October 2011 Issue

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What’s Inside?Contact Information:

Website:http://pennstateprssa.wee-bly.com/

#CommComm Blog:http://psuprssa.wordpress.com/

Twitter:: @PennStatePRSSA

Facebook: The Penn State Chapter of PRSSA

Benefits of Being a PRSSA Member... 2

First General Meeting Summary...2-3

How to Get Involved in PR as a Freshman....3

What is PR?...4

Different Fields of PR...4-5

Incorporating PR into Your Daily Life...5

Interesting PR Blogs...6

Beneficial Non-Comm Class for PR Students...6-7

Professor Spotlight...7

Alumni Spotlight...8

PR Professional Profile...8-9

EMI Music Internship...9

PRSSA Executive Board Spotlight...10

National Conference 2011...10-11

Social Media Workshop...11

Homecoming: PR Makes it Possible...12

Interviewing Tips...13

Benefits of Being a PRSSA Memberby Brittany Walsh

The Public Relations Society of America is the world’s largest public relations professional organization. Penn State’s PRSSA chapter was established in 1997 to help students, no matter what major, to expand experience and knowledge in the public relations and communications field.

Being a part of such a renowned and recognizable organization like PRSSA can have many benefits for students. Allison Lilly (senior- public relations), National Liaison of PRSSA this year said, “PRSSA is nationally affiliated and brings better opportunities on a national level.” Lilly went on to say that PRSSA is great for all the networking opportunities he or she may receive.

“Being an active member, you get so many opportu-nities to know different people and industries that you can network with”, Lilly said. She proudly went on to say that Penn State’s PRSSA chapter is ranked the top largest chapters and is very highly regarded.

Another very important benefit that PRSSA pro-vides is the scholarship and awards that students may receive. Although Allison Lilly never received a scholarship, she did though talk about her rewarding and professional opportunities she has had being a PRSSA member so far.

Lilly last summer attended the PRSSA national con-ference and was in charge of organizing community service, where all chapters collected ink cartridges and old cell phones. She also had the opportunity to lead the CW network campaign, by promoting the CW network’s Vampire Diaries. “It was a very reward-ing experience”, Lilly said.

Aside from the internship opportunities, Lilly stressed how important PRSSA is for teaching and learning about the importance of ethics. “PRSSA allows mem-bers to learn about ethics and how to act in the pub-lic relation world, she states.” Having such knowledge is essential to expand your skills in any communica

How to Get Involved in PR as a Freshman by Jacqueline Till

The decisions in college unravel continuously: once you seem to make one decision you barely have time to congratulate yourself before an-other one is presented.

For freshmen in PRSSA, you probably already decided to pursue PR as your major- but now what? PRSSA and Penn State offer various ways to not only learn more about public relations, but also gain experience in the industry. Through PRSSA, you can attend the workshops upperclassmen offer- ranging from sessions about social media to software. Or, by just at-tending your committee’s meetings, you can learn from your peers and participate in your committee’s respective duties.

The Communications department at Penn State is also prepared to assist you. By going to Carn-egie and setting up a meeting with the faculty, they can help you begin your search for intern-ships. Although you can look at the internship site online, it’s a great idea to meet in person to discuss what type of internship appeals to you. Even if you’re not ready to get an internship, learn to prepare a resume just in case an unex-pected opportunity inspires you to apply for an internship. Consequently, these meetings and opportunities can help you choose which area of PR you want to find a career in. Even if you’re unaware of your options, you can always meet with an advisor or professor to help reveal your options.

You can also stay connected in the PR world through Facebook and Twitter. Capitalize your social media experiences by following PR related twitter accounts just by searching PR in the search box. As long as you’re passionate, enthusiastic, and proactive about public rela-tions, you can find ways to expand your knowl-edge and involvement all around you- even as a freshman!

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Krakoff Speaks about Crisis Management at General Meetingby Catherine Valdez

Penn State’s chapter of PRSSA held their second general meeting of the school year October 4th at West halls commons.

The meeting started with simple house clean-ing, from future workshop topics to collecting dues, and ended with a very insightful presen-tation on crisis management by Jeff Krakoff, a PRSA member and the director of brand marketing practice at Burson-Marsteller, a world-renowned PR firm.

