Fall 2011/Spring 2012

Volume 1, Issue 1

Words from Westminster Colleges Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America

this issue
Changes in PR Department, Welcome P.1 Dream Job, Social Media Specialist P.2 Ice Cream & PR, 5 Writing Tips P.3 Internship Experiences P. 4-5

Welcome New PRSSA Members!

On behalf of the executives and current members, we would like to welcome the new members of the Public Relations Student Society of America for the 2011-2012 academic year. We are so excited for you to join this wonderful organization. My name is Maggie Backstrom and Im the President of PRSSA this year. Im excited about working with and getting to know all of you! Whether you are a public relations major or not, PRSSA will be a good opportunity for members to learn about this growing field and gain insight into what is expected in life after college. According to the PRSSA website, this organization will help you to enhance your education, broaden your network and launch your career. Just as a reminder, we will be hosting your official initiation ceremony in the spring semester, but until then, welcome and I hope you enjoy your time with PRSSA!

Changes in the Public Relations Department.

The Public Relations faculty at Westminster College will begin to implement curriculum changes next fall to give Public Relations majors more options. One change is that two 300-level courses will soon be available to students. The new courses will be offered as electives and can be substituted for Journalism II. Professor Brittany RoweEverything were doing is going to make PR majors lives easier, Prestien said. are being rearranged to make it easier for students to switch to PR in their sophomore year. These changes will also allow more students to study abroad.

Now that the faculty has the opportunity Cernevicius is putting together a course to develop new courses, Prestien hopes on ethics in PR, which will hopefully be that the department will eventually have offered in fall 2012. Professor Delores four or five electives. However, it will be Natale is constructing an event-planning awhile before more courses are added. course, but the course will not be availaYou learn by trial and error, Prestien ble until 2013. said. I dont see any more substantial Im excited about the changes, Preschanges any time soon. tien said. They make sense and they will be a great opportunity for the faculty
-Rachel Rodgers

- Maggie Backstrom

and students. Course sequencing and prerequisites

Westminster College

Page 2 of 6 Unique PR Jobs: Social Media Specialist.

Imagine this: You are a senior public relations major. You enjoy the things youve learned so far, but cant picture yourself sitting in an office building writing press releases for the rest of your life. You are five months from graduation and it is too late to consider other options. What do you do now? Did you know that there are over 100 different types of jobs that a public relations major is properly trained to do? A hot job on the market today is a social media specialist. Due to the increased popularity of social media outlets, you can now hold a career in managing a companys social media. What exactly does a social media specialist do? It is a lot more than just having a Facebook or Twitter account. Since social media specialists are trained in either marketing or public relations, they know how to use media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to promote an organization. Some tasks they may be required to do include: promoting an event through a Facebook group, promoting a cause by talking about it on Twitter and providing links, blogging about what the company is up to on a daily basis and posting promotion videos on YouTube. Generally, if a company is able to hire a social media specialist, the specialist will work alongside a public relations team. For this reason, you will most likely only see a social media specialist working for large companies. There are many ways to obtain a job in social media. A good source for job openings in this field is www.socialmediajobs.com. You will want to check it frequently and thoroughly as there are numerous jobs posted every day. If you have a knack for Facebook and Twitter, enjoy watching videos on YouTube or just like to read blogs, a career in social media may be for you. This is a fun, up-andcoming career that is a great alternative to a typical office job (www.socialmediatoday.com).

the PRactitioner

Westminster Alum Lands Dream Job in California.

established program and was very prepared to go into the working world. While at Westminster, Ergen was involved with PRSSA for four years and served as the organizations student run firm director in her senior year. As the Student Run Firm Director, she led the members of Persuasion PR to hold a successful campaign for Westminsters Chapel Drama, as well as helped with Froggy Radios Rocket to the Stars

