Ups and Downs of Campaigns

Throughout my life as a PR major at UGA, I've heard countless stories about how much work to anticipate in my capstone Campaigns class (see Dr. Kaye Sweetser's video, "True Life: Campaigns").  The class is designed to draw on every concept we've ever learned in our PR classes, from writing to strategic planning.  Even though I've had quite a bit of internship experience, this class has provided me with a whole new learning environment.  There have definitely been some ups and downs along the way, but as we get closer to the end of the semester I'm so excited to see how everything turns out!

I've posted before about this class, but here's a quick little aside about what we're doing...

Our class is helping various entities involved with combating poverty in Athens.  Most students don't realize that UGA's host, Athens-Clarke County, is the 5th poorest county in the nation.  Obviously, this project is a huge undertaking, and a class of 21 seniors can't solve the problems that have existed in this region for generations.  Our hope is that we will be able to re-energize the campus and make students more aware of the situation so they will be inspired to help.  Our main thought was to form an umbrella organization to bring existing anti-poverty student organizations together.

Everyone was so enthusiastic about the project at the beginning and couldn't wait to get started on forming a solution.  However, there was a lot of research that had to be done before we could jump straight into tackling the problem.  We have spent the last few months conducting student focus groups, interviewing faculty, and gauging the general interest on campus in the fight against poverty.  While everyone is anxious to "get something done," we have had to realize that our efforts would be wasted if we didn't put in the proper research first.  As graduation quickly approaches, we have had to adjust our strategy to more of a research-based campaign.  In the next few weeks, we will be creating a book to present to the client that includes all of our research and case studies.  It is our hope that our work will lay the groundwork for future classes.  While we may not get to see the direct outcome this semester, I know we will one day. 

I think the biggest lesson I have learned in this class has been about delegating.  I've always been someone who likes to get things done myself, and hates depending on other people for anything.  However, as a co-leader of a class of 21 students, I can't possibly do everything myself.  Myself and my other co-leader have spent so much time delegating work and planning assignments, which has definitely been a new experience for me.  I never realized how hard it is to get college students to turn things in on time! It's hard sometimes to enforce deadlines, but I've gotten great practice in leadership and project management.

All in all, Campaigns has been a wonderful learning experience, as I knew it would be.  There is no better way to prepare for a future career in public relations than actually executing an entire campaign.  I know I will look back to lessons I learned in this class for years to come.

Campaigns Thoughts

So it's a month into the semester, and we're still in the very early stages of our "poverty" campaign.  We had yet another meeting today to get a better direction, and one thing is starting to become very clear: we have to narrow down our objectives, or we're not going to get anything done.

The problem facing us, poverty in the southern "Black Belt" (named for the color of the soil), has been around for hundreds of years.  When I said at the beginning of the semester that it was overwhelming, I figured it was because we were just getting started... but it's still overwhelming.  And it's February.  We graduate and this class ends in the first week of May.

The challenge our class has now is to figure out exactly what we can do to help, and how we can leave a lasting impression.  Let's be honest, can we completely solve the problem of poverty in 3 months?  No.  Can we do research, conduct focus groups, and lay the groundwork for a sustainable program to bond the community and the university in the coming years?  Absolutely, and that's what we're going to do.  

Update on Life

I've realized I become kind of MIA over the weekend as far as this blog goes, but I guess it's just because I have so much going on right now... here's a little update on life (this is as much for me as anything so I can get my life in order).

Classes are going well, it's about that time for the first round of exams - I have two this week.  So far I'm still really liking all the classes I signed up for, which is nice for my last semester.  We're getting going on our research for Campaigns, so hopefully I'll have an update soon of the direction that is headed.

My internship is awesome, we have so much flexibility which is a nice challenge.  Starting Wednesday, we're going to meet on campus so we can use InDesign or Photoshop to make some of the pages for our style book. 

I've been working a lot and basically saving every penny I earn for life after graduation.  If all goes according to plan, I'll have some kind of income post-May, but it's always good to have savings put away (I have an interview on a week - cross your fingers for me!).

On a completely random tangent, Spring Break is 32 days away and I've managed to stick to my work out plan so far, which is great news.

And yea, that's my life in a nutshell.  Nothing all too exciting to report, just keeping busy and happy :)

Life Lessons from Entrepreneurship

One of the classes I'm enrolled in this semester is Entrepreneurship/New Venture Formation.  I've been wanting to take this class since I found out about it because I've always had an idea in the back of my head that I would one day start my own business.  However, in all reality when I leave the fairy tale land of college and enter the "real world" in a few months, I'll be "working for the man" as my professor calls it/warns against.  So while I'm taking in the valuable information about starting a new venture and filing it away for my distant future, I've also been trying to relate what we learn in the lectures to my future career.  

Today in class, we discussed three important things to keep in mind when forming a business plan.  As we were going over them I realized they're also good advice for forming your own "business plan" in the process of job searching.  If you see yourself as the "product" and concentrate on how to market yourself to future employers, the following information can be very helpful in a job search.  

