Volume 5 March 2013
By Lisa Crocco
It’s the week we have all been waiting
March 2013
PRemier
A monthly publication of Illinios State University’s PRSSA
Imagine, Interact and Ignite during COM Week 2013 for…COM Week! COM Week is an exciting time for School of Communication students, faculty and staff members, since we host many different speakers, panel discussions, workshops and even a career fair during this week long event. This is also a great opportunity to get SoC alumni back to campus and Fell Hall. I sat down with the School of Communication Promotion and Development (SoC PD) Team Lead Intern, Emma Newman, for the inside scoop about COM Week.
Emma Newman SoC PD Team Lead Intern sporting her COM week hoodie.
1. How did the SoC PD team decide on the theme, “Imagine, Interact, Ignite,” for Com Week? During our summer meeting, I wanted the SoC PD team to start thinking about words we wanted as part of the COM Week 2013 brand. I shared some words I had thought of to get everyone thinking: distinguish, emerge, encounter, focus, impress, improve, imagine, and impact. The team really liked the idea of having all three words start with the same letter. Our original words were: Imagine. Impress. Impact. After much deliberation when we came back to school, we decided on Imagine. Interact. Ignite. The team liked these three words together because it followed a progression. This is how we came up with the three phrases: Imagine the possibilities. Interact with others. Ignite your future.
A look inside.... A Magical Intern Experience How PRSSA Benefits Members Carnival Cruises Crisis Welcome Dr. Daniel Coche Davis How to Create the Perfect Business Card Letter from Executive Board
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Imagine, Interact and Ignite during COM Week 2013 (cont’d) 2. Who are some of the most anticipated speakers? We have an incredible amount and variety of keynote speakers this year. Eight keynotes is a record-breaker for the most keynotes we have had in the past five COM Weeks. Some of the most anticipated keynotes are Kathy Miller, president and chief creative officer of Total Event Resources; Tom Sheridan, Chicago White Sox senior director of ticket sales and premium seating; Fred Cook, CEO of GolinHarris; and Lee Hirsch, award-winning director of the documentary Bully. As a team, we tried to get professionals from many different areas so that we could appeal to as many students as possible. I am excited to hear from Fred Cook because he has been an inspiration in the PR industry and is an excellent speaker. I am especially looking forward to Kathy Miller’s keynote because she had been extremely successful in the event planning industry by building her own company. 3.What are some of the most anticipated events? The Documentary Film Festival and the Career Institute are two of the most anticipated events. Lee Hirsch, award-winning director of the documentary Bully, will be screening the film during the festival and accepting the ISU Documentary Project Voice of Conscience Award. The Career Institute offers many opportunities to learn and gain connections. The Career Institute features an education segment and a networking segment, both of which feature over 25 professionals in communication-related professions. The education segment allows students to ask questions about resumes, portfolios and interviewing answered by professionals. The networking segment allows students to meet with recruiting professionals from corporations, institutions and small businesses to make connections necessary to attain internships and jobs. Regardless of year in school, all students can benefit from this event.
4. What has been your favorite part of being the lead intern of the SoC PD team? My favorite part has been working with such an amazing team of interns. COM Week would not have been possible without everyone’s hard work. 5. How does COM Week benefit all communication students? When my team and I started planning COM Week, we wanted to offer panels and keynotes that would interest many different majors within the School of Communication. We planned panels specific to public relations, journalism, communication studies and mass media to make sure there were interesting panels and events for all majors. 6. Why should students attend the speakers and workshops throughout the week? Students have the opportunity to hear from professionals from all over. Students can directly ask questions to professionals in the field they would like to go into. There are 17 panels, 65 panelists, eight keynotes, a Documentary Film Festival, Career Institute and an Awards and Scholarship Luncheon. With so many events, there is something for everyone. 7. Anything else you would like to comment on or add? I just want to encourage students to attend panels and keynotes. We tried to include something for everyone. I also want to thank my SoC PD team, Denise Thomas, our internship supervisor and Tom Lamonica, our faculty advisor. COM Week 2013 would not have been possible without all these amazing and hardworking people! Check out the Schedule of Events if you haven’t done so yet! ❖
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A Magical Internship Experience By Abby Brennan
Every year, thousands of students leave their college campuses to spend a minimum of one semester as part of the Disney College Program at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World. From June 2010 to May 2011, I was one of those students. My time as a Disney College Program cast member was an absolutely life-changing experience. I worked attractions at Kilimanjaro Safaris in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, just one of the many roles offered to college program participants. While the college program participants do perform entry-level roles, it is so much more than just a job. The Disney College Program is a paid internship experience with three important components: living, learning and earning. All students live in Disney housing with other interns, which allows them to meet a huge variety of people. I lived with people from all over the country and even Puerto Rico. I now have friends across the world; some of my coworkers were from Australia and New Zealand! The earning component of the job is performing while on the program. There are a variety of roles available to students including attractions, merchandise, food and beverage, hospitality and entertainment. One of the best and sometimes underappreciated aspects of the program is the learning experience and networking opportunities available to participants. While in the program, students can enroll in classes taught by Disney and the American Council on Education recommends many of these classes for credit. There are multiple types of courses available to program participants: collegiate courses, all of which are recommended for credit, seminar offerings, the Disney Exploration Series and Professional Development Studies. Offerings like Corporate Communication and Human Resource Management are a great way for students to make their program experience more specific and applicable to their majors. Throughout the program, there are also many opportunities to meet and network with Disney managers and executives. This is an amazing opportunity that is often overlooked by program participants, including myself. If I could go back and
Abby with other safari guide Disney College Progam Interns.
