News

Well let me just say that I never thought that my second blog post would contain such out of the ordinary news, but it seems that my transition into professional life might be moving along more quickly than I had imagined...

Last week I recieved a phone call from a representative of PRWeek Magazine, the most important and influential public relations industry publication. She called to tell me that I was chosen as a finalist for PRWeek's "Student of the Year" competition...now let me explain what this means.

This last semester, my very last at CSUF, I was in a class called PR Agency Seminar in which we explored the realitites and challenges of agency life. I should say that by the end of this class, I was less than excited to pursue an agency career, feeling that an "in house" corporate lifestyle would suit me better. Anyway, our final assignment in this class was do this year's PRWeek competition assignment, a comprehensive PR campaign for the up coming NBA All-Star Week including intensive market research, original events, logistical planning, and a creative viral marketing campaign. As an insentive, my professor offered 20 extra credit points to the students who recieved an A on the assignment if they turned it in to the competion. So I did in the hopes of pushing my overall grade over the "A" mark, which did not happen ultimatley.

While I did get a good grade on this project, my professor had many notes and critiscisms on the practicality of some of my ideas. He said more than once, "they will never let the athletes do this!" So you can imagine my suprise to get the call that I am one of 5 finalists out of somewhere around 20,000 entries nation wide. I called my professor to give him the news and he was just as shocked as I was, but needless to say, he has offered his support for the remainder of this process and will perhaps even offer to change my grade.

The next step of this process is an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to give a presentation of my project in front of a panel of PRWeek employees, world renowned journalists, and industry executives. Should I be chosen as one of the top 2 in this group, I will be flown back to New York in March to attend the annual PRWeek Awards, a black tie gala event at Tavern on the Green. The winner will recieve $5000 and a paid internship at Hill&Knowlton, one of the largest and most influencial PR firms in the country.

I cannot expect everyone to fully understand the magnitude of being chosen for this honor in terms of its influence on my future in this industry, but the implications are huge. And as a 22 year old fresh out of college, this is an incredible boost to my confiedence in entering such a difficut econimic climate. The only down side to this news is the very short notice. I have only one week to prepare for maybe the biggest presentation of my life.

I'm doing my best to relax, stay focused, and remember that my ideas got me here in the fist place and if I can just hold my own in that room, I think I might have a real shot at winning this thing...we'll see I guess