12.17.07
The Final Final
So, today I took my final final of college. As I sat there, test finished, totally not caring if any of the answers were right, I couldn’t believe I was done. I knew I wasn’t going to add anything else to my answers, but I spent a few extra minutes sitting and waiting for the “wow” moment when I felt totally different. Strange, but it just felt the same as any other final exam.
I expected when I passed in my test, that I would maybe punch my fist in the air and make some little squeal sound as I left the room. Instead, I just put the exam on Don Wright’s desk, wished him a happy holiday, and walked out. I was happy and proud, but I didn’t feel as if I had just had a life-changing experience. I mean, there was no beautiful music playing and there weren’t any people applauding as I walked out of the building and headed home. Weird, right?
I guess it just takes a while for big things to hit you sometimes.
12.11.07
Transitions
The paper that Maria mentioned in her most recent post marks a big transition for me. This really is the end of college and the start of a life in the “real” world of public relations. I plan to start working near the end of January, so I have a month and a half to attempt the metamorphosis that occurs when student becomes professional.
I practically live on the Web, so I’m not going anywhere. I just feel that today, writing this paper, I am truly seeing within myself how much my life is about to change. I am experiencing a departure from Amanda playing the role of student to become Amanda, the Future as Chris Brogan so wonderfully calls me.
PR students of the Web, I hope that you feel as empowered as I do when you are on the cusp of graduation. I feel excited and ready to tackle a million and one new things, with a great group of friends who are cheering me on. This is a huge transition in life, and I am proud and happy to share it with all the friends of On the PRowl.
PR pros- please keep giving us your esteemed advice.
PR students- please keep using this blog as a forum to discuss issues and ask questions.
Professor Quigley- please grade us well.
I leave you with a haiku:
“We are On the PRowl/ Real world students with a voice/ Here we shall be heard”
11.18.07
Amanda’s Story: How Did I End Up Here?
I could go on for days, but here’s my abbreviated story:
I was one of those incoming freshman at Boston University who decided to be an English major. (Feel free to make a face at your computer screen and/or laugh.) I knew I liked writing, and there had been a few books here and there that I enjoyed, so obviously English was the perfect major for me. Or so I thought, until I remembered that a big part of going to college is to get a job when you leave. Alarming. As soon as I could, I switched over to the College of Communication.
I joined COM during the fall of my sophomore year. I knew I didn’t want to be a journalist and I certainly had no interest in film or television, so I was left with a advertising or public relations. I didn’t REALLY know what PR was, so I figured advertising was a good choice.
That spring, I took a class called Writing for Mass Communication with Michael Dowding. Life changing. I learned so much about public relations and about my own strengths as a communicator, and I also gained one of the best friends I’ve ever had in my life. Michael wisely took me aside one day and told me that I HAD to change my major to public relations. I was made for it- it would be ridiculous of me not to go into this field. I figured, “What do I have to lose?” so I switched. Why not, right?
During my junior year, I worked as a public relations and publicity intern for the Brain Tumor Society in Watertown, which was a moving experience. My supervisors Dawn Grenier and Josselyn Salter were amazing, and I got the first taste of truly contributing to a real-life cause in communications. I decided I really liked this PR stuff, and worked at Cone, Inc. over the summer in the Brand Marketing Group on some exciting accounts. At Cone I met a bunch of smart, savvy professionals like Amelia Ott, Jen Newberg and Amy Russ, who helped me to develop my PR skills and confirm for me that I had made the right career choice for myself.
I’ve always wanted to do something with my life that would get people talking, change the way people think, give people something to think about… For me, public relations and social media combine everything I love to do–I thrive on inspiring conversation and influencing public opinion. PR 2.0 is absolutely an exciting, creative and gratifying field, and I’m proud to be a new kid on this block.
So, to echo what Maria said, that is me. A girl inspired by people who wants to inspire publics. As my good friend Chris Brogan put it at Jeff Pulver’s recent real-time social networking event in Boston, I guess I kind of am “the future.“