change anything about my experience, I would have gone to more networking events and professional speaker series. One of the biggest benefits of the program is that it opens many doors to a Disney career. Taking a semester away from school to work in a front-line position might make some students hesitant about the program. However, there are many professional internships that are only available to College Program Alumni. Professional internships are more along the lines of a traditional internship in a position that is directly related to your major. There are professional internship opportunities in a variety of fields in every aspect of the Walt Disney Company, which includes the Walt Disney Studios, ABC Television and ESPN. Even if you are not interested in a career with Disney, having the experience on your resume can give you an edge in your job and internship search. I know my college program experience is often the first topic interviewers want to discuss, even if I have other experiences that might seem more relevant to the position. There is much more to the Disney College Program than just working in a theme park for a semester. For me, it was truly a magical experience. In fact, I blogged about my experience while on the program, so if you would like more information about the Disney College Program, you can check out abbydoesdisney.blogspot.com or the official Disney College Program site at disneycollegeprogram.com.â?–
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Carnival Cruises Crisis By Hailey Lanier
By now you have probably heard it has been a great time to travel by
Member of the M o n t h
cruise. Carnival cruises are cheaper than ever before, but before you decide As the fundraising chair she recruits volunteers to embark on your next vacation, you should know why. And has been a dedicated member In the past few years, the cruise company has had countless problems for the last couple years with its ships and crew. It began with Costa, Carnival’s company in Italy, and its ship, the Concordia. Due to negligence by the captain, the ship ran A Bloomington native, she knows aground and partially sank. Although the ship was abandoned, there were her way around 32 deaths and more than 60 injured. Passengers and their families were And since she came to ISU, she must outraged by the incident. Carnival decided to give them discounts toward love this town their next cruise. A year later, Carnival’s crisis tactics have not changed. The company She works at a place where it’s always recently had many problems with its ships malfunctioning, beginning sunny with the ship, Triumph. According to the Huffington Post, the ship’s BN tanning salon is where she works engine room caught fire on the way back to Galveston, Texas on a fourto make money night cruise. Although there were no injuries and the fire was quickly extinguished, it disabled the ship’s propulsion power, leaving the watercraft She’s a fun person, you can tell at first stranded in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. look In addition to not being able to get the ship back to port, there was She’s going to Vegas, which I saw limited power on the ship for passengers to use. Conditions on the ship from Facebook were described as being “extremely uncomfortable” by the Huffington Post and passengers were stranded for four days. Air conditioning systems were This member of the month doesn’t not working, and there was a scarcity of food and running water. Carnival take a break made arrangements to have food and supplies dropped off to the ship, but Please help me congratulate Laura were slow in getting passengers off the ship and back to land. Besides the Dienslake! sluggish response, Carnival also had the same plan for making it up to passengers as it did in the Costa disaster, offering them reimbursements Congratulations to and future cruise discounts. Many of its customers were outraged that after Laura Dienslake! being stranded, Carnival was inferring they should go on another cruise. Since the disaster, there have been a few other problems with the mechanical systems of other ships and it has affected the company’s reputation. According to the Harris Poll conducted a few days after the Triumph returned to land, 58 percent of people who had never taken a cruise said they are less likely to try one now. The Poll reported in the Miami Herald, trust in the company declined after the incident. Even previous cruise-goers were not likely to stay loyal to the company, with 43 percent saying they were less likely to go on a cruise again. Carnival’s overall responses to these crises are appalling. Its crisis communication team, crisis management and reputation management are wonderful examples of how not to respond and react during a crisis. ❖
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How to Create the Perfect Business Card By Kaylin Smith
Step 1: We all know business cards are just about as
important as a resume when networking with professionals. Yet, knowing what to include on a business card while in college can be a difficult task. Here are a few tips on what to include on your own college business card. 1. Contact information should be the main focus of your business card. Include your name, phone number and email address. Make sure your email address and voicemail are professional. 2. Include your university, the standing class you are in and your area of study. Being a student is your job at this point, therefore putting this information is important. 3. If you have a personal website, include it using a QR code. This shows you understand new technology, as well as your ambitions in utilizing it. 4. Should you include your social media accounts? LinkedIn is the most recommended social media to include, but if you have a professional Twitter handle, you can add that too.
