Speed Dating at it's Finest

I always thought speed dating was a great concept--You get to meet as many potential dates as possible in a short amount of time--That was until I went to a speed networking event. 10 minutes is far from enough time to talk to multiple professionals in groups!

Hosted by the Central Ohio PRSA at the Sandbox in Columbus, the Speed Networking event was an amazing experience. I, along with over 30 other students, got to socialize with 25 PR professionals.

Events like this one are such eye-openers. You get the chance to really take a closer look into the possibilities of PR. There is always this unspoken of pressure to know what you want to be when you grow up, what field of pr you want to make your career. Whether that pressure is from your parents or classmates or college, it exists. And as a senior, I feel as though the pressure is getting worse. But when I get to talk to professionals, it's as if that pressure is lifted. Mary Ellen Peacock from Nationwide Children's Hospital explained how she wanted to work in sports pr when she graduated, and now look where she is! A successful senior counselor for their media relations. Hearing her journey made me feel like once I say "I want to work in an agency," the pr gods won't strike me down when I get a job at a non-profit.

Talks like this prove how conversational the speed networking event was. From the interactions I had, most students seemed very comfortable asking questions and mingling. With the time limits, I noticed it was hard for every student to ask their list of questions (another reason why speed networking was tricky). I was paired with a classmate of mine and two girls from Ohio State University. We would all try to ask a question at the same time and then have the awkward pause deciding who would try to ask again. But once the conversation started, it just flowed. We all played off of one another's questions and it was fabulous to hear the views of not only the professionals, but other students as well.

Due to time constraints, many students hung around after the event was over to get in more questions. Lisa Arledge, Jamie Timm and MJ Clark were kind enough to sit with me afterwards to allow me to ask more questions. They helped me create a more clear vision of how I want my resume to represent me and make me standout as a up and coming pr graduate.

I am really regretful that I did not take advantage of the benefits of PRSSA earlier in my pr education. But what better time to start then now? I've already attended two events and can't wait for more! I have this new found hunger to emerge myself in pr, just hopefully without the time limits and gong that went along with "speed networking."

Blog-cation

Wow. I cannot believe I have not blogged in over 6 months. I take full responsibility & apologize to anyone who used to read my blog/my blog itself, for I have neglected you. I have been on what Aaron Brown called a "blog-cation." [Blog-cation: A vacation from blogging; similar to a staycation where one creates their own vacation while at home] I just got so busy working on internship applications, then doing my internship and now getting back into the groove of school that I really put blogging on the back burner. And although it was easier not having to manage so many social networking sites, I miss blogging. Throughout the past few weeks, during PRSSA events or while watching the news, I have found myself continually thinking about how I want to write about something that occurred in my blog. Yet every time I sat down at my computer, blogging just slipped my mind.

Well, good news, my blog-cation is over and I will definitely be posting more often than ever before!