Students network in D.C.

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PRSSA club members learn from professionals during national conference

While many students went home or on short vacations over fall break, seven Liberty students traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) national conference.

The event, titled Intersections: The Meeting Place of Communications & Culture, took place Oct. 10-14. The executive team of Liberty’s PRSSA chapter made the trip and attended a number of workshops, including sessions on sports, fashion, political, international, nonprofit and entertainment public relations.

The event also afforded Liberty’s PRSSA members the opportunity to connect with more than 1,000 public relations students from across the country and learn from public relations professionals.

“This was the second national conference I attended, and it was another wonderful year,” Lauren Creekmore, president of Liberty’s PRSSA chapter, said. “… The conference was such a motivation for PRSSA at Liberty and provided great networking opportunities for us as PR students. Speakers like (Good Morning America anchor) Amy Robach, and (author of Steve Jobs’ biography) Walter Isaacson are the kinds of speakers that we were able to listen to, and it allowed us to soak in their advice and knowledge.”
Josh Gordon, vice president of Liberty’s PRSSA chapter, also explained that the conference was a valuable experience.

“The conference was an amazing time of networking with students from all across the country, rubbing shoulders with professionals, leadership training and expanding our knowledge of the field,” Gordon said. “… I learned a lot of things that I can really put into practice here at Liberty. This national conference served as a catalyst for me to inspire other students on campus to professionally develop and network with professionals all across the country.”

According to Creekmore, she hopes that Liberty’s PRSSA chapter can continue the tradition of attending the conference anually.

Liberty’s chapter currently has approximately 70 members, and students are given the opportunity to join at the beginning of each semester. According to Gordon, students in the organization develop as they learn from mentors who excel in the field and gain valuable networking opportunities.

Amy Bonebright, an instructor of Digital Media & Communications Arts and faculty advisor of PRSSA, encouraged students pursuing a degree in public relations or job in the field to join the chapter.

Gordon, who has been a member of PRSSA for two years, said his participation in the chapter has proven to be very helpful.

“Joining PRSSA has been the best thing to happen to me since coming to college,” Gordon said. “I am able to apply classroom knowledge in the real world. The opportunity to network with professionals and other students has been crucial.”

In addition to benefiting public relations students, the organization hosts special events for other students as well, such as an annual alumni panel composed of graduates who currently have jobs in the field.

“Our students leave Liberty and become movers and shakers in their industry,” Bonebright said.

Alumni of Liberty’s PRSSA chapter include Jon Negroni, who currently works for Apple and is known most for his “Pixar Theory,” Sarah Corder, who garnered the PRWeek Student of the Year award in 2014 and is currently an intern at Edelman, the world’s largest public relations firm, and Keri Cook, the 2012 PRWeek Student of the Year who currently works for SS+K in New York City.

Public relations students can also gain practical experience through Innovations, an offshoot of Liberty’s PRSSA chapter that acts as a student-run public
relations firm.

In the past, the firm has worked on public relations campaigns for major organizations such as the Special Olympics of Virginia. This semester, members of Innovations are working on accounts with Liberty’s Center for Global Engagements, College Republicans and the Club Sports department, as well as local nonprofit organization His Vision.

According to Clark Greer, faculty advisor for Innovations, the student-run firm offers opportunities for students to gain the experience that employers across the country look for on résumés.

“We have heard time and time again from (public relations) professionals that they look for résumés where the student was an active member of PRSSA,” Greer said. “It speaks volumes that the student was invested in his or her field of study by being involved outside the classroom.”

For more information on Liberty’s PRSSA chapter or its student-run public relations firm, visit facebook.com/libertyprssa, twitter.com/libertyprssa or prssainnovations.com.

BROWN is the editor-in chief.

Research contributed by Erika McLeod.