PRSSYAY!

This weekend, I attended the 2011 PRSSA National Assembly with Catherine Clampitt in Seattle, a leadership conference highlighted by the election of next year's national committee. I joined PRSSA my freshman year and became a dues paying member last year. I NEVER imagined that this preprofessional society would have the impact on me it has. 

We heard from several professional speakers and ONU graduates, who discussed the incredible impact that PRSSA has had on their lives. As a freshman, I admired them, but always saw my passion for volleyball being the focus of my college career. Sitting here today, I cannot emphasize enough how unbelievably proud and honored I am to be a leader and member of PRSSA.

PRSSA is the largest preprofessional society in the world with more than 10,000 members. The society provides public relations' students with the opportunity to develop and grow as professionals through invaluable networking experiences. I have met some of the most incredible professionals and people, who have served as wonderful role models. 

Members receive unconditional support from the PRSSA mentors and PRSA members. Their dedication to the practice is admirable, and their passion for public relations is contagious. This weekend, I spoke with several professionals who confirmed the value of our practice and the reason why I have dedicated so much energy toward PRSSA.

I have the PRSSA bug, and I am proud to say so. My experience thus far has been nothing short of amazing. For those students who are not involved with PRSSA and are passionate about the practice, I HIGHLY encourage you to join PRSSA! You have nothing to lose and absolutely EVERYTHING to gain. Joining PRSSA was the best decision I have made in college, and I could not be more grateful to all of the mentors who have supported me along the way.

PReparation

In our Introduction to Public Relations courses, Dr. Iseman and Dr. Agozzino frequently discuss the importance of the RESEARCH function within the RACE model. So many times, we have heard as students that we will not be able to practice public relations effectively or be competitive within the market unless we develop into strong public relations researchers.

Today, I learned first hand the importance of strong research and great PReparation as a public relations practitioner.

I'm currently in Seattle for the 2011 PRSSA National Assembly. For those who don't know, National Assembly is a leadership conference for PRSSA members, highlighted by the election of next year's national committee. I was a candidate for the PRSSA Vice President of Internships/Job Services. Each candidate delivered a five minute speech, followed by a 15 minute Q&A when voting delegates have the opportunity to ask questions.

Over the past four months, I have done some serious research to prepare for today's election. I have talked to several current committee members, several past committee members and ONU alum who have assembly experience. In addition to talking to several helpful resources, I thoroughly navigated through the Internship Center. I listened to the advice of my mentors who said you have to be PRepared and perform all of the appropriate research. Man was I happy that I did.

I ran against an exceptional candidate, who is a great representative of the society. Had I not done the research I had, she would have wiped me up. The delegates asked thought provoking questions that challenged candidates running for all positions.

Today, I've never understood more about the importance of research and PReparation. Especially within the field, your fellow practitioners expect you to go above and beyond in terms of research.

The delegates elected me to serve as 2011-12 Vice President of Internships/Job Services. I am so incredibly excited and appreciative. Being part of the national committee was extremely important to me, and I know it wouldn't have happened if I wasn't as PRepared as I was.

Today has inspired me to speak to the Introduction to Public Relations course and preach to young public relations' students about the importance of research. I didn't have the appreciation when I was younger, and hopefully I can reach out and connect with them about the vitality of PReparation within the PR practice!

Adversity

So, this wasn't the best weekend for ONU men's volleyball.

We competed in the MIVA Championships at Ohio State University this weekend. Against some of the best teams in the country, we finished the weekened with a 1-5 record. Not what we're use to.With one starter unable to play because of a finger injury, we experiemented with several different lineups and had different personel on the floor throughout the weekend.

It's difficult to reflect on tournaments like this, because as a competitior, I want to immediately erase this from my memory. However, these are the athletic experiences when we have the greatest opportunity to grow and learn as a team and as individual players. In the words of the great John Wooden, "failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."

This quote by the legendary UCLA basketball coach could not be more applicable to our situation right now. Our season has not come to an end, and we have an opportunity to look at what we did this weekend and make the necessary changes before the national tournament in two weeks.

