issue i october '12
DESCRIPTION
Eagle PRide is the Georgia Southern University PRSSA Chapter's monthly newsletter. Eagle PRide established in 2012.TRANSCRIPT
Does money matter when joining a professional
organization? According to The Levo League,
an online social network designed for young
professional women, the message is clear,
professional organizations provide a national
group of like-minded careerists, possible
mentors and other young professionals.
So what does that mean for the Public Relations
Student Society of America? With a network of
more than 10,000 students, PRSSA is more
than a club— it’s a professional student
organization. Eagle Pride sat down with Rachel
Peavy, PR Manager at the Atlanta Convention
& Visitors Bureau to hear her take on the
importance of becoming a member of PRSSA.
What is your background in public
relations?
I have been in public relations for nearly nine
years, with a mix of experience working at PR
agencies and in-house for the Atlanta
Convention & Visitors Bureau. I’ve focused the
majority of my career on travel and tourism
with emphasis on hotels, destinations,
associations and attractions. I attended the Roy
H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca
College in Ithaca, NY where I majored in
Public Relations and Advertising.
What benefits did you see while you were in
undergrad that students gained as members
of PRSSA?
PRSSA has such strong chapters in the south,
especially at the colleges in Georgia. I’ve been
so impressed by how involved students I meet
are in their school’s PRSSA chapters. It makes
me wish I had been more involved in Ithaca’s
PRSSA chapter when I was in school. I would
have loved to have that sense of community,
especially when I was starting to look for jobs
and make the jump into the “real world.”
When I was an associate member in PRSA and
first got
involved with
the Young
Professionals
SIG, I
definitely felt
that sense of
community. I
was meeting
like-minded
people who
understood
what I did at
work everyday (my parents still don’t
understand what I do for a living!). I was able
to share my experiences and bounce ideas off of
my peers.
How has the relationship of PRSA and
PRSSA shaped your personal career?
Being a member of PRSA has been a
tremendous asset to my career. Membership
has provided such a great networking and
professional development opportunity. Some of
the best ideas come from attending a monthly
Reasons to join PRSSA: A professional’s perspective
October 5, 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1 Announcements
Next meeting is
November 6 at
6:30 p.m., Location TBA
PRSA Real World will
be held Friday,
February 22
Sign up for a committee
for the 2013 Spring
Conference
Brainstorming Session
for the Chapter Blog on
Monday, Oct. 29.
Inside this issue:
President’s Letter 2
Shadow Day on the
Horizon 3
Stand Out from the
Crowd with LinkedIn 3
PRSSA National Confer-
ence- Bridging the Gap
Highlights
4
Bridging the Gap: Video
& Photo Highlights 5
Rachel Peavy, @PRRachel
continued on page 4
PPPRESIDENTRESIDENTRESIDENT’’’SSS LLLETTERETTERETTER
Hello Eagles-
What an amazing year it is to be a member of PRSSA! It is with such
great pleasure and honor to serve you as your 2012-2013 president of the Georgia
Southern University Chapter of PRSSA. This year we have 58
registered members. Such growth in our Chapter speaks on the dedication and
involvement of each of you, and the future generations to come.
The opportunities as a pre-professional are endless as a member of
PRSSA. Now that you have taken advantage of becoming a member, I encour-
age you to utilize the membership benefits that are guaranteed to transcend your
knowledge, and expose valuable learning engagements as a student.
PRSSA at Georgia Southern hopes to enlighten you with experiences that may not be found in
the classroom setting. Our goal is to strengthen our internal Chapter by providing leadership opportu-
nities, professional development, workshops and speakers, and serve the Statesboro and campus com-
munity as members of PRSSA. Overall, we hope to “advance the profession and the future profes-
sional.”
I am excited to embark on this journey with each and every one of you. As members of such
a prestigious Society we, as leaders, are given the choice to enhance our future. As the year contin-
ues, I hope that you embrace the possibilities to come.
Amongst other things, I hope that you have a successful year. Thank you for your time and
commitment to this Society. I look forward to another year of PRSSA!
With Eagle pride,
Taylor D. Terrell
Chapter President
By Nadine Benjamin
Looking back at the glitz and
glam from the reality show
“The City,” many did not
recognize the progression of
Whitney Port as a young
professional under the wing
of publicist Kelly Cutrone.
Fortunately, for PRSSA
members the ease of gaining a
mentor is readily available
through events such as the
PRSA Georgia Chapter’s
annual Shadow Day. This
year’s Shadow Day was held
Thursday, Oct. 18.
Shadow Day is an excellent
opportunity to gain insight
into the world of public
relations. In the late 90s the
first Shadow Day was held in
Boston, Mass. Following its
success, the National
Shadowing Coalition was
formed encouraging
participation in the program.
Since then, annual Shadow
Days are held throughout the
country. Through
involvement in Shadow Day,
participants gain an
awareness and understanding
of what will be expected in
the future career.
There are many benefits to
those who participate in
Shadow Day. Students gain
pre-training, as well as build
confidence in themselves.
