Students from PRSSA chapters all over the nation gathered together on October 12-15 for the annual PRSSA National Conference held in San Francisco, CA. Myself and three other SMU PRSSA members attended the three-day conference. Seminars were held throughout the day at the Westin hotel in downtown San Fran. Professionals from Twitter, Google and Golin Harris as well as many others, passed down their wisdom to hopeful PR students and the conference provided a unique learning and networking opportunity for those just breaking into the industry.
On our first day of conference, we attended the opening ceremony which included a keynote speech from Timothy Jordan, a Senior Developer Advocate for Google. He spoke about the importance of utilizing social networks in the day-to-day aspects of PR, showing a human side to organizations. In one of the video examples, he showed how the White House utilized Google+ hangouts to allow President Obama to speak personably to average Americans. The use of social media would become a recurring theme for the entire conference, bolding the fact that social sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube will continue to grow and become an essential step in reaching audiences. Many speakers addressed us as the generation of the digital age, because our first jobs would most likely be dealing with social media. Other seminars held Saturday included “Breaking into Sports” and “Fashion Media”. We ended the night with a trip to Fisherman’s Wharf where we ate the famous west coast clam chowder and had a view of the infamous Alcatraz prison.
(from left to right) Chris Medrano , Caroline Boothe, Olivia Ludwick, Lilly Foster
The second day of conference we were met with another cool, California day and each of us attended different seminars, which included “Navigating Your New Life As A New Pro” and “Traveling the World With Your PR Career.” Speakers from IBM, Edelman and Public Communications Inc. gave advice to students saying we should “know our worth” and “to understand that the job search is not about you, but about the company and how YOUR skills meet THEIR needs.” When asked how to find the right career for the right skill sets, Brandi Boatner, Digital Experience Manager at IBM, stated “ Your career is like falling in love, sometimes it works, sometime it doesn’t.” Elaborating that students should not be willing to stay with a job if they hate the work. All speakers emphasized the importance of being passionate about their careers. After having lunch with Dr. Rita Men and Dr. Sandra Duhe, we then headed off to hear Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, speak. He detailed his success and personal philosophies of life, PR and social networking. One of his memorable quotes was, “You need to be willing to fail spectacularly in order to succeed spectacularly.” When telling a story of how he created his high school’s first lacrosse team, he explained that “opportunity can be manufactured” and that students must take advantage of creating their own opportunities when it comes to their careers. When asked about his thoughts concerning the role of Twitter in the Arab Spring and other human rights movements he stated “there is a compound interest in altruism” and that companies should be aware of the ethical imprints they have on their audience. We ended the day by visiting Alamo Square and Coit Tower where we saw the highest and best view of the city.
(from left to right) Chris Medrano , Lilly Foster, Caroline Boothe, Olivia Ludwick, Dr. Rita Men, Dr. Sandra Duhe
Our last day of conference we attended the career development exhibition, where students could network with businesses both in the San Francisco area and from across the nation. Organizations such as GM, Golin Harris and Edelman attended. Throughout the conference we were taught the importance of taking action when it comes to our futures and not waiting for a career to “magically drop into our lap.” Any worthwhile job has to be worth fighting for. We wrapped up our trip by walking along the Golden Gate Bridge bidding farewell to San Francisco.
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