I have already hit this wall in my career. Just recently, I was asked to interview for an assistantship that I believe to go against my morals. Now, I’m not going to go into detail about why it goes against it, but I will say that this is a big internal conflict for me.

Do I need an assistanship while attending graduate school? Yes. Am I willing to sacrifice my beliefs for it? Not sure. I’ve had some people say, at least do the interview and get the experience, but I feel that is wasting their time and mine.

So what do I do?

In my PR classes, I have been able to write and design different PR publications. While this is beneficial, jobs want to see what you can do outside the classroom when you’re not being graded. With that said, I have been taking advantage of every opportunity that comes my way.

Through my involvement with several student organizations, I have been able to do several PR related duties. For example, I am currently Manager of PR for University Dance Organization. I have designed the poster for Student Dance Concert 2011, which will be held in May.  I have also begun the planning process for an event we are going to host in September (after I’m gone).

In other organizations, I will soon be writing a press release, designing a brochure, and writing pitch letters. You’d think that with my student organizations, I’d have covered it all… publications, press releases, posters, and events.

BUT… There’s more…

One of the areas of PR our professors have been encouraging us to participate in is blogging. Currently, I am interning at SIUE Alumni Affair’s and under the supervision of my supervisor, I have created and designed a blog for them. I have written two posts and I would say with 200 views in two weeks we are off to a great start.

Now, I believe that with dedication and time, it is easier to build a portfolio than you might think.

–Lindy

Oh and if you want to check out my other blog, click here.

Also, I have a professor who can be a little lenient, but I know some students who take advantage of her leniency. I hear the students say they are going to skip (and do) passed their allocated number of excused days. The reason they will abuse the rules?… Because they don’t think that she will actually count it against them.

Now what does this have to do with PR? When you’re rude or disrespectful, it says a lot about your character. It leaves a lasting horrible impression on the people you interact with.  Not only does this give the professor a reason to never recommend you for a job, but it also means that all your classmates are never going to want to work with you.

So straighten up your acts people! If you are rude or disrespectful, I’ll remember and most likely… I’ll never help you in the future. I wouldn’t put my name on the line for someone who can’t learn to wait until it’s their turn to talk.

That’s all. I’m off my soapbox.

Mind your P’s and Q’s…

I am confused as to why a talk show host would have a skin care product.  Is this just a PR stunt?  Is this a product that needed a celebrity name? Or is this something he really wanted to create?

I’m not sure, but something just doesn’t add up.  I would understand if Rikki Lake had a diet supplement because she is known for having lost a large amount of weight.  Montel, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have better skin than any other talk show host I’ve seen.

I’m deeply perturbed by this and I wish the commercial would have explained why he has this skin care line.

If this is a PR stunt, is it a smart idea? Is he just trying to appeal to his potential audience?

Our professors have given us the basic guidelines:

1. Make sure it’s firm.

2. Make good eye contact.

3. Keep it short.

3. Don’t shake vigorously.

But, how many of us actually pay attention when we shake hands? I have been taught my entire life the importance of a handshake so I try to follow all the rules; however, I still meet people (even in the professional levels) who give me very weak handshakes. It does leave a negative impression for me.

This weekend I had the pleasure of shaking hands with several people in the Administrative area of SIUE. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now I hope that I have made a good impression on these people.

Then this morning I was on MSN.com and found a video of how to give a proper handshake. I felt this was very appropriate for our major and pretty much everyone in the world.

To see the video, click the link below.

How to Shake Hands

Lately, you can find commercials on TV for a campaign called “Give A Damn.”  I first saw the commercial earlier today.  It consisted of different celebrities talking about hate crimes and how we all need to give a damn.  It gave facts & figures and it made me want to cry.  I immediately went to the website to find out more and see how I could help support it.

Once I went to the website, I found that it doesn’t just cover GLBT hate crimes.  It has several different GLBT categories that they cover: workplace discrimination, hate crimes, military, marriage, Youth/School, Youth/Suicide, Youth Homelessness, Older Adults, Faith, Parenting, Health Care and Immigration.  The website  has a personal stories section that allows anyone to post their stories.