Krakoff’s career is composed of 25 years in Public Relations and marketing communica-tion field, 14 of those years he spent running his own PR firm. He was inducted into the PRSA Renaissance Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Krakoff’s presentation detailed the inner workings of what a crisis is, and how to pre-pare and react to them gave the audience a crisp image of what’s in store for the ones that plan to be future crisis management consul-tants. Krakoff’s presentation ended on the importance of communicating facts openly during a crisis.

“If you create this [information] vacuum,

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tion or public relations field.

Whether it is an internship, award, or scholar-ship, PRSSA has many benefits of being an active member. So many connections through the networking world in PRSSA will give any student an opportunity to increase the proper knowledge and skill for either the communi-cation or public relation field of study.

something’s going to fill it; whether its media or rumors.” Krakoff said when speaking about com-panies that ignorantly shut out the public during a crisis.

Though crisis management is an essential part of Public Relations, it has its downsides, said Krakoff. On top of emotionally draining long hours, he ex-plained that no matter how many years you study crisis management; experience is the best teacher when it comes to the field.

He went on to say that getting good grades is not enough anymore. Students that aspire to be work in Public Relations should start thinking about what area they are most interested in, whether it be crisis management or nonprofit. He empha-sized the importance of not only having intern-ships, also having diversity within them such as interning at agency firms and in-house corpora-tions alike.

After the PRSSA’s second general meeting and lec-ture by Jeff Krakoff, the members of PRSSA were left with a clearer perception on one of the most important parts of Public Relations.

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What is Public Relations? by Vireta Arthur

When you were a child and turned on the television and a woman interrupted your daily cartoons with a press release, did you automatically think of the term “public relations”? I’m willing to bet that most of you just turned the channel. A few, however, got their first peak of an intended career path.

The term public relations refers to an organization, company or individual who works to promote goodwill and positive publicity between a company and the general public. A person who works in this field is called a Public Relations Specialist. Public Relations Specialists keep the public informed on behalf of their client.

Public Relations Specialist use communication as a tool when representing a client. Specialists write speeches, use social media sites, speak to the press and respond to questions. A specialist must also be able to communicate clearly in person and over the phone.In order to know how to best reach the public, a person working in the field of public relations must know current news as well as pop culture. This will help a public relations specialist know how to best present information to the general public in a positive way.

A Public Relation Specialist also has to deal with unforeseen challenges and crisis. Knowing how to deal with these crises and presenting them to the public in a way that reflects positively on a com-pany is essential to anyone working in the field of public relations.

Though there is a general definition of public relations, it can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For someone who has never heard of the term “public relations” it can be just that, a word. However for someone who has worked in the field of public relations it can take on a different meaning. So take a second to think about what PR really means to you!

Fields of PRby Ed Wons

A career in public relations gives a unique opportunity to combine your work life with something that you love. If your interests include anything from fashion to sports, here are a few areas of public rela-tions that you can get into to.

Sports: Were you the kind of kid that loved sports, and still do today? Working in sports public relations lets you make a career out of your biggest interest. Employers can be professional teams or even uni-versities. Job responsibilities include writing press releases, generating public interest and communi-cating with the media.

Fashion: Are you constantly looking for the latest fashion trends? Consider a career in the world of fashion public relations. While there are perks to the job, it takes a lot of hard work and doesn’t always include the glitz and glamour that you see in reality television shows. Much of the work day includes getting publicity for your company, communicating with stylists and editors and setting up events like photo shoots and interviews.

Government: If you can’t get enough politics, a career in public affairs might be for you. The options in this area are vast, from working for a political campaign to becoming a lobbyist. Public relations in government isn’t as different from working in a private firm as you might think, it all comes down to creating a favorable public image of the client.

Entertainment: Do you dream of being in the entertainment business? Do you love movies, mu-sic, or celebrities? Try a career in entertainment public relations. Like other areas of public relations, the work day includes long hours and a fast-paced work environment. Some of the most important aspects of this field include knowledge of the media, building strong relationships, and putting your client first.

These are just a few areas to get involved with in public relations, others include education, travel, and health care. With hard work, a career in public relations can take you anywhere you want to go.

Incorporating PR Into Your Daily Life: It’s Easier Than You Might Thinkby Jenny Johnson

Now more than ever, people rely on social media as a means of communicating with friends, family, the media, celebrities and various other publics. Social media has two front runners in the industry, which are Facebook and Twitter. These two communication outlets compete to connect members with their surrounding community faster.

