Being a
student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater can be a blast, but there are
also those challenging times when success needs to be earned. The only way to
reach success is a lot of hard work and dedication. This past Wednesday
Amy Paul came to speak to our Public Relations- Tactics II class and gave us a
glimpse into her life as a UWW student and her career as a professional in PR.
She showed us that success does not just come to you...you must earn it and
work hard for it. Also, you must never give up!
Amy Paul graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
in May of 2011. While at Whitewater, she
was very involved. She was a member of
PRSSA, the Public Relations Student Society of America. Amy was the secretary, insight editor,
regional activity coordinator, and professional development chair throughout
her years as a member of PRSSA. She
showed leadership quickly and got involved with the organization, which gave
her a lot of valuable experience in the field. This organization, which I am also a member
of, gave her the opportunities to go on agency tours, BMA events, PRSA
luncheons, and the National PRSA Conference. All that hard work has now helped
her get to where she is now; she is a current employee of Ascedia as the
Interactive Account Coordinator.
Throughout
college Amy also had multiple internships to help “bulk up” her resume. She
worked with the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin as a Fundraising and Special
Events intern. She was Qdoba Mexican
Grill’s Brand Ambassador and a Student Assistant at the UWW Development Office. Amy also works with the Milwaukee Admirals as
a Communications Intern and a Street Team Member. Amy is still in touch with
the Milwaukee Admirals and works with them from time-to-time helping them run
one of their websites.
What
surprised me about Amy Paul was that she has explored multiple avenues of
Public Relations by trying out new jobs and not being afraid of new things. You can just see the differences in jobs in her internships alone. She
told the class that it is not uncommon these days to switch jobs and explore
new options. This surprised me, because my parents have been doing the same
thing their whole lives. I guess that it
a thing of the past and fairly uncommon these days to stick to one job!
Amy had a lot of great advice that I took to heart also! I
knew that she was once in my shoes, so her advice was very valuable to me. As a student, she told my class to keep
connected to people. Network! She said this is very important when in the field
of PR. She also told us to begin looking for internships early, and once you
have an internship, do not be afraid to ask questions and also ask for more
responsibility. After college STILL
NETWORK! This should never stop. Never
forget that what you post online is public, and it can hurt you professionally.
And always remember that traditional writing skills are never “a thing of the
past.”