The national tournament is three days of nothing but volleyball. It's a race to the finish, and teams that run out of gas are left behind with no AAA to bail them out. Each team is faced with adversity during the three day event, and the teams that handle adversity the best are the ones that are successful. Our team didn't handle adversity as well as we could have this weekend.

So even though, I want to throw this weekend out and immediately take out the trash, I need to go through the junk and search for the important elements that I can't play without. Even in the eight short hours since the tournament ended, I've thought about the ways I need to be a better player, teammate and leader.

This year's team has something special, and I refuse to end this season on the same note as my two previous years as a Polar Bear. Even though, we're frustrated with the way this weekend played out, it could be a blessing in disguise. This could be the wake-up call that we needed, and the final lessons that we had to learn before our run to reclaim the national title.

Campaign American PetRoleum Institute

This quarter, I am enrolled in Dr. Ag's Campaigns class. This is the third campaigns class I've taken with Ag, and each Campaigns class I grow as a student and a professional. I have big expectations for this campaign, but things are a little different this time.

1. The main objective of the campaign is to "effectively educate the target market, the 18-25 year old range, on national energy issues." This has already proven to be a challenge for me, considering that I'm energy illiterate.

2. We are working for the American Petroleum Institute as part of the energy tomorrow: america's challenge. We have until April 15 to complete the campaign (an extremely tight deadline).

3. As part of the competition, we aren't implementing the campaign. Our team is strictly instructed to come up with a campaign plan. Even though this is much different than we are use to, given our tight deadline, not implementing will save us a lot of time and stress.

4. The class consists of nine students, and we are all working on the campaign together. This is much different from the groups of four or five that we have worked with in the past. I was skeptical at first, but we have a strong group dynamic that has worked out wonderfully so far.

If we place in the top three, we will go to San Francisco to present our campaign. With money and our public relations program's reputation on the line, we mean business!

This campaign will challenge us in much different ways. Energy issues aren't a hot topic among 18-25 year olds. We will have to be creative and innovative in our strategies and tactics to reach our target public.

The two previous campaigns I've worked on have been great learning experiences. This time around, it's more about doing!

**The following link is a survey for our research. If you are an ONU student, who has NOT completed the survey already, please take a minute or two to complete this survey. We really appreciate it.**

Third Time is the Charm!

For those of you who don't know, I am a proud member of the ONU men's volleyball team. This weekend we are hosting the GMMVC championships. In February, we played six of the teams in our conference. On Saturday, we will play the final three teams left. Based on the results from February's playdate and Saturday, the championship tournament will be finalized and played on Sunday.

My freshman year, we lost in the semifinals to Cincinnati (eventual champs). Last year, we made a valiant effort through the tournament, but lost in the semifinals to Dayton in dramatic fashion. This year, I have a feeling that the third time will be the charm..

We are currently 6-0 in conference play and are three wins away from capturing the GMMVC regular season championship. This year has been the most successful year for the team since I've arrived at Northern. This team gets it; we just click. We have the home court, and I have a feeling that the team is ready to take the championship.

If you have the chance, come over to King Horn to support us! I think we've got something special in us this weekend!

YEAH BEARS!!

PeRsonal

So to kill two birds with one stone, I dove into Paul Gillin's "The New Influencers" while exercising on the elliptical. To set the scene, I am a lanky 6'3" human being. Reading and taking notes on the elliptical = POOR LIFE DECISION. My girlfriend saw me and said "please don't do that again, you look ridiculous."

However, in the chaos that was my multi tasking effort, Gillin touched on something that caught my attention.

"Blogs give individuals a way to express their voices in a way that is highly personal and controllable."

In my short lifetime as a blogger, I have noticed and appreciated the PeRsonal aspect of blogging. I'm not incredibly concerned with grammar or AP style. I'm not trying to think of the most intelligent word to say. It's my PeRsonal journal (that anyone with an Internet connection can view).

This blog has my PeRsonal slant on, and I have the ability to control the content of the blog. I didn't understand the appeal of blogging, but as I continue my blogging journey, I'm starting to figure this whole thing out. Gillin touches on the immediacy and convenience that blogs offer users. PeRsonally, I have been surprised at how much I have enjoyed my blogging experience. I have a feeling that as I progress with Gillin's book, my passion for blogging and social media will progress as well.