Recently, Facebook shifted their efforts from “recruit more ‘friends,’” to, “connect with your favorite business or public figure.” In the past, tools such as the “friend finder” were used to encourage members to connect with old friends, new friends and long lost family. Now Facebook permits businesses and basically anyone who wants to have their own unique “page” to promote what they stand for and what they do. Believe it or not, this is a public relations technique. People may not realize it because we use Facebook and Twitter so often and casually, however having a Facebook page or Twitter account that revolves around a club, or-ganization, business, special cause, etcetera, is a means of public relations, specifically networking.

“Follow us on Twitter,” something we continue to hear more often, usually placed at the end of an advertisement or announcement. It is a way to pursue more information on your desired person; if you click and follow a page you will undoubtedly continue to receive information every time that person or company updates, or “tweets.” “Tweet us your thoughts at…,” another common phrase that is used to encourage users to interact and network with fellow “Tweeters.”

Note; it is important to stay on top of your social networking sites and monitor your status updates and “tweets.” News travels faster than ever today. It only takes one inappropriate or controversial comment getting in the hands of the wrong person to ruin your reputation and credibility. Tweet and update cautiously.

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Interesting PR Blogs You Should Be Readingby Alyssa Matangos

Blogs. We all know what they are, and in today’s society there are blogs all over the internet. Many blogs focus on a variety of topics while others are more specialized. For example, PR Blogs; I had no idea they existed. I never thought to “google” those two terms together and see what popped up. So, since I have, here are my three favorite PR Blogs to check out and read when you have some free time.

PR in Pink is my favorite PR blog. PR in Pink was founded by Krista, an alumni relations and com-munications employee at a medical school. In this blog you will find posts about social media, PR, journalism, and communications as well as some healthcare issues. She even has a great post called “Shades of Gray: Ethics in Public Relations.” This blog is also great because of the segment “A Little Birdy Told Me,” that is posted weekly. These posts are shared from others who read the blog and write about interesting articles or topics via Twitter.

My second favorite blog is PR in Your Pajamas. This blog was founded by Elena Verlee, who was named one of “20 Women for Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter” by Forbes magazine. She also is the founder of a successful PR agency called Cross Border Communications. Her blog was created to help people get heard, to talk about how they want to change the world, and to most importantly, help others see how PR and Social Media can help grow a business. There is even a great post called “Five Ways Newsletters Up Your PR Game,” which is wonderful to read especially if you are in the PRSSA Communications commit-tee since we write the articles that make up the PRSSA newsletter each month.

PR at Sunrise is my last-but-not-least favorite blog. PR at Sunrise was founded by Andrew Worob, a digital communications manager at a leading public relations agency in NYC. Worob

Under the Radar: Non-Comm Classes Beneficial to PR Majorsby Amanda Landi

As public relations majors, the prefix “COMM” has undoubtedly become all too familiar when look-ing into scheduling. However, in addition to all the communication credits necessary to gradu-ate, PR majors also need a wide variety of non-comm general education and elective courses. Here are some courses advisors and PRSSA members highly recommend that may have pre-viously flown under your radar.

CAS courses are complementary to the PR major because they encourage students to think criti-cally and solve problems while establishing and maintaining relationships. Recommended cours-es in this major are persuasion and propaganda (CAS 175) and social influence (CAS 302). These courses require group projects and research, which are integral aspects of the PR field.

Marketing goes hand-in-hand with PR in that it teaches students the importance of analyzing the market to focus on understanding customers’ wants and needs when developing and promot-ing products and services. Best of all, there is a variety of marketing platforms, which could cater specifically to your interests. Recommended

Professor Spotlight: Bu Zhongby Jennifer Knowlton

It is mandatory for all public relations majors attend-ing The Pennsylvania State University to take COMM 409, otherwise known as News Media Ethics. This semester, Dr. Bu Zhong is one of the professors that teach this course.

Dr. Bu Zhong attended four different universities, two in China and two here in the U.S. He received his first bachelor’s degree in English Literature at the Sichuan International Studies University. The China School of Journalism awarded Zhong his second degree in journalism. During this time he worked for the China Daily in Beijing until he came to the U.S. In 2000, Zhong attended the University of Missouri acquir-ing his Masters, and then in 2006 he received his PhD from the University of Maryland. Zhong proceeded to work for the CNN Washington Bureau and CNN Center in Atlanta before joining the Penn State family.