Though shadowing can seem
overwhelming at times, it is
also encouraging. As each
professional is passionate
about their job, they will
relate and share that love with
the individual shadowing
them.
If you are a student just
beginning in the program or a
senior on the cusp of
graduation, Shadow Day is the
perfect opportunity to gain
experience and perhaps gain a
mentor. If you are interested in
participating in a future
Shadow Day, contact
Taylor Terrell at
were “jobless or
underemployed.” The
competition in the job market
is fierce.
With free resources such as
LinkedIn, college students
and recent graduates should
take advantage of the site. In
doing so the number of
companies that see their
resume will increase, as well
as networking with
professionals.
Shadow Day provides experience
Stand out from the crowd with LinkedIn
school, major, minor work
experience and skills are just
a few of the categories to
share. Additional information
includes leadership positions
and membership in student
organizations.
As a public relations major it
is important to join LinkedIn
and share your experience
with the world. Don’t just go
to school and pass your
classes. Get involved on cam-
pus, join organizations and
take leadership roles in them.
These are the building blocks
to your future.
The Associated Press reported
earlier this year that nearly
1.5 million, or 53.6 percent,
of recent college graduates
By Melika Hill
According to LinkedIn’s
about us page, “professionals
are signing up to join
LinkedIn at a rate of
approximately two new
members per second.”
LinkedIn has been described
as the professional world’s
Facebook, connecting
members with more than 200
million company pages and
175 million other
connections. Members range
from college students, who
are breaking into professional
networking, and seasoned
professionals.
LinkedIn serves as a site for
students to showcase their
experience. Information
including classification in
“LinkedIn serves
as a site for
students to
showcase their
experience.”
Page 3
Alum Robert Roberts at MSL
Group for 2011 Shadow Day
luncheon, or the annual PRSA Travel & Tourism Conference. We
are really surrounded by some talented practitioners!
Describe one of your most memorable moments or an
experience that you’ve encountered with a PRSSA student?
What made this memorable?
In a previous position, we hired an intern who was president of her
PRSSA chapter. She was so sharp, tenacious and smart. She was
always on top of the news, an excellent writer and never afraid to
share her ideas. She was so impressive, that the company ended up
hiring her before she officially graduated. I attribute a lot of her
success to her passion for PR and her strong involvement in her
PRSSA chapter.
What advice would you give students who want to optimize
their relationship with PRSA?
Don’t be afraid to network and ask questions. PRSA events are
such a great place to meet fellow practitioners and develop those
lasting professional relationships (that could lead to future jobs!).
Describe a moment when you’ve seen a PRSSA student’s
involvement impact their professional career?
Over the past three years, we’ve hired five interns that we met
during PRSSA events and one coordinator (our entry-level
position). I think that in itself speaks volumes for getting involved
in your PRSSA chapter. You never know where that first (or next)
job will come from!
This year’s PRSSA National Conference,
Bridging the Gap cultivated creativity,
relationships, and a genuine love for the
field of public relations. Some left their
hearts in San Francisco, but not their
passion for public relations.
From sessions on breaking into sports
public relations to personal branding,
students from across the United States and
Argentina came together to find out more
about public relations. The adventures of
National Conference still hasn’t ended.
Visit Your chapter’s blog, PRSSA at
Southern for posts on your fellow members
experience at National Conference. Also,
on page 5 you will find a few videos and
photos on what you missed at National
Conference!
Reasons to Join PRSSA: A Professional’s Perspective
Yasmine Horton, Nadine Benjamin, Lindsey McCormick, Taylor
Terrell, Laura Jefferson, and Marissa Martin (from to right)
PRSSA National Conference: Bridging the Gap
Bridging the Gap: Photo Highlights
Bridging the Gap: Video Highlights
Biz Stone, founder of Twitter talks about the birth of #hashtags
Students letting their creativity roll with Jeffery Ory
Timothy Jordan, Senior Developer
Advocate, Google
Jeffery Ory’s Creativity Personal Branding by Matt Prince
Michael Steele, Political Analyst, MSNBC
Tim Westergren, Founder of Pandora
Contact the Executive
Board!
Chapter President –
Taylor Terrell
@_denisetaylor
Chapter Vice
President –
Sarah Russell
@sarahjruss
Chapter Secretary-
Morgan Love
@Morgan_Love11
Chapter Treasurer-
Kelly Winkler
@kellywinkler
Chapter PR Liaison -
Yasmine Horton
@YasmineHorton
Chapter Webmaster –
Marissa Martin
@marmarchica
Chapter Assistant
Webmaster-
Nadine Benjamin
@ntb3802
Georgia Southern
University
Georgia Southern University
The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) at Georgia Southern University
is an organization for students interested in public relations and communications. Our
Chapter is located in the rural area of south Georgia. This small college town, Statesboro,
is known to many as Eagle Nation. PRSSA at Georgia Southern proudly represents their
Alma Mater and parent Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Chapter.
Our PRSSA chapter adheres to all academic standards, ethical principles and diversity
advocated by our parent PRSA Chapter.
You can join our PRSSA Chapter at Georgia Southern University today. Contact us at
[email protected] or visit our Facebook and Twitter page.