Sara Ergen, a 2011 Westminster graduate, has taken her skills in the PR world to the West Coast. Anyone who knew Ergen during her time at Westminster knows that her dream after graduation was to pack up and move to California to pursue a career in public relations. She made her dreams come true on July 22, 2011, when she boarded a flight and moved to Hermosa Beach, CA, and began her job search. Within a month, Ergen landed a job as a development

event. Both the campaign and event associate at The Guidance Center, which were a success. helps more than 2,000 children and famiFlash forward a year and Ergen is busy lies who suffer from abuse, neglect, desetting up events and campaigns that pression and substance abuse. benefit The Guidance Center. One of her During the interviewing process, Ergen biggest accomplishments in her career so had to complete a press release for an upcoming event and write a thank you letter to donors. These tests mimic many of the activities the PR program at Westminster gives us. The Development Director at The Guidance Center said that she was extremely impressed with Westminsters PR program and everything they require the students to do in four years. After the interview, Ergen said she felt proud to come from such a wellMy time at Westminster paid off and Im living my dream in California. I never thought all of this would come so quickly, and I truly believe I am here because of the great PR program Westminster provides, Ergen said.
-Leigha Zangaro

far was to coordinate a Sunset Wine Reception, which was hosted by the LA Kings. The fundraiser raised $30,000 for The Guidance Center.

-Brittney Stock

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Page 3 of 6 PRSSAs 5 Tips for Surviving A Paper.

1. Make sure you understand what the professor wants If you cant understand the directions the professor has given you, then you cant write a successful paper. You must understand the topic you are writing about to receive a good grade. 2. Brainstorm good ideas / Research topic When writing a paper, coming up with a couple ideas helps the brainstorm process. Giving yourself a wide variety of topics to choose from helps you find the best choice: the one with the most information. After selecting a topic, start to research for the paper; gather enough information to get a good start. 3. Make an outline and budget your time After youve found that perfect topic, make an outline. Dont try cramming for a test and finishing your paper all in the same day. Think about your free time and other assignments to plan accordingly. Dont finish the paper all in one night, take your time and plan out a little work for each day. 4. Make a quick draft Always start with a draft of the paper, but dont turn this paper in. Its just the basis of your work and it will need to be revised several times. You just want to lay down your thoughts and ideas. After getting it all out, you might find that the information in the second paragraph really sounds better in the third one. 5. Edit your paper After writing the draft, print it out. Read the paper and mark spelling errors and grammar problems. Once youve fully checked the paper, fix your mistakes and edit it again. Mistakes can always be found; if need be, find a friend to look over your work. Also, make sure you proof read your work by reading it aloud or looking over it with a partner.

Ice Cream and Public Relations.

The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) hosted its annual Ice Cream Social on Tuesday, September 27. The goal of this event was to inform Public Relations majors and minors of what PRSSA is and has to offer, while increasing club membership. PRSSA is a great organization for those interested in Public Relations, said Maggie Backstrom, PRSSA president. We encourage everyone to join. At the Ice Cream Social, attendees got the chance to enjoy sundaes while they being involved in PRSSA here at WestOne of the things we like to do as a part alumni or successful people in the Pubsat back and heard about the benefits of of PRSSA is to bring back distinguished minster. The event concluded with a fun lic Relations field to talk with current current events activity to keep people up PRSSA members, Backstrom ex-to-date with what is going on in the world. Junior member Kelsey Doak said, I have been an active member of PRSSA since the fall of my freshman year. This plained. Its helpful for people to see different things you can do with a Public Relations degree, and it gives you a better feel for the field.
-Brittney Stock

club is a great thing that I can add to my resume, and when I graduate, I plan on being a member of PRSA, which is a national Public Relations organization. PRSSA meets twice a month to discuss what is going on in the Public Relations world, any upcoming events and current events. Backstrom says one of the goals for this year is to increase membership. There are a lot of Public Relations majors and minors on this campus who are not involved in PRSSA.

