By Anna SmolikHagen
My mom has always enjoyed telling my sister and myself stories of her college days. One that she would share was of a professor who said undecided majors were her favorite majors. This was because they had an open mind, were willing to learn about anything, and were the most curious about their coursework. I, too, was an undecided major when I first came to college, but up until my sophomore year, my exploratory experience was a little different than what my mom had led me to believe it would be. I came into college confident based on what my mom told me — this was the best major to have. Unfortunately, as I started searching for other majors based on my interests, my dream quickly died. It was difficult doing research on every single major, the class requirements, and potential career options. I searched through all the majors that piqued my interests, and even some that didn’t because I was that curious. This process continued on for almost a year. I was sharing with a friend how exhausting it was looking for a major and how none that I had looked at seemed to “click.” This is when my friend said, “You should look at public relations. I think you’d be good at that.” Without batting an eye or even looking up what public relations was, I declared it as my major. I had no clue what it was or what I was doing, I just knew I was done with exploring majors. This journey ended up working out perfectly for me. The following fall semester, I took my first PR courses and loved them. I was truly thriving in everything that was PR. Now, I know PR isn’t for everyone, but I also know it's for more people than are in the major. Most people are unfamiliar with the public relations industry and what that profession would look like. If you are one of those individuals, here is a guide on what PR is and how and why you should declare your major as PR at UNI. What is PR? Public relations, in its simplest form, is the communication and relational side of business. To people who still don’t fully understand what PR is, it is easiest to give them this McDonald’s example: McDonalds loses business at the beginning of each New Year because this is when people try to lose weight and better themselves. McDonalds has a reputation for serving unhealthy food, so if one is trying to lose weight, McDonalds is not their first choice. My job as a PR practitioner would be to come up with an idea (campaign) for McDonalds to implement that displays how they are, in fact, healthy and should be a destination for people around the New Year. The ultimate goal of this campaign would be to increase customers during the month of January. A tactic to attain this goal of the campaign might be to introduce a new salad on the menu or run a sale on some of the healthier menu items, like wraps or a fruit and yogurt parfait. Public relations focuses on the maintenance of a favorable public image of a business, organization, or person. PR practitioners strive to complete these tasks for a client through social media, storytelling, press releases, media pitches, events, and more. What is PR at UNI? The University of Northern Iowa has three different emphases within the PR major. These include strategic, special events, and sports. UNI also offers a PR minor. The major course work includes four basic communication courses, five PR courses, three business courses, and four digital journalism courses. In addition to these are courses specific to the chosen emphasis. Students also have freedom to pick courses that align with their area of interest between courses like a tourism class or an event management class. Who teaches PR at UNI? With most majors, you won’t get a full 360 degree look at their professors. This is unfortunate as these are people who you will be spending the next three to four years of your college life learning from. Fortunately for the PR major, you do get to create relationships with your professors, as we have two professors who make up the PR major at UNI. Here is a full look on who you’ll get to spend your time with if you major in PR at UNI: Gayle Pohl - Dr. Pohl is an extremely bright professor with a professional background in the PR industry as well as a history in teaching PR. She is not only a professor though. She owns her own costume business, Cast of Characters, and continues to be involved in the professional world. Dr. Pohl is an intense woman (in a good way), and she cares deeply about her students. She loves having fun in class as well as having a coffee with you over her office hours. She also works diligently for the success of her students. She focuses on real-world experiences where you get to complete projects for actual businesses and organizations to increase your own skills and add to your portfolio. Jeffrey Brand - Dr. Brand is a laid-back professor who has a passion for helping his students succeed. He has received tenure at multiple different colleges, but has chosen to continue his teaching career at UNI. He focuses on the growth and understanding of his students as he works with students at their own pace. He is extremely knowledgeable and willing to be straightforward about the tough topics. Dr. Brand is also a big family man. Make sure to ask him about his daughter's Girl Scouts’ troop around cookie season! What other PR opportunities are available to me at UNI? After thriving in my first PR course, I was eager to get more experience, be more involved in PR, and meet other students in the major. I ended up coming across PRSSA, the Public Relations Student Society of America. My first activity with the organization was the Des Moines Agency Crawl. It was so exciting to tour different businesses and firms while forming lasting connections. I learned so much from this event alone. I then went on to attend a portfolio workshop and LinkedIn workshop, both of which benefited my professional development greatly. If you want a major that supports amazing student organizations like PRSSA, then PR is for you! UNI’s PR major has allowed me to discover my strengths, develop new skills, and assist me in becoming more career-ready. If there is any doubt in your mind if this is the major for you, take this as your sign to go and declare PR at UNI as your major today!
0 Comments
Written by Samantha Goodman
In 1948, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) was founded for public relations business professionals to find career development and support while being involved in an organization of like-minded individuals. Twenty years later, PRSA founded the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) for students across the world to gain insight into the public relations industry as well as more experience, education, and involvement. What is PRSSA? PRSSA is the nationally affiliated student organization of PRSA. Home to over 300 chapters across the world, PRSSA offers many benefits when joining the organization. Members pay an annual fee to have access to an internship portal, networking events, conferences, webinars, scholarships, and much more. Conferences are a memorable highlight for many members. Over the years, UNI PRSSA has hosted conferences and attended both district, national, and international conferences across the country. Conferences provide members the opportunity to interact with students from different chapters, as well as industry professionals who are speaking at the conferences. Time is typically allocated at these events for members to tour local companies or agencies where they can network even more and learn about specific career opportunities. What is UNI PRSSA? The UNI Chapter of PRSSA was chartered on January 18, 1981. This Chapter has received numerous national awards, including Outstanding Chapter, Outstanding Chapter Firm, Outstanding Newsletter, and Outstanding Website over its years of existence. While targeted at public relations majors, UNI PRSSA is open to all majors and students. With a mission to enhance its members' educations, broaden networks, and launch careers after graduation, UNI PRSSA is a valuable commitment and resource for any college student. In addition to the benefits of being a dues-paying member of PRSSA, the UNI Chapter provides its members with even more member-only benefits. Members can attend agency tours in a designated city where they can diversify and grow their network while learning on-site about future careers. A private Facebook group was also created for UNI PRSSA members. In this group, valuable information such as access to internship postings, webinar registrations, and private information is shared with only dues-paying members. Living in a virtual world due to COVID-19 uncertainties, UNI PRSSA has also extended the dues-paying benefits to include access to recorded meetings if unable to attend the scheduled time, early access to meeting sign-ups before capacity is hit, and more. UNI PRSSA hosts weekly meetings in Maucker Union Central Ballroom B at 4 p.m. each Monday. Come join us to hear from guest industry speakers, benefit from professional development workshops, or gather for a social. Any student can benefit from the professional development opportunities, guest speakers, and networking experiences that not only the UNI PRSSA Chapter promotes, but the overall student organization of PRSSA itself. For more information about the UNI PRSSA Chapter, PRSSA, or PRSA, please click on the links below. |