Don't Be That Guy or Girl...For Real

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.....................
Only five more weeks of being an undergraduate at Eastern Illinois University.  I just can't believe it!  I have learned so much throughout these last four years.  One opportunity that I have gained so much experience from is the internship I have been fortunate enough to have for the last year and a half.  I wanted to share a little bit about what I have done and what we do as a group in this post.  


The Don't Be That Guy/Girl Campaign was started by a team of interns (including me =)) and two professors at EIU (Drs. Matt and Beth Gill) in 2009 through the Health Education Resource Center (HERC).  Basically, the HERC was our client and our job as interns was to come up with a unique campaign that would be effective and useful on campus and also facilitate public relations work for the campaign.  The goal of the campaign is to educate college students on the proper ways of protecting themselves while consuming alcoholic beverages.  Yeah, yeah, we know you hear this all the time.  "Alcohol abstinence is the smartest way to keep yourself safe while drinking".  Now, I'm not saying that's wrong or false by any means, but how practical is it?  To be more specific, there is actual data stating that campaigns aimed at alcohol abstinence is actually ineffective, so this campaign takes more of a humorous and appealing approach at targeting students by explaining that, "We know you're going to drink, but here's a safer way of doing it".


Although this campaign is meant to be humorous to catch the attention of young adults, it is also meant to be taken very seriously.  Don't Be That Guy/Girl's work is never done.  A campaign like this is something that has to be improved upon and continually worked at to stay effective with the target audience.  Last semester, as the team leader, our focus was mostly on implementing the campaign and gaining visibility with the EIU community and surrounding Charleston, IL community.  This semester, we are more focused on being seen virtually through social media websites like Twitter and Facebook, and also through digital shorts depicting real life situations on film.  Here is what myself and the other interns have been working since the beginning of the Spring semester....

ENJOY!

(I will post more videos on here as we make them!)

PRSSA Professional Development

I wanted to spend a little time to reflect on a PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) event I was able to attend, mostly because I got a lot out of it and would like to share my experience with you!


DePaul University's PRSSA in Chicago, Illinois hosted a two-day regional conference called "Transforming Traditional into Digital:  The New Ways of PR", and I jumped at the opportunity.  At this conference PRSSA members from all over were invited to come and interact with real professionals and gain advice and knowledge from their experiences.  The first portion of the conference consisted of students visiting various agencies in downtown Chicago such as Ruder Finn, GolinHarris and Ketchum to name a few.  I had the opportunity to tour GolinHarris and really enjoyed it.  This was my first time visiting a PR Agency, and from the looks of GolinHarris, agency life is something I think I would really like.  I thought it was so neat how laid-back and eccentric the atmosphere was, something I never knew before experiencing it first hand.  After our tours, a young professionals panel was held which was extremely insightful.  The night ended with a social at a local pub where everyone was able to get to know one another in a more relaxed atmosphere.  All in all, day one was fabulous!


Day two of the conference was spent at DePaul soaking up all the information I could get from the Keynote Speaker.  Rick Murray, President of Edelman Chicago, spoke with us about his past experiences and current career at Edelman.  Mr. Murray is as professional as they come, so any advice or suggestions he made I was sure to instill in my memory for future reference.  One tip he gave the audience that has stuck with me since is to "be obsolete, stay smart, and be willing to change".


I have found myself so consumed by social media lately.  Consumed in a very good way.  I love it!  I feel there is always something new to learn which keeps me interested and on my toes!  Because of my interest in social media, I was excited when it came time for the seminar sets.  I was signed up to sit in on the "McBrand in Social Media" presentation given by, Joe Curry, Social Media Manager of Global Web Communications at McDonald's Corporation.  Mr. Curry spoke with us extensively on how McDonald's as a corporation handles its image and values through social media.   He also explained that having a good framework is essential when managing a corporate brand through social media networks.  McDonald's successfully accomplishes this through:

• Listening to their customers
• Planing
• Engaging
• Measuring

McDonald's Facebook Page

All very useful information for me to use when I start my own career that involves social media!


Finally, a job fair was held for students interested in internship opportunities to come and interact with organizational representatives from fifteen different organizations.  Having such an extensive list of professionals to talk and exchange information with was so exciting and I am very grateful I was able to attend.  Physically handing my resume and business cards to the professionals that were at the career fair felt so good!  My goal is always to stand out on paper and in person and I felt like I did that not only during the career fair, but throughout the entire conference.  What a way to gain practical knowledge and experience right?  Thank you DePaul University PRSSA! Great conference!

My Story

Hello everyone!  This isn't my first time blogging, but it is my first personal blog!  I love to write, but have always found myself putting a personal blog off.  I think it's because I have always wanted my blog to be something special, something that represents myself.  For the longest time I've tried to come up with some type of theme that will symbolize that.  I know once I get started doing this I will be addicted.  I am full of personality, so I want this blog to reflect that, but in a serious light.


I did a lot of soul searching freshman year of my undergrad.  I came from a high school that didn't value the concept of college preparation.  Although I did fairly well in high school, I was not as ready as I thought I was to come to a four year university and excel.  I spent most of my freshman year learning and teaching myself how to study, write, and manage my time in a more efficient manner than I ever did in high school.  Not everyone has the opportunity to go to college, so my mentality was "I'm here and I'm going to do it".  Needless to say, I think all of that hard work paid off for me.


It was Fall semester of my sophomore year, after many general education courses, that I realized what my passion was.  Essentially, it was the first time that I felt confident in the sense that, "wow I'm actually good at this".  I took a junior level class (3000 level here at EIU), Advocacy and Message Design, and exceeded my own expectations.  Basically, this class was all about writing press releases, developing campaigns, ways of social media, constructing media kits and learning the history of public relations.  I found my calling.



My goal for this blog and all of my posts is to not only interest readers/followers, but to interest myself and further my own knowledge in the field of PR,  because when it comes down to it, I'm still trying to find a place in this world.  The future is in my hands and I plan on doing something great with it!

"When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people:  those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened"... Making it happen!