By: Regina Sampayo
Before I came to college, I wasn’t 100 percent sure of what I really wanted to do with my life, therefore I didn’t know what to study. As time went on I tried focusing on what I thought I was good at. I realized shortly that where I needed to be was at Moody.
I was a little indecisive about choosing between advertising and public relations. I felt that advertising and PR are similar in many ways. Although the idea of advertising has always seemed a much more creative hands-on route, the PR route seemed a bit broad and had many similarities with advertising. If you’re in this situation then I hope these questions will make you realize what you really should be doing.
Ask yourself what type of things you like. Are you someone who is willing to build relations? Are you ready to write a lot? Most importantly when it comes to creativity, do you find yourself being artistically creative or prefer to focus your creativity in problem solving?
From what I’ve experienced in PR, you need to be open and constantly think outside of the box for different solutions. In ADV 344k, you’ll be tested on forming abstract ideas that fit a product and that require you to really think of themes, not just categories. You need to be open to changing and evolving the way you write.
During PR317, now J317, you will learn that the way you’ve been writing your whole life will change and that there’s a big difference between capitalizing titles. Even if words are spelled in different ways, there is a specific way you are expected to write it in PR.
While all of this is going on there is something not many people will warn you about but you need to know, which is how to build relations. If you want to be successful with this degree you need to understand that building relations with people, especially journalists, will be a very important tool that can start now. Lastly, listen to your teachers, go to office hours and go to Moody Writing Center, these three will reinforce your skills and experience as a PR student.