April Journal

Lauren Vahldick
Taking this course was incredibly beneficial for me, especially being my last semester in
college. It offered me the opportunity to look back at the past year of my life and reflect. I have
learned so much about myself as a leader and a person than I ever thought possible when I first
signed up for the course. Especially now, a week from graduation, this journal is probably the
most important of all of them. Now that I am practically done with my position, I am able to look
back at how I was as a leader of the Executive Board. Even further, I can look back at my college
experience, my PR experience, and my PRSSA experience. Im at a really great point in my life
where I am finishing an important chapter and about to start a new one. This journal is a bigpicture reflection of how I got to where I am, how I am going to take what I learned where I am
going, and where I want to go.
One of the readings that really inspired me was Young PR Leaders. It was so cool to
see the stories of successful people who are not too much older than I am. In my time at Illinois
State, I have surprised myself by what amazing things I have been able to accomplish. I dont see
why the same cant be true after I have left school. I dont think that getting a job should mean to
stop trying to improve, but instead we should live in a constant state of improvement. Having
success stories like those of my peers, mentors, and those described in Young PR Leaders is
inspiring to me and helps me to push myself to keep improving.
One quote from Young PR Leaders that stood out to me was, Public relations
practitioners said that strong role modelsin the work place, classroom, home or elsewhere
exerted the greatest influence on their own leadership values, practices and beliefs (p. 6). This is
something I agree with, but also that surprises me. What I mean by this is that when I think of

my own leadership journey, I have adapted myself to try to match the actions of leaders that I
have looked up to in the past. At the same time, the thought of someone trying to match my
leadership style surprises me. I am not saying this to be humble, it is simply something I have
never thought of before.
Looking back at last years Executive Board, I remember looking up to them so much. I
believed they were all so professional, knowledgeable, and impressive leaders. I was really good
friends with Melissa Fortes and I remember hoping one day I could be as good of a leader as she
was. I wanted to be on Executive Board like her, then when she got a job, I wanted to work at
Weber Shandwick like her. I wanted to be the kind of leader she was, so approachable and
willing to help everyone. I have always gone to her for questions, help, and advice. Since I met
her she became one of my best friends, but also my biggest mentor in public relations, despite
her only being a year older than me. The idea of me being as influential in someones life as she
was in mine is crazy to me, but something I hope to one day be able to accomplish.
Reflecting back to the past year, I have been exposed to many students due to my
leadership position on the Executive Board. At first, it was weird to me that people were coming
to me with questions, emailing me to look over their homework or resume, and asking me how to
get internships. It was weird, but I loved it. I felt so important and responsible that these younger
members would think that if they got my advice, they would be successful. I almost felt like I
was cheating them of knowledge, because I didnt know that much more than they did. After all,
I had been in their position only months previously.
As the semester went on, I began to get used to my leadership role. I was no longer
surprised when students would ask me for help or advice, and the novelty of it began to wear off.
At the same time, my confidence in myself and my PR abilities was growing. I have gained skills

in all of my classes, but also in my leadership position of PRSSA. When I first began as
treasurer, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Sometimes, you have to fake it until you
make it, and thats exactly what I did. I learned from my own mistakes and I figured things out.
Now, we are beginning to train our successors, and I am finding myself feeling the way I
did at the beginning of the semester. Tyler, Tyler, and Andrea are all looking to me for
explanation because there is no one who knows the tricks and tips of my position better than I
do. Since I didnt feel adequately prepared to take over as treasurer, I am doing everything in my
power to make sure my successors have the resources available now. I want to prepare them so
that they dont have to make the mistakes that I made and instead transition smoothly into their
new roles. Its a weird feeling to be giving up my responsibilities Ive had the past year, but Im
confident the Chapter will be in good hands and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my
life.
Starting in August, I will be interning at Weber Shandwick. This is my dream agency and
I could not be more proud of myself for getting to this point. However, I know I would not be in
this position without PRSSA. The connections I made from PRSSA, the skills I gained, and the
leadership experience I was able to talk about were all factors that helped me secure the
internship. For that, I am forever grateful for this organization and everything it has done for me.
I hope to continue to grow my leadership and mentorship skills so that I can continue to grow
and become a successful young PR professional.
To see another side of leadership, I decided to read the optional reading, Spirit at Work. It
was especially interesting because I had never before fully understood what was meant by
mixing spirituality and leadership. It actually is quite simple and makes a lot of sense. Many of
the values we are taught through our religion are also values that good leaders have. In fact, this

reading reminded me very much of some of the ethical leadership readings we have previously
read. I never would have thought of mixing religion and spirituality with leadership, but it works.
For example, I am Catholic and the Bible tells us the value of being honest, kind, thoughtful, fair,
etc. However, other religions preach similar things. With the exception of some very extreme and
scary groups, most religions are based in love, kindness, and being a good person. The best
leaders are people who see their followers as people. Back to Christianity and the Bible, Jesus
himself is an example of an outstanding leader. He loved all people, whether they were his
followers or not. Relating that to PRSSA, this means treating all members equally no matter
what the circumstances.
Recently, we had an end-of-the-year survey where some people were particularly harsh.
There are some members who dont like us (the Executive Board) and criticize things that we do,
many of which are out of our control. It is important to remember that a good leader does not let
this affect him/her and to still treat all members with kindness and compassion, as Jesus would
do. They make comments because they do not fully understand, just as Jesus went through so
much scrutiny and was crucified because there were people who did not understand. Obviously, a
few mean words on a survey could never compare to crucifixion, but the lesson of good
leadership in hard times is still there.
This course, these readings, and writing these monthly journals has been a wonderful
learning experience for me. I have really enjoyed the experience and am so glad that I took
Executive Board for credit. I hope to continue to learn and grow outside of the classroom. For
the first time in my life, I wont have classes or homework, and its both exciting and scary. It is
now up to me to make sure I keep up the skills Ive gained the past few years in my public

relations courses. Life is full of learning experiences, I just need to make sure I take advantage of
them outside of the classroom.