I find this campaign to be a great cause.  It seems to be an online community for straight people and the GLBT community to come together and show the world how to work together.  The PSA’s are an awesome idea.  By having celebrities that are passionate about this cause appear in the PSA’s, the campaign automatically grabs the audiences attention.  Then, the devastating facts that are also in them pulls the audience in emotionally.

Hopefully, this campaign will spread the word and make a difference.  I was already a supporter of the NOH8 campaign, and now I have found another campaign that I am passionate about.

I give a damn. Do you?

Sources:

wegiveadamn.org

She felt as if her child was blaming her for not being included so she contacted the school.  She said she doesn’t want to cause any trouble, but would like the registration form changed.

Other schools have come to her defense saying that they allow the parents to have privacy options, but they differentiate between media coverage and inclusion in school photos.

Calls about this matter were directed to Staci Stanfield, the district’s communications director, who said she would discuss the policy after reviewing the registration forms. When she didn’t call back after four hours, a voice message was left that she has yet to return. The mother contacted the Superintendent and said that the form would be amended, but she said he seemed like he was letting her on.

I feel that this is something they might want to address this quickly.  I’m sure the school and town don’t want any bad light and this seems like something that could be blown out of proportion and get a lot of news coverage.  Their communications director might want to return the calls and get this straightened out.

Sources:

http://www.parentdish.com

When we first walked into the social/living room of the Hope Lodge, everyone was greeted by a little boy named Noah. He is 11-years-old and he had the biggest smile on his face. He asked us, “What are you doing here?” We explained that we were there to bring desserts and visit.

He put aside his coloring books and started talking to us. We visited for a couple hours and while the other members of CAC visited with the other patients, a group of us couldn’t help but want to know more about Noah. We talked with him and his mother and learned that he has had cancer since he was only 3-months-old. He told us that he has cancer in his head and it made him blind in one eye and damaged his vision in the other eye. As Noah left to go play games with another member, the few that remained stayed to talk to his mother.

His mom informed us that he had been staying at the Hope Lodge for 3 weeks and he only had a couple more weeks left to stay.  She also told us that Noah desperately wants to get on the Ellen DeGeneres show.  With the help of his mom, nurses and neurosurgeon Noah made a video to Ellen explaining why he wanted to get on her show and meet her.

Now what does all this have to do with PR? The video of Noah is a form of free publicity for The American Cancer Society and St. John’s Children Hospital St. Louis.  In the video, it shows that because of the aforementioned organizations a person with cancer can have a chance at winning the battle.  It shows that the nurses and doctors at the hospital care about their patients and shows you how you would be treated if you chose to get treatment there.

At the end of this post, I would like to ask my fellow classmates and readers to help Noah out. Below is Noah’s video. Please watch it. Also, post it to your Facebook and Twitter and tell all your friends to watch it too. I have been posting it on my Facebook continuously and in less than a week Noah has gained 500 views.  Help Noah meet Ellen!

Thank you!

I find this to be a good promotional idea by his PR. His new album 5.0 drops November 16th. I think this event was a smart way to give back to his fans and hometown. It also promoted his new album featuring his hit single “Just A Dream.”

His album wasn’t the only thing to benefit from this show, though.  The venue will be very popular because of this event. Also, the performance was sponsored by VEVO a popular music video site. This performance promoted VEVO, as well as Twitter. If anybody in the St. Louis area wasn’t on Twitter before… I bet they are now. The location was only given away via the social networking site.

I think this event was a smart idea. Nelly is giving back to his public and hoping they return the favor.

Sources:

http://www.kmov.com/

http://twitter.com/Nelly_Mo

This was my first big experience with event planning and I learned a lot from it. Sometimes things will go wrong and sometimes you can’t do anything about it.

Other events I worked were Cougar Fest and the Homecoming Soccer Game. These events taught me that many people will sign up to volunteer, but many of them might not show up.  I was in charge of the volunteer check-in table, and we had 1/3 of our volunteers not show up. This left me doing their jobs as well as my own. So my advice to anyone recruiting volunteers: Always get more volunteers than you think you’ll need.

This weekend was a definite learning experience in the world of event planning and management. Now that I have the first few under my belt, I look forward to the many that may come.  Now, I’ll be able to take what I have learned and have backup plans for everything.