Ways to further your career

The PRSSA stands for the Public Relations Society of America (Student Chapter). This group is actively involved in the field of communication and has around 30 active members. If you are interested in a job in the field of public relations, this group is a must for you. But what if you aren't interested in PR? Even if you aren't interested in the field of communication there is still room for you here.

The ECU chapter of PRSSA is one of the largest, most active and, surprisingly, newest chapters in the state. The participants in the group deal directly with all sorts of professionals everyday, ranging from large medical corporations to many different corporation administrations. They also attend conventions in New York City, and hold events here in Greenville.

The events held here in Greenville are not just for chapters located in the state. These events attract some of the most prominent businessmen in America, all coming here for students at ECU to meet, greet and establish connections. This year at the Regional Crisis Communication Competition, the deputy director of the Argonne National Laboratory, Don Joyce, will be flying into Greenville to help with judging the events. This event entails different groups receiving a mock health crisis and allows different groups to come up with solutions to their specific problem. Groups will work on their specific problems through creating ad campaigns, press releases and choosing other forms to direct the media in a less aggressive way towards the assigned problem.

Another event the PRSSA in handling right now is a t-shirt contest. All students are eligible and the idea is to create a logo for the PRSSA t-shirts. Whoever submits the best logo will get to see their work printed on all of the organizations t-shirts.

But why is the PRSSA advantageous to so many different majors? The PRSSA is always looking to develop their design graphics which could help art majors. They have created, and are still continuing to work with music, theatre and dance events and publicize them; this is an interest to some music, theatre or dance majors. They constantly work with medical corporations, which could create a launch pad for some of the many students majoring in biology, chemistry or one of the many medical fields offered here at ECU.

For those who are English majors, and print journalism majors, the PRSSA is continually working on newsletters, press releases and other related work, which would guarantee the improvement of your writing skills. And for broadcast journalism majors, the PRSSA is always working with radio stations and news stations statewide. The list goes on and on, and just the same, the opportunities in the PRSSA go on and on. More than the diversity of their work, what this organization does is invaluable to almost anyone's career and it could give the boost everyone needs in this overly competitive world.

ECU is very lucky to have a chapter of the PRSSA here. It takes a lot to receive a charter from the national committee in New York City. The committee has to review the school's curriculum, the anticipated level of involvement from the student body and the school has to land two corporate sponsors just to be considered. ECU received their charter two years ago, and became one of nine universities in NC to receive a grant. After its inception, the group here at ECU became rigorously involved with many different projects and after two years has become the largest and most active chapter in North Carolina.

Once students graduate from college, they can continue their involvement with the PRSSA. Almost all prominent business people are still connected with the adult version of the group, the PRSA, if they were involved in college. Even in the working force, the group allows you to create a web of contacts, which indirectly increases your potential for climbing the business ladder.

Sure this all sounds nice and interesting, but what are the students saying? What keeps these kids coming back to the organization? President of the PRSSA chapter here at ECU, Stacy Ellis, says: "PRSSA has benefited [me] so much because I have been able to network with people that I would never have met if I was not a member of PRSSA. I have been able to go to New York and sit and talk with CEO's of companies and talk with people that work [with] very large companies around the world. PRSSA has helped me to be more open when speaking to people instead of being shy." She continued by saying, "We are working on many different activities right now so we stay very busy and we also get experience. Even though it's not said to be an internship, you gain so much experience by helping planning events, writing articles for our newsletter or helping fundraising."

Stacy's enthusiasm about the group was very apparent, proving yet another point. The group is a great way to make friends, and most importantly establish contacts. In this highly competitive business world we live in, hundreds of thousands of students get out of college every year and what distinguishes one over the other is who they know. In the PRSSA you have the ability to meet and become friends with CEO's and other influential people in the business world and that benefit is priceless.

The PRSSA group is currently accepting membership now through early March. The only fee, a $30 payment covers your membership throughout the year. The chapter here at ECU meets in Joyner East, which is the building directly across from the library in the brick sound garden. They meet in room 212 at 6:30 p.m. on Mondays. For more information on the group you can contact the chapter advisor Christine Russell at russellc@mail.ecu.edu.

This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.