The Chapter’s Next Top Blogger contest that took place in November attracted some impressive entries and stiff competition. However, none of this phased contest winner and senior PR student Susan Venker as she wrote her insightful blog article detailing her experience as a Mercy – St. John’s media relations intern. Susan’s piece earned her a spot on PRSSA’s National blog, a one-on-one session with a current PR professional in the area and a $15 gift card to The Coffee Ethic.
Describing her background in PR, Susan said, “I didn’t even know what PR was until the summer before I started college. I worked at AT&T Mobility, and the PR gal would stop by sometimes. I would talk to her about her job, and I thought it sounded like something I would love. No day was ever the same for her, which was exactly what I wanted in a major and career.”
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| Bethany Parry (on right) presenting the Top Blogger award to Susan Venker (on left). |
She experienced the quick pace and dynamic nature of the field during her time at Mercy – St. John’s. From writing feature stories and news releases to utilizing social media platforms and planning events, Susan was immersed in PR and media and loved every minute of it.
“I think outside learning experiences are of utmost importance for emerging PR professionals,” Susan said. “You don’t really know how PR or media relations works until you are immersed in it. “
In her winning piece, she discussed the importance of having a good relationship with the media and offered readers a few tips on creating and maintaining these relationships just as she had to do at Mercy – St. John’s. “I think my blog post gave students some real life tips that they can’t read about in a textbook in a classroom,” Susan explained. “Much of what PR professionals do is build relationships with the media. If you have a good working relationship with the media, it will make your job and their job so much easier.”
Even though Susan makes it seem like second nature, early professionals can learn a lot about PR and media relations from her blog article and first-hand experience in the field. Although graduation is still around the corner, Susan has already landed a position at the local non-profit C.A.R.E. Animal Rescue as their Public Relations Specialist. The Missouri State Chapter of PRSSA wishes this talented and promising young professional the best in all her professional endeavors upon graduation.
Susan's blog post will be featured in the next couple of weeks on the PRSSA National blog.
This blog post was submitted by Justin Letts. Letts is an undergraduate student at Missouri State University majoring in public relations and minoring in French. He is a member of the Communication Committee of the Public Relations Student Society of America in addition to numerous honor societies.
