Greek Life Podcast

Here is a podcast a friend of mine, Carly Willis and I made in order to acknowledge and dismiss the stigma's of joining Greek Communities on college campuses. Like I had said about my experience with joining a sorority, it has enhanced my marketability.




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Marketing Yourself: Establishing an Image

A category of Public Relations that one may forget, is marketing yourself. Especially with social media sites, you are constantly putting yourself out there. This entail who you are, what you stand for, and why wouldn't you want to put your best foot first!

Something that I strive to showcase is my love of being involved. This in itself is marketing who I am. On my college campus I am involved in many student organizations. I am the Director of Chapter Events for my sorority Alpha Phi and a campus tour guide for the Future Alumni Network. I am currently working through the AmeriCore program where I have committed to 300 hours of community service. This semester I have logged hours by tutoring preschoolers at Community Action Headstart. I am also volunteering at two camps this summer. One is KYEA, a leadership program for high school students with disabilities. This will also be the third year that I will volunteer at Camp Quality Kansas, a camp for kids ages 5-17 who have, or have had cancer. I am also heavily involved with my school's Leadership Institute. This past semester I served as the PALS coordinator, where I rebuilt a peer-based mentoring program within the Institute. This next semester I will be in charge of planning the Institute's fall and spring orientations, bringing new and current students together to kick off the fall and spring semesters. This summer I will also be a Summer Orientation Councilor for incoming students at my University.

This may seem like a lot, and that's because it is. I am a very busy girl, but the connections I am making now I know will last me a lifetime and really help me grow into the person and professional I am striving to be. By being so involved I have had many different opportunities present themselves.

By choosing to be in a sorority, I am constantly surrounded by young women who only want to see me accomplish great things and who are motivated themselves. They are a support system and have pushed me to get involved with things that will allow me to grow. This has really helped me be able to meet people all across campus and network as well.

This year I was lucky enough  to attend a visit to Hutchinson Correctional Facility, a high maximum prison, to see first handedly how they operate. While there, I met their PR representative and I had the chance to see how everything really does need good PR in a professional environment.
I also had the amazing opportunity of being selected to go on a Leadership Exchange to New Orleans. It was here where I truly discovered that PR was something I wanted to do. I had the chance to meet new people from half-way across the country and hear their insight on various topics. I really was establishing new friendships all while creating a larger network. 

I hope you can see the direct correlation between getting involved and how this can help you to establish your own "brand." By having many different experiences I can easily relate to a wider spectrum- which hopefully will be marketable to future employers- and establish connections with people on a broader scale-literally across the country. Having such experiences and taking them as learning experiences, I truly am growing all while establishing an image for myself.

Get Out There!

There are always events taking place wherever you may be located that want to educate others on the ways they can get their name out there. Many cities have local organizations for professionals to come together and learn from others to enhance their own careers. This is especially vital in gaining good PR. Every business should want to get their name out there and highlight the positive things their working on.

I'm from Kansas City so one of the many local organizations is SMPS, or the Society for Marketing Professional Services. They are constantly holding events to get their community businesses involved.

The SMPS try to hold monthly luncheons to allow local organizations and companies learn of the opportunities they could take part in. In June, they will hosting another luncheon about a hot topic in the metro, KCTranist. Here they will discuss local initiatives, project and funding updates and how variosus firms can be involved. This is a great opportunity for people to network and be apart of something that will take place in the future, all while getting their name out there: building up their PR.  This luncheon is being held at the Brio restaurant on the Plaza. Here is a map:




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If you are interested in such an event, or other events the SMPSKC is hosting, be sure to check out their website. http://www.smpskc.org/

Sharing is Caring

It truly is amazing to me just how far we have come in such a short time in the media worlds. I can honestly say I barely remember the days without a computer in my household and cannot even imagine my life without the Internet! But the thing that I find so incredible is just how easy it has become to be constantly connected to those who really matter- and those who possibly don't as much- in your life.

With the advances with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and even YouTube, it just takes a couple clicks to see the ones you want to keep in touch with. But even with the convenience of it all, it has in itself changed the world as we once new it.

These accounts allow others to share things with all of their 'friends' or 'followers'. These shared items range anywhere from favorite places to eat a burger to new articles and links. More and more people learn headlining stories from these sites than the news itself! That is incredibly powerful, especially when think how easy it is to access such sites through computers and smart phones.

