Resources for Ad&PR Majors You Need to Take Advantage Of
Grand Valley is a great school for students interested in a career in advertising and public relations. The material taught at GVSU is designed to prepare you for your future career. Professors and faculty prepare students for life after college in many different ways by providing numerous opportunities. Let’s take a look at what GVSU has to offer.
#1: Join GVPRSSA
Grand Valley’s Public Relations Student Society of America is a great tool to get your foot in the door. As a freshman or a sophomore, you may be unsure of what you want to major in and do for the rest of your life. Attending GVPRSSA meetings can help you learn about the field outside of the classroom. There are numerous opportunities for you to network among students and professionals, not only around the Grand Rapids area, but all over the country. GVPRSSA has had speakers who work at Grand Valley but has also held Zoom meetings with speakers from California including Lauren Freund from Canva! Aside from speakers, you can attend agency tours. These tours range from the Whitecaps & 8ThirtyFour in Grand Rapids, all the way to Edelman in Chicago! Tours not only help you see what the culture of the workplace is like, but you are also able to network with the professionals and learn from them! Our PRSSA chapter at Grand Valley has received many awards.
PRSSA Star Chapter 2009-Present
2022 Spring Digital Marketing Competition: Data-Driven Award
2022 Spring Digital Marketing Competition: 3rd Place Overall
I am very proud to be a part of such a hardworking group of students who spend their free time striving to improve themselves professionally. I have seen, and know I will continue to see, members of GVPRSSA reach success after graduation in their careers.
#2: Join GrandPR
GrandPR is a student-run communications firm through Grand Valley. GrandPR gives you the opportunity to work on real projects for real clients while you're still in college. You are given two to three clients and have a semester to do the project. The types of brands to work on vary greatly. For example, one client I worked for was a professor at GVSU and we helped advertise his podcast while another client held cultural events around Grand Rapids. GrandPR gives you real work experience while still in school – giving you a comfortable environment to learn and make mistakes.
#3: Visit the Career Center
The career center is located on the Allendale campus at 200 Student Services Building and on the Pew Campus at 101-B DeVos Center. The career center offers many different resources for:
Additionally, there are many ways the Career Center can help you from the comfort of your home, such as:
#4: Utilize Handshake and LinkedIn
Handshake and LinkedIn are platforms that allow you to network with employers. Networking and creating connections are great ways to find out about open positions for both internships and jobs. The difference between Handshake and LinkedIn is that Handshake is targeted for students whereas LinkedIn is for people of all career experiences. Handshake and LinkedIn have helped me learn what the job application process is like and how I can adjust my resume to fit THE job, not just a job. Additionally, LinkedIn has allowed me to network and make connections virtually.
I hope the collection of resources available to you as a Grand Valley student is helpful to you and that you use them to your advantage! I encourage you to use all the opportunities provided to you through GVSU!
About Abby
Abby is a junior studying advertising and public relations with a writing minor. She is from Darien Illinois and plans to return home after college to work in social media for the sports or entertainment industry. Abby is involved with PRSSA in many ways. She holds the title of account associate with an emphasis in design for GrandPR, is the current social media director, and has served on the promotions committee both as a member and as the chair of the committee.