1. Be compelling and provocative.  If you can't show how you're distinct and interesting, you're just noise.  As Jack Welch said, "If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete".  This is important to keep in mind when presenting yourself to possible future employers.  Especially when the job market is tight, if you can't show what sets you apart then why should an employer choose you over any other candidate?
2. Be credible.  Don't offer cliches, don't lie.  Back things up with facts.  Instead of saying "I'm creative," say "I designed a promotional postcard for the company I interned within New York last summer."  Don't just say how great you are, prove it.  
3. Focus on your audience.  If you're applying for different jobs with a variety of companies, you don't send out copies of one identical cover letter.  Market yourself to a specific position in a specific company, and show why you're interested in that one job.  

Although I think my professor would die if he read this post (sorry Mr. Hanks!), I think this goes to show that there are certain lessons that you can apply to any area of business, whether you're going out on your own or working in a huge corporation.  

Athens: Home Sweet Home

The last three and a half years of college, I've been lucky enough to call Athens, Georgia my home.  I love it here, UGA offers so many opportunities and it's so much fun for someone my age to be here.  Athens is recognized throughout the country as one of the best college towns, we have a thriving music and bar scene, and UGA's football team constantly makes headlines.

All that being said, would you believe Athens' poverty rate is the 5th highest in the nation for counties with populations of 100,000 or more?  What about the fact that 28% of the people living in Athens live in poverty, or that one in four Clarke County children lives in poverty?  Until I started researching the poverty situation in Athens for my PR Campaigns class, I would have never believed these statistics.

As UGA students, we tend not to see the community outside of the campus bubble we spend the majority of our time on.  Sure, we all drive through the "bad parts" of town - but every county has those, right?  

These statistics and ways of thinking are at the root of the problem my campaign team plans to tackle this semester.  We will be working with various foundations and institutions to combat poverty in the Athens-Clarke County.  We're just now delving into the details of our clients, and have been brainstorming questions and issues to address.  My initial reaction to this campaign can be summed up in one word - overwhelmed.  How are 22 UGA seniors supposed to combat such a huge problem that has been plagued generation after generation?  I guess that's something we'll figure out over the next few months... stay tuned!

Course Expectations

Every semester, I get so excited about my classes during the craziness of the first week.  I love getting syllabi, buying books, and getting organized with new school supplies (I know, slightly dorky).  I realized though, that usually my perception of a class during the first few days turns out to be pretty different than how the rest of the course ends up (do professors do this on purpose?).  So I thought I would take a minute to write down some thoughts about my classes so I can look back at the end of the semester and see how right I was.

• PR Campaigns - I'm really excited about this one.  It's our capstone class for a Public Relations degree, applying everything we've learned so far to a real campaign.  Our class is working with entities concerned with combating poverty in the Athens-Clarke County area.  I've also volunteered to be one of the class leaders (for Honors credit) so I feel like it will be a great experience.
• Journalism & Mass Communication Law - Okay, who really gets excited about this class?  It's definitely important information, but I know it's going to be really hard work and a lot of reading.
• Rhetoric & Pop Culture - I wanted to take a fun class for my last arts & science credit, and I'm pretty sure that's what I'll get with this one.  The professor seems really cool and the subject matter is really interesting.
• Strategic Management - Another capstone class, this one is the last one I need for my Management degree in the Terry College of Business.  I'm expecting a lot of theory but it should be helpful information that I can apply to any job I have in the future, management-related or otherwise.
• Entrepreneurship - I've been waiting for years to take this class! Our professor told us we could miss class if it's a nice day outside but not if we have a job interview - he wants to encourage us to start our own business rather than "work for the man".  Although I'll probably be "working for the man" in about 5 months, it's always been a dream of mine to eventually start and run my own business (hence the Business degree).  We get to come up with a business plan for our company, so it should again be a great hands-on learning experience.

So I guess I'll be looking back on this post to see how accurate I was about which classes I loved/hated, but at this point I'm pretty optimistic about all five...

If You Don't Have Anything Significant to Say, Don't Say Anything at All

The last few days have been pretty hectic... I've been getting unpacked from Winter Break, going to class, buying books and school supplies, studying (keeping up on my reading was a New Year's Resolution I forgot), and working.  I've been so wrapped up in my busy schedule that I've almost forgotten to post on here.  The truth is though, I haven't felt like I had anything important to say.  Which brings me to an important point about blogging...

If you don't have anything significant to say, don't say anything at all.  

Sure, it's important to update regularly especially if you're working to develop a following for your blog, but if you don't have timely, interesting information to present then what is the point in writing?  It's the same idea as news releases - if you don't have timely, interesting information then nobody is going to cover your story.  

I'm definitely excited about the semester though, and plan to post regularly about what is going on in my classes.  I have a full load of 15 hours - Public Relations Campaigns, Journalism & Mass Communication Law, Rhetoric & Pop Culture, Strategic Management, and Entrepreneurship.  I'm also planning to either intern or work for UGA's Creative Consultants (a student run PR firm), and am working two jobs - so it's going to be a busy last semester!