With all the aspects and tasks the communications field encompasses, it can be overwhelming trying to manage them all. Knowing how to maintain media contacts, create designs, and manage websites can sound like a daunting task to someone just entering the workforce (I’m talking to you, college students). At Grand Valley, the advertising and public relations program is set-up so that halfway through, you choose an emphasis and begin focusing solely on advertising or public relations. As an advertising emphasis myself, I was pretty unfamiliar to many of the programs my peers in PR were using in their classes, and vice versa. Thanks to my involvement in GrandPR and PRSSA, I’ve been able to work with a broader range of programs, but that’s not the case for everyone. If you’re feeling lost when it comes to what programs to learn, here are a few of my cohort’s recommendations:

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Yes, you read that right. My failed internship. While three months ago, this made me feel like a complete and utter failure, it has since given so much insight on the professional I desire to be.

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It’s been roughly half a year that we’ve seen our lives flipped upside down due to COVID-19. Beginning with the swift and unforeseen closing of universities in March, stay at home orders in April, to this partially in-person way of learning and teaching. It’s hard scrambling with bus times, Zoom links, and everything else. Every week there seems to be a cloud looming over our heads, ready to downpour at any minute. The question we are faced with every day is: how do we make it out without getting caught up in the storm?

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Let’s face it (and embrace it). As communicators, we will likely assume leadership roles at one point or another throughout our collegiate and professional careers. Whether you’re the head of a group project, involved in a student organization, beginning your first internship or post-grad job, or want to better manage your personal schedule, it pays to develop project management skills.

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The new normal isn’t new anymore. Our lives have been this way for six months. We’ve spent half of a year wearing masks in public places, staying inside more than we’re used to, and being mindful of our distance between ourselves and the person next to us. The backbone of public relations is, and always will be communication. As master communicators, it is not only our responsibility, but it should be our priority to read the room, listen, and then determine our next steps.

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