“At a very early age, before profession, you want to be viewed as ethical,” states Zhong. His class is extremely crucial to Public Relations majors because the major is similar to journalism; credibility and reputation is all they have to their name. Public Relations practi-tioners do not need a license to practice; therefore, Zhong makes it clear that being unethical causes the destruction of one’s career. “His class provides us with the knowledge we need to understand differ-ent aspects of ethics that are important in any career,” explains Lauren Sipe, a Communications major.

Currently, Zhong is working on many different re-search projects. He recently surveyed students from the University of Florida as well as Penn State students to see if there is a correlation between personality and those who plagiarize. He found no correlation.

Zhong loves working for Penn State, “When I wake up in the morning I say ‘I want to go to see my students.’” The professor dedicates himself to his students and his research; remembering to take time to remember he is a part of a family, “Penn State makes me feel so at home.”

also has a background in reporting and blog-ging. In this blog you will find everything PR, as well as posts about communications and even internship tips. There is a great post called “Do You Need Social Media Experience to Land a Job in PR?”

These are only three great blogs that include lots of articles with useful information and great tips to learn from. There are also many more PR blogs than the ones I have mentioned above. So go online and check out other PR blogs that interest you.

courses include sports marketing (MKTG 497A), buyer behavior (MKTG 330), marketing research (MKTG 342) and advertising/sales promotion and management (MKTG 422).

As the flow of information becomes more heavily web-based, having a basic knowl-edge of digital arts and web design could be just the edge you need. Intro to digital arts (ART 201) and intro to web design (ART 297A) are beginning level courses that provide a basic knowledge of designing easy-to-navi-gate web pages.

Additional courses recommended by PRSSA members include leadership and group dy-namics in recreation services (RPTM 236) and programming in recreation services (RPTM 356). If you are interested in acquiring an administrative position in an agency in the future, material covered in these courses will give you the foundation you need to do so.

Although these classes are not offered direct-ly through the PR curriculum, exposure to the content of theses courses provides an edge to those pursuing a career as public relations professional. As PR professionals, it is not always our job to be the best at everything; however, it is crucial to have a basic knowl-edge of all facets involved in the business. So when finalizing your spring-semester schedule don’t hesistate to add a little vari-ety, it may open doors you never considered before.

Professor Bu Zhongphoto courtesy of comm.psu.edu

Where Are They Now? Shira Mahlerby Allison Staszesky

Ever wonder where recent PRSSA graduates end up after they leave the Penn State bubble? Football weekends and waking up at noon inevitably come to an end and the skills learned in college become our skill sets for life.

Former PRSSA member and 2010 graduate, Shira Mahler, recently landed the job of Senior Associate of Marketing and Communications at Clear Channel Radio in Tribeca, NYC. Accord-ing to Mahler, breaking into the entertainment business isn’t easy. It can be“stressful because you always need to be 100% on, it’s intense, but worth it,” said Mahler.

Clear Channel Radio has 850 stations and one digital station, iHeartRadio. As the Senior Associ-ate of Marketing and Communications, Mahler’s responsibilities include working with all 850 stations to make announcements on anything, ranging from promotions to a new DJ or crisis management statements. Mahler is constantly writing, editing, and re-editing press releases on a daily basis. “Professors definitely weren’t joking about the need for good wiring skills. Even send-ing daily e-mails are important because you’re the communications team,” Mahler said. On the corporate side of her job, Mahler decides which daily media clips are important enough to be sent to the chairman.

Mahler’s job definitely has its perks. Just last week she attended the iHeartRadio music festi-val for work. She also worked as a direct contact with stars publicists such as Keri Hilson and Pitbull, promoting concerts at the Clear Chan-nel Radio Theatre in Tribeca. Prior to working for Clear Channel Radio Mahler worked at a public relations firm but made the switch to entertain-ment when the opportunity came along. “It takes some time to feel comfortable and good about

A Profile On a PR Professionalby Alex Steinman

Leah Sparkes was once just like you.

A student at Emerson College in Boston, Leah’s interest in public relations peaked after she flipped through her school’s course book and realized all the classes that looked interesting to her were the ones related to PR. Her interest in PR was solidified during the time she interned at DreamWorks SKG publicity and MPRM Commu-nications in Hollywood, where she worked on press junkets, premieres and red carpets.

