Studying Abroad: Good for the Soul, Bad for The Major

I have recently been referring to my upcoming semester in Rome as a dilemma- not because I am not looking forward to it (ask anyone, I AM!) but because it is really starting to affect my development and opportunities as a PR major. We all know that experience is key when it comes to working in the public relations field- and being out of the country (taking only art history classes) isn't getting me too far ahead.

As I prepare to study abroad, I've considered a few things I can do while I'm away to stay on top of my game, and how I may be able to actually benefit from my time in Italy.

1. WRITING -- I plan on keeping an in-depth blog while I learn, live, and travel in Italy. After researching different travel blogs and speaking with other students who have done the same, I've realized that this is one of the greatest benefits of studying abroad. Telling a story and captivating an audience is a key task that PR pro's must be able to master. I also hope to be able to contribute to other travel blogs and websites as well.

2. KEEPING AN ONLINE PRESENCE -- With the amount of knowledge I've learned from social media over the past year or so, it would be very hard for me to abandon it simply because I'll be out of the country. I do however, want to live 'la dolce vita' and not be consumed with my laptop and other things the entire time, but I will try my best to stay actively involved with the people I have made connections with through using social media. And with maintaining my presence online, I also strive to keep up with industry news, trends, and current events back home in America.

3. BECOMING GLOBALLY AWARE -- I haven't thought of it much before, but living on the other side of the world for four months has some hidden perks. One being an edge over those who I may be soon competing with for internships and even jobs after graduation. Understanding and living within another culture could greatly benefit me when it comes to targeting specific audiences in future jobs. I think living as an outsider in another culture will teach me not only patience, but respect and gratefulness to other types of people. And that in itself has the power to help with any type of job.

So as I sit here, ecstatic as ever to be only two months away from leaving for Rome, I can't help but think that I may be falling slightly behind. Missing out on internship opportunities, not taking any PR classes, and being away from peers who help influence me are all downfalls of studying abroad. However, I am the luckiest girl in the world to get this opportunity and there wasn't a doubt in my mind when I booked my plane ticket. The things I'm about to experience will help me in the long-run guarunteed, and I will use my experience aborad to the best of my ability when I return.

My Summer Job vs. My Major

Sitting in a gray, sadly decorated cubicle for the past two weeks has got me thinking- how in the world does my current summer job tie into PR and how will it be able to help me in the future? Although it's not a dream job, I am extremely grateful and lucky to have had this opportunity... It IS funding my entire trip to Rome this upcoming fall semester, to say the least.

This is my second year working at the Pennsylvania CareerLink as a summer case manager, a vague title that could use some explaining: I am part of a summer staff that runs and supervises a youth work program that places at-risk and low-income kids in different types of summer jobs. Half of my time is spent in the office, while the other half is spent visiting the kids at their various job locations. Myself and the rest of our small staff monitor the progress and behavior of the kids, while also maintaining balanced communication with parents, job-sites that employ the kids, and state and county workers who fund the program.

I work with people much older than me, most who have degrees in fields such as psychology and social work- very fitting for this type of job. As someone just a few years older than the kids I supervise, I was definitely intimidated when I first began. However, after returning for my second year, I'm much more comfortable and am also beginning to see how I can use this job as an advantage when it comes to my Public Relations major.

The first and most obvious connection between the two: The need for great communication skills. This job requires me to communicate with a large number of kids and their parents to ensure they have a successful experience in our program. Things that we discuss are extremely confidential in nature, such as income, public assistance, and work history. I need to create a open and trusting flow of communication, and that sometimes can become extremely difficult.

In PR, our main goal is to advocate for our client. In my case, I am advocating for the 100-150 kids in our program. I am the middle person when it comes to problems in the work place and often have to delegate between advocating for the youth and for the work site itself. Crisis communication skills often come into play, and I constantly find myself thinking about the best ways to communicate to different groups of people, whether it be the kids, their parents, or the public.

Any office job is beneficial to college students because it teaches us the basics- answering phones, using the fax machine, simple office etiquette, and what it's like to live in a cubicle for 9 hours a day. These things are all important to know and experience before entering the big, bad, grown-up world.

Twitter- What It's Taught Me So Far

In the past few months, I have been on social media overload. I have had a Twitter account for roughly a year, but never used it the way I do now. Before using Twitter correctly, I falsely believed that people only used it to track their favorite celebrities and to post about pointless activities throughout their day. Although many people do use Twitter for these things (sorry, not following you anymore!), many people do use it to positively interact and learn from people that relate to their specific interests.

I am honestly amazed with how much I have learned in the past few months from using Twitter. Not to diminish the quality of my education or the knowledge of my professors, but I have learned more "real-life" information from the people I follow than I have in the classroom.  By following the right people in relation to what I am most interested in, I have been able to precisely create my own little niche in the big bad world of social media. I recently looked through the list of who I follow and came up with the following breakdown: 30%- PR organizations and professionals; 20%- News sources; 20%- Peers and friends; 10%- Travel information; 10%- Political figures; 10%- Celebrities. By combining these categories, I can immediately get all of the information most important to me. In less than 5 minutes, I can scroll through my feed and see breaking news, helpful PR tips, and what other PR students are up to.

However, the most important thing I've learned so far is that Twitter and your experience with Twitter is only what you make of it. If you want to use your little slice of social media to learn and interact with people in your field, reach out to them first! By never interacting with your followers, they most likely will never notice you or care what you're tweeting about. Another important thing I've learned is to remember who you follow and who follows you. I keep this into consideration whenever I type a new tweet, and make sure to ask myself, "Is this somewhat relevant?", or "Who else does this affect?". This doesn't mean that each of my tweets is serious and professional, but it does mean that you will never see a tweet from me saying things like "I hate my lifeeeeee!", or "Ugh, so stressed out". 

To sum things up, Twitter has allowed me to get all of the necessary information I need throughout the day from current events to the latest social media trends. It has also let me interact with amazing people in the PR world from upperclassmen at Temple to CEOs working in the business. I can't wait to see where Twitter leads me next, and look forward to interacting with more people along the way!