PRep School: Spark Note Edition
In the public relations industry, there is only so much that we can learn in the classroom. It’s a field that takes a lot more than book smarts and is constantly in need of quick thinking and adaptation. But how are we supposed to teach those real-world skills to students? Well, that’s where PRep School comes in to play.
PRep School is a three-part session series that is hosted by Grand Valley’s PRSSA. It invites local PR professionals to come in a talk to students about different real-world topics that they wouldn’t normally get in a classroom. Each session highlights three different speakers on three different topics. Over the course of the three session’s topics of diversity and inclusion, women in public relations, branding and so much more will be covered.
The first session was held on February 19th where students heard from Melba Vélez Ortiz, Kim Bode and Adrienne Wallace. The topics covered that night included rhetorical listening in PR, women in PR and life 101. For those of you who couldn’t make it or maybe you were there but need a refresher before the second session, here are the biggest takeaways from the first PRep School.
“The ability to encounter differences and construct a relationship ”
The first speaker of the night was Melba Vélez Ortiz, an associate professor here at Grand Valley in the School of Communications. She spoke on rhetorical listening and its importance in public relations. Ortiz placed a large focus on the idea that not only do PR pros have to be great storytellers but in order to tell the story, we have to be great listeners. To be a great listener, we must practice rhetorical listening. This embodies a state of openness when listening to someone talk and not quickly casting similarities or differences on the stories based on your past cultural experiences and identity. But instead opening yourself up to the story and focusing in on differences and self-reflection on your reactions to the story.
“Women Support Women”
Kim Bode, principal and owner of 8THIRTYFOUR Integrated Communications, was the second speaker of the night. Bode brought in some serious women power to discuss with us the importance of women in public relations. She touched on the disproportion of women in leadership roles, the wage gap and the success of women when given the chance to show their talents in the workforce. The solutions came next, how we as a society can put an end to this gap and empower not only women but everyone. By eliminating stereotypes, speaking up and simply adding more women to leadership roles, Bode says that slowly we will see the empowerment of women in PR. Her one key point through the night was to support one another, women support women. To see each other as teammates and not the competition; because when women work together they are unstoppable.
“Give Yourself Grace”
We ended the night right with our PR mom, Adrienne Wallace. Wallace is a public relations professor here at Grand Valley as well as being the faculty advisor to GVSU PRSSA and GrandPR and digital strategist and project manager at Black Truck Media and Marketing. With a room filled with mostly seniors, Wallace was able to put some of our post-grad life jitters to rest. We did an exercise that focused on what we are good at what we wish we were better at and how to improve the skills that we think are lacking, putting most of our negative self talk to rest. We then anonymously wrote down concerns we have for post-grad life and opened the floor up for discussion. Quickly we found out that we all shared the same concerns and through conversation, we were able to see that the best thing to do is to give yourself grace. Wallace insisted that with dedication and positive self-talk, we were all going to survive and thrive in post-grad life.
The next PRep school session will be held on March 11th from 6:00 pm - 8:50 pm. The topics covered will be diversity and inclusion in the workplace as well as branding-elements of design. As an aspiring PR pro, I encourage the rest of you to go as well. This is the real-world talk we all need to hear before it becomes our reality.
About Melissa:
Melissa Albano is a senior at Grand Valley State University studying advertising and public relations with a minor Mandarin. This is her fourth semester as part of the GrandPR family and she is more than excited to be serving as the Vice President of Operations. Along with being involved with GrandPR, Melissa participates in GVSU's PRSSA as well as being New Member Educator in her sorority, Gamma Phi Beta. Whenever Melissa catches a quiet moment you can find her hanging with friends, doing some yoga, or exploring more of the beautiful Great Lake State. A fun fact about Melissa is that she lived in Shanghai, China for three years when she was younger. She can't wait to see what great experiences this position will lead to.