My junior year at Grand Valley was my first year starting my new career path as a public relations and advertising major from previously being Pre-Vet. Looking back at the beginning of the winter semester, I was pretty much clueless on what exactly public relations is. My original idea of it was the way companies and businesses got their name and purpose out into the world. There are still so many different definitions of PR but after having more experience with it this semester, I am continuing to add onto that definition.
From this semester, I have gathered that public relations is indeed a way for companies to get their image out to the public, but there is so much more to it. I have learned that public relations is essential in order for a business to survive. Public relations also allows for new, long-lasting, business relationships to form.
When looking at new career paths at the end of last semester, public relations stuck out to me because it seemed challenging. Now I have realized that it WILL be challenging but it will be worth it. I love learning new things and I believe that this path will teach me so many new things while making a difference in the world. In the middle of this semester, I started researching different PR jobs and the one that stuck out to me was a Public Relations Specialist. When looking at the job description of what a PR specialist is on glassdoor, it states that these specialists are responsible for “growing, shaping, and maintaining a company’s reputation and brand.” This job will allow me to constantly keep growing and learning new things. I want to be able to maintain a positive image for the company I am working for.
During this semester, I was required to create a campaign planbook in my CAP 220 class for a real life client. As this campaign was challenging, it was also so fun and rewarding. I love how I felt like I was in the real world working on a project for my company. I also felt like what I was doing was really making a change. I had a group throughout this whole semester in my class and it was like working with other co-workers towards the same end goal. It showed me a lot about teamwork as well as the importance of communication.
Looking back at the beginning of the semester, I have more appreciation and respect for public relations. I am keeping my definition of public relations open throughout the rest of my time during college. The more that I learn, the more that I will add onto it. I am so thankful for how wonderful my professors were on teaching this subject. My plan for my senior year is to keep moving forward and to learn as much as possible. I am also so excited to get an internship next semester! I am so happy that I made the switch from Pre-Vet to Public Relations and Advertising because now I feel like I am where I belong.
Abby's Blog 