-Kelsey Doak

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the PRactitioner

Internship Experiences.
Andy Burlett
Where: Beuilacqua Construction & Remodeling How did you get it? Family friend. What did you learn from it? Creating media buzz for a local/neighborhood company can be very difficult. Advice: Research is key: use all resources you have before and during the internship. As for finding an internship, talk to everyone! You never know who you will know and what/who other people know!

Katelyn Conn
Where: Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau How did you get it? Mrs. Natale sent out an email for it. What did you learn from it? I learned how to plan a large scale event (the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival). I also learned how to track publicity, evaluate projects, etc. Lots more! Advice: Look for an internship that works for you. Make sure you are interested in what they do and be willing to work on any kind of projectyou never know what you might learn.

Miltiadis Constantine
Where: Office of Off-Campus Study How did you get it? When I studied abroad, I received a lot of advice/input from the intern at the time, Briget Roth. Following my return to the U.S., I expressed interest in working for the Off-Campus Study Office with Dr. Bersett and Doreen Matune. They offered me the internship and Ive been there since. What did you learn from it? I learned that programs dont function on their own without promotion. PR is essential to separating a good program from a great program. Advice: Take your work seriously; dont slack. You will get out of your internship what you put into it.

Brooke Emmonds
Where: ACMH Hospital in Kittanning, PA How did you get it? My mother has been a nurse at ACMH for 25 years. My supervisor is well known in the entire community. When I worked at a golf course, I catered a cancer benefit for ACMH. My supervisor was the host. We met there. What did you learn from it? I learned organization is KEY. Advice: Look ahead. Be confident in your approach. Tell them your expectations BEFORE you both agree to the internship.

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Caitlin Girard
Where: Angeli Winery How did you get it? A family friend runs the winery and my older sister does their graphic design. What did you learn from it? My internship was in a small town and didnt have a structured schedule, because of that, I learned to set my own goals and schedule for my work. Advice: Dont go for a small business. Youll get to work with Chambers of Commerce a lot, but the lack of structure compared to school will be a tough change.

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M. Assunta Goretsky
Where: Lawrence County Early Learning Task Force (LCCAP) How did you get it? I found it through the emails Westminster sends out each week. What did you learn from it? I am still at my internship, so I am still learning. So far, Ive learned that you have to take initiative and work on your own projects. Its not like a class where a teacher will continuously give you assignments. Advice: I recommend doing it over the summer. Fall or Spring, you are doing class work as well and its really hard to get it all done.

Kandice Hartner
Where: New Wilmington Farmers Market How did you get it? I was asked to create their logo, and when I saw that they needed PR help, I offered my services . What did you learn from it? I learned some valuable experiences, such as deadlines and conducting interviews. Advice: Before starting an internship, decide and plan out how your internship will work with PR. Dont just sit around waiting for them to offer you something PR related because a PR situation may never simply arise.

Nate Horgan
Where: Westminster College Sports Information Department How did you get it? I previously did work for Sports Information Director, Justin Zackal. I was interested in getting into the field and learning from one of the best S.I.D.s in the country. He was very willing to help. What did you learn from it? I learned about the amount of work that goes into sports publications for the college. I was able to learn a lot about the style and design aspects that go into various sports publications. Advice: If students are interested in getting into PR in the sports field, get in contact with your local S.I.D. They are great resources to be in contact with and learn from.

For more information, visit:

www.prssa.org

2011-2012 Officers.
Faculty Adviser: Suzanne Prestien President: Maggie Backstrom Vice President: Nate Horgan Communication Liaison: Allie Addoms Historian: Tara Snyder Philanthropy Chair: Brittney Stock Public Relations Chair: Rachel Rodgers Secretary: Leigha Zangaro Treasurer: Miltiadis Constantine

About Our Organization....

The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is comprised of undergraduate students interested in public relations. Meetings, guest speakers, workshops and special events allow students to further their knowledge of PR and gain valuable experience in the field.