Public Relations Student Society of America National Conference
“Success and The City”
by Sarah Nohr
The Big Apple, Broadway, Times Square, The Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, 5th Avenue, Donald Trump…what more can a person ask for in a city? As part of a group of students, I had the opportunity to visit New York City, the communications hub of the U.S. I’ve never had the opportunity to see public relations at work as it is in this amazing city that never sleeps. Work in the field as a public relations practitioner never stops in this city, and I got a taste of that at the Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) “Success and The City” national conference. This conference helped me grow both academically and professionally and was an experience that I will remember forever.
This fall, I ran across the advertising for the National PRSSA conference in New York City and brought it up to some other public relations students—we decided to go almost immediately. After seeking advice from Cary Heyer and Doug Swanson, we realized how beneficial this conference would be for our careers and for UW-L’s future PRSSA chapter. The five-day conference consisted of an average of three training sessions, a meet-and-greet, a keynote speaker and some sort of roundtable discussion just about every day. I attended such sessions as: “How to Start Your Public Relations Career, Not Just Get Your First Job,” featuring the VP of Communications from IBM, “Going Somewhere? Bring the Traveler to You,” featuring the Director of Communications of NYC & Company, and “What’s Most Important in PR to a Business,” featuring Donald Trump. We had the chance to speak with national committee members, network with PRSA members, and get fresh insight into the corporate and agency world of public relations. It was unbelievable.
Last year, two other students and I took on the large project of applying for a membership to PRSSA for UW-La Crosse. After seeing all of the opportunities that the Madison chapter had to offer to their communications/journalism/marketing students at one of their own mini-conferences, we saw how important it was to bring PRSSA to our campus. We applied for charter at the end of this summer and are presently awaiting official approval from the National Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Committee. Attending the National PRSSA conference has benefited me not only in the academic world, but I know that it will greatly aid in getting UW-L’s PRSSA chapter off of the ground. We received so much advice from other students and got so many new ideas that I don’t know how we would be able to start our chapter if we hadn’t attended the conference.
Above all others, the main reason why I’m seeking support for attending this amazing conference is because of all of the things I learned about the real world that I could never have learned in a class. The advice I received, the people I met, the new ideas and perspectives on public relations that I heard are all things that will benefit me when I graduate this spring more that it would in the classroom. Where to look for jobs, how to come up with clever ideas, how to stay ahead in your first years on the job, what to read in the profession to keep up, etc. The list of things that I learned is never-ending. I now have a desire to look beyond Wisconsin for my first job. I want to try to do public relations for a theatre—something that I’d never thought of before. I met people in about 20 states who told me to “look them up” if I ever need a hand in the future PR world.
I was literally star-struck by New York City. The lights, the people, the action: it never stops. I want to be a part of it now—and I didn’t know it before this conference. The things that I learned about the world of public relations and what it’s really like out there, I will remember forever. This was the most coordinated, put-together conference I’ve ever seen. There were world-renowned speakers, amazing fashion shows put on by top designers for the business world, and training sessions that would knock your socks off. It was unforgettable and seriously has been the most intelligent step I’ve taken towards advancing my career thus far.