After graduation, Leah spent her time at compa-nies that specialized in PR for television compa-nies, like the Martha Stewart show and WE tv.Although she gained valuable experience from the companies she worked for, Leah made the decision to start her own PR firm two years ago. Her company, Sparkes PR, specializes in the en-tertainment industry.

“I branched out on my own because I always dreamed to have my own company and knew that there was a need for independent publicists with the expertise I had,” she said. And Leah is sure making a name for herself.

Since starting Sparkes PR, Leah has worked with

Wendy Williams, the USA Network, Parents Maga-zine and Fitness Magazine.

“My background is in women’s lifestyle and televi-sion, so I get a lot of requests from networks, cable companies and new media brands that focus on women’s issues,” she said.

Leah has gone from a PR student to a full-fledged force in the PR world, and she has great advice for students like you. “I recommend all college stu-dents to have internships. It’s the best way to learn what the work force is really like and if you see yourself in a similar position,” she said.

Also, Leah recommends always making new con-nections with people in the industry. “Your relation-ships with journalists and other networks are the most important thing you have,” she said. “Even in this new age of technology, social connections and linking up through the web, developing relation-ships in person, over the phone and through trust and reliability are still the most valuable things a publicist has,” she said.

Although Leah was not a member of her school’s PRSSA, she has friends in the PR field who are in leadership positions at the organization and be-lieves it’s a great resource for students.

“I absolutely think it’s helpful for students. Any organizations that offer services and opportunities to be surrounded by others in your field is good for students,” she said.

A Music Internship in the Cityby Stephanie Williams

Every day this summer I walked through the doors of the building I interned in and was greeted by a cardboard cutout of The Beatles. I then continued up to the second floor, which was coated with pictures of artists ranging from the Spice Girls to Yellowcard and heard about three different songs blasting from offices at the same time. This isn’t the typical environment you would think of for a 9

to 5 job. This summer I interned in the publicity department of EMI Music in New York City.

EMI Music is a large corporation that serves as the umbrella company for the following labels: Capitol Records, Virgin Records, Astralwerks, Bluenote Records and Manhattan. The office had five publicists that had about five to ten artists on their client roster. The publicists shared two assistants, who I reported to as well as a tour press manager.

As a publicity intern, I mostly researched press coverage for the EMI artists, clipped what was worthy to show the publicists and then wrote reports listing the coverage. Every day I read a few NYC and national newspapers, and also the weekly magazines like People, OK, US Weekly, and InTouch. The work the interns did was not that exciting, but our press clips were sent to everyone that worked for a particular artist.

Some of the fun stuff I got to do during my internship was listen to all of the promotional cds as well as tracks that were not yet released (i.e. David Guetta’s album that came out Aug. 29) I was given the opportunity to attend album lis-tening parties as well as different concerts in the city. One of my favorite tasks was going through fan mail and sorting it out to send to the artist’s team. People send the craziest things to their favorite musicians, and it was also adorable to see all of the five-year-olds who sent mail to Katy Perry.

My summer at EMI Music was an incredible experience that I never wanted to end. I am hop-ing to pursue a career in music publicity when I graduate and hopefully more up the ranks to be-come a big-time publicist like the ones I worked for this summer.

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the job you’re doing, but you just have to trust you’re judgments,” said Mahler.

For graduating less than a year ago, former PRSSA member and CommComm Chair Shira Mahler is doing fantastic in the real world. She may miss her college friends and the small town feel of Penn State, but Mahler enjoys applying the skills she learned in college to everyday life. “Living in New York City is awesome, and its great to be financially independent and earning money,” said Mahler.

PRSSA E-Board Spotlight: Kristen DeRosaby Kate Bottalico

Have you ever wondered who the brain is behind the entire Penn State chapter of PRSSA? Meet Kristin DeRosa, a senior majoring in Public Relations at Penn State University! Kristin’s accomplishments in Public Relations range far and wide on campus. Not only does she lead PRSSA at Penn State, but she also works as the Director of Communications at Happy Valley Communications, Penn State’s student-run Public Relations firm. Kristin is working hard to achieve her goal of working in a large Public Relations firm upon graduation. Do you find yourself wondering how she finds the motivation to be so active in the Penn State community? The answer is simple. Kristin keeps a goal in mind and works until she achieves it. Right now that goal is to land her dream job and finally be able to see her hard work pay off.