read 8, 9 or 10-point font type. This allows more room for logo’s or design elements that may tie into your resume. 3.Do not center align all of your text. Unless you can put into words the reason why you need to do so. Most of the time a strong flush left or right alignment has a much more professional impact than a central one. 4. Do not feel like you have to fill the entire card. White space is acceptable and can help the card look less cluttered. It is also unnecessary to have the words “email” and “website,” it is clear what they are.
aylin KSmith Illinois State University: Class of 2013 Major: Journalism/Visual Communications Adress: 2938 Bridgeview Dr. Normal, IL 61743 Phone: (309)932-3293 Email: kaysmit@gmail
DO’s
1. Line things up! Everything on your card should
align with something else; it shows how things are related and is one of the major design elements. By Step 2: having all elements aligned the card will look more organized. Having your card contain the right information 2. Try using periods, small bullets, or blank spaces is only one part to the perfect business card. Another instead of parentheses around the area codes to give a big aspect is to have the card designed in a professional cleaner look. and eye catching way, which can help you stand out 3. Use design elements from your resume, whether from the crowd and be remembered. Here are some a color or type font it will make it cohesive and dos and don’ts when it comes to business card design. professional. ❖ DON’TS:
1. Do not put all of your information in the
corners of the card. The corners are allowed to be empty.
2. Do not use 12-point font type. People can easily
aylin KSmith Illinois State University Class of 2013 Major: Journalism / Visual Communication A: 2938 Bridgeview Dr. Normal, IL 61743 P: 3099323293 E: kaysmit@gmail in linkedin.kaylinsmith
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How PRSSA Benefits Members By Lindsey Clark
As many of us know, the Public Relations Stu-
dent Society of America (PRSSA) offers its members knowledge of the public relations field, gives access to professional development prospects and features three committees which handle different aspects of the organization. PRogressive Imagine Committee Experience Maddie Zenz, junior public relations major, said that by being a part of the organization, she was able to branch out and meet others with similar interests. Zenz is a part of the PRi committee, which is the organization’s student-run public relations firm. PRi is responsible for doing public relations for the lacrosse team, Unlimited Dance Team and Stuff for the Poor. Each year, the executive board and PRi director choose clients to work with so member have experience working with real-world clients. “I wanted to meet others who were in the same major, learn more about what PR is and get more experience,” Zenz said. “I like the social aspect and meeting new people with the same goals,” she said. Bianca Lawson, junior public relations major, also working with PRi, had a similar positive experience since joining. “[In addition to getting involved and meeting new people], I’ve been able to develop stronger writing and communication skills,” she said. Development Committee Experience Lindsey Probst, senior public relations major and director of the development committee, was a transfer student and quickly joined as a junior. She was able to score an internship with the Girl Scouts of Central Illinois, where she planned an event and incorporated many of the skills she had acquired from being on the development team. The development committee works together to get Chapter involvement outside of PRSSA meetings with at least three socials a semester as well as handling fundraising for the organization, which
has included concession stands, bake sales and raffles around campus. “It’s a good place to come together outside of academics and to get support from fellow classmates. It’s also been great to have a leadership role,” Probst said. Relations Committee Experience Shelby Ray, junior public relations major, writes regularly for the relations committee. This is her second semester writing blog posts and newsletter articles. Relations has enhanced Ray’s writing skills, giving her the opportunity to not only write in areas relating to her major, but also give her the opportunity to show off her published work to future employers. “I am a transfer student so it was a good way to meet people, get involved and build [my] resume,” Ray said. My Experience As for me, PRSSA was the first organization I joined when I transferred to ISU. It did not take long to realize how important it was to get involved in the university’s activities because that truly is the best way to meet people who are like-minded and enjoy the same activities you do. As a journalism major, I knew right away I wanted to be on the relations committee and start improving my writing skills. I have already learned so much about what I want to do just by getting my feet wet in this organization. If you are looking for a reason to join PRSSA, you do not have to keep searching: one of the three committees of the organization are bound to suit your needs and can only benefit your college experience, as well as your future. Though there are only four weeks left in the semester, I encourage you to get involved with PRSSA as soon as you can. You won’t regret it! ❖
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Welcome Dr. Daniel Cochece Davis By Shelby Ray
The School of Communication gained a new
