Missed Last Week's PRSSA Meeting?

If you were unable to attend last week's PRSSA meeting, no fear! This week's meeting, on September 28th, will also be an introduction meeting for students who are newcomers or are re-joining PRSSA this fall. PRSSA is always held on Wednesday, from 5:15-6:15 in Murphy 100.

Last week's meeting was full of information, so here is a re-cap:

What is PRSSA?

PRSSA bridges the gap between the classroom and the boardroom to help you reach your goals.


PRSSA helps you maintain and evolve your reputation by building mutually beneficial relationships between you and professionals.

So now your wondering, why should I join PRSSA?

Many reasons! Most importantly you will have the chance to meet and network with PR professionals around the Twin Cities. Throughout the year there will be a variety of guest speakers, PR and advertising agency tours, resume and portfolio workshops, and other various networking events.

Remember, when it comes to public relations, it's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know. This is a major reason why PRSSA members are so successful at finding jobs in career fields that they actually want to work in after graduation!

PRSSA will also provide you with numerous internship and job opportunities and will allow you to gain some valuable pieces for your developing portfolio.

So now that you realize how beneficial PRSSA will be for you, I'm sure your eager to join! So now you're thinking, "Sign me up!"

If you haven't already done so, fill out a membership packet. These can be picked up at this week's meeting. PRSSA costs $75 but this fee will cover you for the entire year. Trust me, it's worth it! Please pay your dues by October 5th and give to Molly Rasmussen, cash or checks only. If you need to write out a check please make it out to University of Minnesota PRSSA.

PRSSA has two professional advisors: Kirsten Lesak-Greenberg and Ryan May.

They are willing to answer any questions that you may have about PRSSA, public relations, the working world, or anything else! Don't hesitate to ask them anything. Kirsten Lesak-Greenberg is an Account Executive at Padilla Speer Beardsley here in Minneapolis and Ryan May is the creator and writer for Minnesota's most read PR blog, Minnesota Public Relations Blog. You can read Ryan's blog at www.mnpr.com.

Twitter:
@KirstenLG
@mnpr

PRSSA has a large executive board and we want you to connect with us!
Again, don't hesitate to tweet us with any questions you have about our committees or how you can get involved.

President: Molly Rasmussen -- @mollyrasmussen
Vice President: Chris Gaffney -- @Gaffney_Chris
Lead Writer and Editor for the Blog: Kelsey Darnall -- @KelseyJDarnall
Director of Bateman: Erika Vanriper -- @Vanri010
Director of Internal Communications: Reyna Sawtell -- @ReynaSawtell
Director of External Communications: Jenny Luttenberger -- @jlutty28
Fusion, The Firm Director: Tim Holtz -- @tim_holtz1
Fusion Account Executive: Liz Welle -- @Lwelle11
Fusion Account Executive: Shannah Henderson -- @shannahend
Director of Event Planning: Emelia Orke -- @emeorke
Assistant Director of Event Planning: Brooke Ahlers -- @blahlers
Director of Philanthropy: Edwina Reckel -- @ersreck
Assistant Director of Philanthropy: Morgan Hay-Chapman -- @morganrch

What's Fusion?

Fusion is a student-run public relations agency that provides real pro-bono work for three different clients around the Twin Cities area. This year, Tim Holtz will be running and directing Fusion. He will also be the main client coordinator for Home Grown Lacrosse. Liz Welle is an account executive on the Fusion board. Work with her if you're interested in getting into fashion! Shannah Henderson is the other account executive in Fusion, and her new client is sure to bring excitement into Fusion. Tim, Liz, and Shannah do ask that students wishing to join Fusion have completed upper division PR classes, seeing as they do real world PR work for their clients.

And finally...

My name is Kelsey Darnall and I am going to be running this blog this year! Jens Heig, another PRSSA member, is also going to be writing for The Link. We both want to bring PR news to you all, but we will also be writing articles about action sports, music, restaurants, event reviews, and more! I am very excited about this year and I have high hopes for PRSSA and this blog. If you ever have a desire to write a piece for The Link, go for it! Having a published article that you can keep in your portfolio looks great in interviews and at networking events. Contact me with any questions.

Thank you, and have a great year in PRSSA!