks preparing our pitch and presentation only to get butchered. We presented to the franchisee owner and his board of directors. After our presentation, they grilled us – about everything. I had that “lump in the throat” feeling for a good ten minutes and almost cried during our presentation. Although it wasn’t a pleasant experience, I am glad it’s over and can take away some learning points.

1.       Don’t start out your greeting with, “How are you guys?” Saying “guys” is “offensive” and “unprofessional.” Yes, I know I should have already known that, but I choked.

2.       Faking confidence (if you don’t already have it) is a MUST. My professor commented on how “unnecessarily nervous” I was. I was extremely nervous, but I thought I was faking calmness pretty well. I guess not. This is obviously a skill I need practice on.

3.       Use your resources and be prepared! We role-played our presentation with Dr. Fleck before our actual presentation. The first question she asked us caught us totally off guard. She told us what we should answer, and what do you know, it was the first question we were asked in the real presentation! Role-playing was one thing we actually did right.

4.       If all else fails, dressing appropriately and professionally can be the one saving grace.

5.       Wear deodorant. I NEVER sweat, but I was dripping by the end of the presentation.

Yesterday, I was devastated. I cried to a friend and said, “Nobody will ever hire me. I can’t even speak.”

Today, I realized that life goes on.

 

PR, PR, rah rah rah!

In order to promote the fabulous PR department at Ohio Northern, Jeni and I created a video that you can view by clicking here or watching below.

The thoughts behind the masterpiece:

We wanted to start the video with the PR chant, so we could show our silly side. Dr. Aggie’s line explains it best, “Our PR cheer might be silly, but we mean business!”

Even though we are always having fun and goofing off, we get work done – and a lot of it. We began the video by focusing a little bit on the chapter, but we wanted to focus more on individual achievements and the opportunities PRSSA can present. The speakers range from sophomores to seniors, to show that the PR department starts preparation early. The video would have been even more effective if we could have got a freshman in there.

We ended the video by having a miserable engineering major say that he wishes he was a PR major. But it’s the truth. Who wouldn’t want to be a PR major at ONU?

My biggest blessing

I love the holidays for many reasons. The “break” from school is more than pleasant, the home-cooked meals are delicious and the football is exciting. However, nothing compares to spending time with my five-year-old nephew, Noah, and my 18-month-old niece, Madalynn.

I may be biased, but I swear they are the two cutest kids on the planet. Noah is special, so it is such a blessing to finally hear him string words together to form a sentence. Hearing him say “Aunt Lauren” is the most beautiful sound my ears have ever heard. Currently, Noah enjoys jamming out to Taylor Swift in the car, watching SpongeBob and eating anything he can get his hands on. Even though he pretends to dislike his little sister, “Baby,” he does an excellent job watching out for her.

Madalynn learned to walk this summer while I was in Chicago for my internship. Seeing her wobble around – without a whole lot of balance – is precious.  She is also starting to talk. Her favorite word is “meal” and her favorite phrase is “I want that.” She is obsessed with shoes and tries to copy everything “Bubby” does.

I am thankful for a lot of things in my life, but my biggest blessing is being an aunt. Anytime Noah and Madalynn are in my presence, I cannot help but smile.

What are you most thankful for this holiday season?