This has and will continue to have a huge impact on the Public Relations world. It is easier to get ones message out there and to the public, and if others share that information, there really is no limit to how far it can go. The best part about it too is that this is pretty much FREE advertising! Those in the Public Relations field must love this aspect along with just how one status or tweet can end up reaching numerous people. When people share the good information that PR representatives want to get out, every mention informs others and can get them  excited and involved as well.

Like I said before, this is truly powerful. So many people can be reached, so many people who I'm sure we never imagined it was possible to touch. As this grows, I cannot wait to see where this takes all of us.

Understand Public Relations Importance

Sometimes the best way to understand something is visually. I found a great video that really does a nice job of quickly summarizing what Public Relations really is. Please watch!



I hope that after watching this, you can understand just how important PR is. It isn't such a negative thing, or even lying. This is something designed for good and to showcase positivity.

Let Me Explain

I know that when I'm asked about what major I have chosen, a good amount of people don't understand what "Public Relations" really entails. By doing a blog all about PR, I think the best way to kick it off would be smart to explain what it truly is.

The profession of Public Relations itself is less than 100 years old, but the idea of PR has been valued since the beginning of time. Although there are many different definitions, its is basically publicity of, similar to a noun, people, places, ideas or things. This includes businesses as well. The most accepted definition is technically though is that it helps an organization and audience "adapt mutually to each other."

It is the goal of Public Relations to inform the public of what a particular organization is doing. From charity being done, to new opportunities that are being made possible by whichever organization being referred to. This is a way to shed positive light unto an organization all while also getting their message out. It is up to those involved with the PR of the organization to find new and exciting ways to promote them and get people excited as well as aware of what is going on.

Public Relations really is something that every possible organization needs. No matter where life takes you, something somewhere is in the need of good PR. This leads to various opportunities available as a career, and endless possibilities of all the neat and new ways you can share some positivity.

The Great Hunt

When ever I hear the phrase "The Great Hunt" I imagine a flock of men dressed in camouflage with big furry hats with a huge wildebeest, like a moose, strung on their shoulders...but in this moment, that's not exactly what I'm referring to.

No, carrying a gun and shooting at wild game is not something that appeals to me, but the hunt to identify how to gain experience and become the professional I long to be in the world of Mass Media.

Since one fateful day in 3rd grade when I took a field trip to a local new station, I knew that Mass Media was the correct choice for me. The options are endless, always changing and something that will always be needed in our society. Also, it was so interesting and gave me a sense of urgency to share with whomever may be listening or looking for the information you were ready to give.

Since the boom of social media and the internet in general, I see that getting involved with Mass Media is now better than ever! There are so many options of things that you could do, some jobs I'm sure don't even exist yet! The idea of that alone, that it's something that is always changing and growing, is so impressive and exciting. It makes me want to trek as far as I can through information and learn everything there is to know about these evolutionary advancements.

As of today though, the path that I believe I want to pave, is the path of Public Relations. The idea that in same way, every single company, product, organization, or even a  person needs PR is impressive. The options are limitless and if you know what you're doing, you can go far with this as a career. Also, the places it can take you, geologically and professionally, is amazing as well as exciting.

Public Relations is actually very interesting too! The lengths that people go to, as well as the creativity that goes into a campaign, is very neat to read about and respectable. To me, the thought of showing people the positive side of something is amazing. Too many times in this present day and age do we get swamped with the "bad news" and horrible things that are going on in the world. This can be disheartening and honestly, depressing. Now as much as I am an advocate about acknowledging what is going on in the world and being aware, I feel that not many of the positive things and good that people are doing, is being broadcasted enough. I am a very positive person and I strive each and every day to find the good in life, and to use PR as a way to share the positivity with others sounds like an ideal career to me.

Obviously I know that working in such a high pace profession will not always be rainbows and butterflies, but the idea of being creative is also enticing. All in all, I'm just excited to potentially have a hand in something bigger than myself, even if that only means helping create a sales pitch people remember.

Now I'm sure some of you readers are wondering, why is this young naive girl rambling on about her dreams of the future and such. Well to be completely honest, I am a realist, I promise! But with my aspirations swimming in my head, I feel the need to blog about my journey to become a professional in the Mass Media department. You may not enjoy it like I do, or find the new and current changes so interesting as I find them to be, but to have the freedom to explore and share my thoughts is enough for me.

Hopefully years from now, I'll look back at this post and remember how excited I was to begin this great hunt...hopefully I can look back and smile knowing that this was how it all began.