Currently, Kristin is working hard every day to ensure that the members of PRSSA at Penn State are ex-posed to all of the opportunities PRSSA has to offer. Kristin’s goal is to help members “develop profes-sionally, network both within the Chapter and nationally, and become confident in their public rela-tions skills for future internships and careers.” A typical day for Kristin includes keeping the Penn State PRSSA Chapter organized- from checking in on the executive board to the members, Kristin does it all.Kristin is here as a mentor to younger students venturing into the field of Public Relations. Kristin lends some words of wisdom when she says “the best thing you can do as a PR student is network.” When she is not busy leading the Penn State PRSSA Chapter, you can find Kristin surrounded by great friends, enjoying her senior year, and watching the latest New York Jets game. Don’t be afraid to go up to Kristin and introduce yourself for she is eager to meet the younger members and offer her words of advice.

2011 PRSSA National Conference- Orlando Editionby Karina Yücel

The University of Florida is hosting this year’s PRSSA National Conference in Orlando, Fla. PRSSA.org states this year’s conference theme will be “Perception is Reality: Inspiring Effective Communication.” The conference starts on Friday, October 14th and will run through Tuesday the 18th. The conference will take place at the Renaissance Orlando Hotel at SeaWorld. Each day the conference will have differ-ent speakers and educational sessions students can attend to learn more about the industry. Allison Lilly, National Liason for the PRSSA Lawrence G. Foster chapter, is no stranger to the national confer-ence and is looking forward to being in Orlando since she has never been. Lilly said she it will be excit-ing to see Orlando and learn about a lot of public relations relating to the Disney Corporation.

Speakers will be holding lectures about all different fields of public relations including: entertainment, non-profit, fashion and government. Other lectures will teach students tricks of the trade with specific talks about social media, synergy and media training. Speakers at the conference are public relations professionals at the top of their industry. Rick Bubenhofer, director of Public Relations at Brown-For-man; Mickey G. Nall, managing director of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide; and Soledad O’Brien, special investigations correspondent at CNN and host of CNN’s “In America,” are some of the speakers that will be lecturing this year.

But distinguished public relations speakers aren’t the only ones who will be presenting, Lilly said she is

most excited for the PRSSA keynote speakers and hearing some of the student presentations. Students attending the conference will also have time to go out, visit and experience all the different attractions Orlando has to offer.

“We plan on going to [Disney World] once or twice,” Lilly said. She and fellow Penn Staters have also looked up interesting restaurants in the area and plan on going to SeaWorld. PRSSA students from Penn State will be documenting their whole trip with videos and blogs to keep everyone in the chap-ter updated on what they are learning and experiencing, Lilly said. “I’m so excited to be a part of the conference and represent Penn State.”

#CommComm Social Media Workshopby Jeannette Bordeau

The communications committee members discussed how to use social media in their chapter and their careers at the social media workshop on Oct. 12. One of the committee chairs, Chelsea Swei-thelm, led the committee through tutorials on Twitter, WordPress and Google Groups.

“Using Twitter can help students gather public relations information that you wouldn’t learn in a class,” Sweithelm said.

Sweithelm said that students can use Twitter to follow internship leads, job leads and public relations professionals. Separate from Facebook as a personal network, Sweithelm said Twitter is a professional tool students can use to stay up-to-date in the public relations field. Students can use blogs to show-case this knowledge of current events. Blogs show that a public relations student is informed about many aspects, “not just what they are interested in,” Sweithelm said.

Sweithelm shared the advice to write and read blogs, which she learned from Ted Jun, business de-velopment supervisor at McGarryBowen. During Jun’s interviews, he asks what blogs his interviewees follow and if they have their own blogs.

The committee looked at PRSSA President Kristin DeRosa’s blog (http://kristinderosa.wordpress.com) as an example of a current and well-rounded blog example. WordPress, Sweithelm said, is an easy tool for public relations students to write their own blogs.

As a whole, the Communications Committee discussed how they can improve their chapter’s blog (http://psuprssa.wordpress.com). The committee set goals to maintain current entries, add images and make the layout more eye-catching.