professor this past June, Dr. Daniel Cochece Davis. While he is new to campus, he is no stranger to teaching. With professional experience requiring key communication skills such as public presentation, intercultural communication, persuasion, attention to nonverbal communication, small group communication, leadership communication and more, he brings a new perspective to the School of Communication. This is reflected through his selfproclaimed “quirky” teaching style. From listening to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album, while watching The Wizard of Oz, participating in a chocolate tasting, to flipping coins 100 times, these exercises – sounding “quirky” – have valuable subconsciously learned lessons. He said that he attempts to make the information he teaches students relevant to their lives. He also throws out random facts to keep people tuned in during class time. Davis had an enthusiastic answer as to why he chose to come to ISU. “I’ve wanted to be part of ISU’s communication program for over a decade,” he said. “It’s one of the best communication master degree programs in the country. [The SoC] does an outstanding job of preparing graduate students for teaching, and is a great collection of collegial faculty members. Who wouldn’t want to be part of this organization?” In addition to the passion he has for ISU, he also enjoys the environment of the Bloomington-Normal area. “The family-orientated culture here in Bloomington-Normal is wonderful, since we have a young daughter, but also the ease with which a person can find just about anything locally is great,” he explained. Currently, Davis teaches Foundations of Organizational Communication as well as Communication Research Methods. From being one of his students, I can effortlessly say he believes in allowing students to get to know each other better
and make class participation a priority. While at first it seemed peculiar to have spent a portion of our time in class playing the memory game, I have found getting to know my fellow classmates is very helpful. Despite our class meeting once a week, I know my classmates from his class better than in any other class. “I view scientific research as a collaborative activity and it’s harder to collaborate with someone you don’t know,” Davis explained. “Additionally, I try to facilitate an environment where people are competing with themselves, [which is] true competition, rather than with each other, false competition. To date, this has worked well, with people in class acting as peer mentors or tutors, and helping other teams improve their work, so that, as a class, we produce better work.” Aside from teaching, Davis enjoys cooking, spending time with his daughter, restoring antique cars, renovating houses and especially watching a good film with his family. He currently is working on several projects both professionally and personally. Professionally, he is working on post-reentry shock when people return from living in another culture for an extended period of time and also communication in “secret” organizations; the information parameters that impede communication of organizational information. As students stroll through Fell Hall, I recommend they introduce themselves to Davis and welcome him to ISU. “I have been really impressed with the ISU students in the School of Communication,” he said. “They have responded well to my teaching style, and produced really interesting work.” And as students register for classes, keep in mind his classes and his signature chocolate tasting! ❖
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Letter from Executive Board By Bruce Kennedy, secretary
In every issue of PRemier, this column features a short article by one of the Chapter’s executive board
members. The purposes of this column are to introduce you to the person holding a particular e-board position and summarize the work that person does through the role he or she fills. An advantage to being secretary is that there are days when the workload is relatively light (fair warning, these times days never fall on a Tuesday). This allows for time to help other members of the executive board or work on projects that are not strictly the secretary’s duty. For example, over the summer I had a light workload so I created a promotional video for PRSSA. This allowed me to work on a creative, self-directed project while helping with recruitment. It also enabled me to create a unique portfolio piece. Another one of the secretary’s tasks is to design, conduct and analyze surveys of the Chapter as a whole. I struggled when I first took COM 297: Research Methods, so I was not looking forward to this part of my job. As it turned out, applying what I had learned in that class to PRSSA changed my perspective on As the secretary on the executive board, a lot of survey research and its importance in public relations. my duties focus on making sure things run smoothly. When I analyzed the data and presented it to executive The specific tasks assigned to me are preparing board, it became apparent how much it could help the meeting minutes, managing the Chapter email us plan the rest of the year. It highlighted strengths account, creating our weekly presentations and and weaknesses in our recruiting methods, helped designing and analyzing survey results. At the us plan workshops based on what members wanted beginning of the year a lot of my duties seemed to hear about and plan tours based on where they tedious, but as the year went on I found each one to wanted to visit. This is a great example of how the be surprisingly rewarding. position of secretary can help other members of the One of my weekly tasks is taking meeting executive board. Our vice president, Lisa Crocco, put minutes for both executive board meetings and this information to good use when planning tours and Chapter meetings. This may seem mundane, but workshops for the rest of the year. having one central record of everything covered in a I also act as one of the advisors to our studentmeeting is surprisingly useful. Our Chapter is fairly run firm, PRogressive Image alongside our president, large and it takes a lot of work behind the scenes to Kaitie Ries. I am extremely proud of the work put on as many tours, socials, philanthropic events, PRogressive Image has done this year and could not workshops, speakers, fundraisers and committee be happier with the director, account executives and events. Scheduling can be difficult because of how members who make that possible. full our calendar can become. Every time someone Overall, my time as secretary has been an proposes a new event the first question is, “Where can incredibly rewarding and humbling experience. It we fit this?” It never ceases to amaze me how much has forced me to be more organized, taught me about our Chapter is able to do due to the hard work of teamwork and helped me grow professionally in more members, student leaders and the support we receive ways than I can count. ❖ from faculty, staff and alumni. It can be daunting simply trying to keep track of it all.