Pertaining to the field of public relations, Sweithelm said, “The look of the blog is just as important as the content of the blog.”

Sweithelm also explained how Google Groups can make communicating in a group easier, especially for the communications committee.“It’s a forum you can post stuff on so you don’t have to email ev-eryone individually,” Sweithelm said.

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Homecoming: PR Makes It Possible!by Sarah Kurz

It’s that time of year again where Penn State spirit gets kicked up a notch! As we ring in one of PSU’s oldest traditions many wonder how a completely student-run event could be so successful.

Homecoming is a culmination of many organizations and committees, but would not be possible without the help of the Public Relations Street Team. The Street Team, headed by Captains Lia Peralta and Phoebe Nelson, is prepping State College for one of its most packed Homecoming schedules yet. Peralta explains how managing a street team is a big undertaking and how she is, “responsible for communicating with contacts, helping them with events that need to be advertised and general tasks that need to be done and then delegating them…”

Part of the Captains’ job is to get Street Team members involved in promoting PR events like Spirit Week, which feature a variety of different activities, including a Blood Drive in the HUB October 6th. PR goes a long way in making the events of Homecoming week possible as well. Supporting these events, in addition to spreading the word through social media and the web, on campus advertising, and even painted window murals, is all part of the Street Team’s goal in aiding the Homecoming festivities.

Peralta speaks fondly of her favorite Homecoming event, the carnival, where, “two years ago, it had a mechanical bull, Velcro wall and sumo wrestling suits…”

This year’s events range from a SPA concert, dance competition, FTG talent show, and an East Halls Cel-ebration leading to the coveted Parade, Pep Rally, and Homecoming Football game just to name a few.If students have any questions about any of this year’s Homecoming events, please visit homecoming.psu.edu.

Interviewing Made Easyby Equille Williams

Job and internship hunting season is well underway here at Penn State and it is imperative that stu-dents know the proper way to approach an interview.

Start the process before the interview even begins with a little research. Doing a background check on the company and position of interest gives students a chance to learn a few things about their po-tential employer. Any questions that arise from this research can be asked after the interview is com-pleted. Also, practice is one of the key points of the interview process that students often forget when preparing for an interview.

The phrase ‘Dress for Success’ cannot be more correct in terms of the interview. Fellas, a nice suit are a must for the interview. Nothing too flashy, however, because wearing too bright a color is unprofes-sional. Ladies, that nice jacket and skirt or pants suit hanging in your closet with a nice blouse is a great way to impress your future employer.

Before you know it, it’s time for the interview. Start off on the right foot students- be on time. An em-ployer is not going to hire someone who shows up fifteen minutes late for an interview. Get to your interview early, as much as a half an hour if needed.Once a student has entered the interview space, it is important to greet the interviewer with confi-dence. Greeting the interviewer with confidence means to project your voice, smile, and give a firm handshake. First impressions are crucial.

During the interview, stay composed and focused on the task at hand. Toeing the line between relaxed and firm can be difficult, but is a must if a student wants to show confidence. Answer the questions asked clearly and completely. Students should try to incorporate what they learned in their research into their answers, as this shows knowledge and will impress the interviewer.

When the interviewer has completed their portion of the interview, it is important to ask those ques-tions that arose during the research process. This shows an employer that you genuinely want the position. After the interview, don’t be afraid to follow up. Send a note, thanking the company for their time. It is proper etiquette and also shows them how strong an interest you have in the position.

Acknowledgments:

Featured Writers:

Vireta ArthurJeannette Bordeau

Kate BottalicoJenny JohnsonJenn Knowlton

Sarah KurzAmanda Landi

Alyssa MatangosAllison Staszesky

Alex SteinmanJacqueline Till

Catherine ValdezBrittany Walsh

Equille WilliamsStephanie Williams

Ed Wons

Editors in Chief:

Amanda BarrettChelsea Sweithelm

A note from the editors:

This semester we are very grateful to have such a hardworking and commit-ted team. Each one of our members stepped up and wrote an article, prov-ing their talent and love for PR. We look forward to sharing the best PR tips with you all and expanding as the year comes. We especially look forward to our committee hashtag, #Com-mComm, growing on Twitter! Keep up the good work PRSSA!

Cheers,

Amanda barrettamanadad@gmail.com@ADBarrett90

Chelseacsweithelm@gmail.com@CSweithelm