Shannon Russell
Q: How long have you been a member of PRSSA Kent? A: "I have been involved with PRSSA events since my first semester at Kent, but I became an official member during Spring 2024! I was then inspired to become an officer and am the current VP of Communication." Q: What do you enjoy most about being on the board? A: I enjoy working with other passionate individuals to bring networking opportunities to all Kent State students. Q: What are your hobbies outside of work/school? A: My hobbies outside of work and school are taking walks, watching Cleveland sports, and going to the movies. Q: What is your dream company/role and why? A: "My dream role would be a promotional content writer for a company in the travel and tourism industry. I have always enjoyed writing, and I was able to work in the tourism industry through my internship over the summer at a local museum and loved it!" Q: Favorite movie and why? A: My favorite movie is The Empire Strikes Back. I watched the original Star Wars trilogy with my younger brother when I was a kid and loved it. The story and set design made The Empire Strikes back my favorite of the three.
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Lara Kilchenmann
Summer Adventures: How Our Board Members Spent Their Break as We Kick Off the Fall Semester!8/21/2024
 Angie Robinette
PRSSA Kent launched its spring semester programming with an insightful meeting all about the event planning industry. Students learned about different sides of the field from Kelly Needham, Director of Development Programs at the Cleveland Clinic, Heather Shaw, Special Events Manager at the Akron Zoo and Nora Culley, Wedding Planner at Engaged with Nora. Each speaker explained how they got into event planning, revealed their favorite and not-so-favorite parts and offered valuable advice to anyone interested in the career field. Here are some key takeaways to make sure you can excel in the world of event planning: 1. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes No event will go smoothly, especially when first starting out in the field, so it is okay to make mistakes. However, it is important to fix them and come up with solutions on your own. “Embrace the fact that you are going to make mistakes. They’re going to be big and small but really just own up to it and bring the solution to how to fix it,” Needham said. “I think having that forward-thinking, solutions-oriented mindset is what will be really critical.” 2. Have backup plans When something goes wrong, it is helpful to be prepared for the specific situation. Similar to crisis management, event planners must plan for the worst. “Just make sure that in your mind you have those plans of what’s going to happen and how you’re going to handle yourself,” Shaw said. “I think a lot of them are skills that you can learn, but be ready to zig when people zag, and go from there. 3. Get as much hands-on experience as possible In event planning, it is important to experience every side of the operation so you can understand the different perspectives and how they each function. “Get as much on the ground experience as you possibly can. You have to understand that live events are an organism, everything in it is moving and everybody has their own job,” Culley said. “You have to know how everybody else is doing their job or else you’ll never know how to do your own.” 4. Set boundaries Every speaker also mentioned the importance of setting boundaries between yourself, your job and clients because burnout is very common in event planning. MaKayla Edmond, a junior hospitality and event management major, said “I enjoyed the parts about what they said about burnout and how you have to set those boundaries with people. Especially because I'm a people pleaser. I want to be able to give my best to everyone at all times and sometimes that’s not feasible.” Event planning is an intriguing industry, but there are a lot of moving parts and perspectives to be learned. The Precision in Planning: Elevating Events meeting was an amazing lens into the event planning world and a great way to start off the spring semester.  Senior public relations student Samira Brown’s journey to public relations began by taking Principles of Public Relations, a rite of passage for students first joining the major.
Brown originally came to Kent State as a journalism major but decided to switch after narrowing her career path. “In journalism, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the major, but taking Principles of Public Relations helped a lot with deciding my career path,” Brown said. The variety of careers in the field of public relations was a major factor for Brown in making the switch. “I want to go into sports or entertainment PR,” Brown said. “As I took more classes, I realized public relations fit more of what I wanted to do in my career path.” While at Kent State, Brown noted that her identity as a black woman has influenced her public relations and college journey. “I went to a predominantly black high school, so coming into a predominately white institution was different for me as I am still trying to figure out myself as I'm getting older,” Brown said. Coming to a predominantly white institution (PWI) has helped Brown interact with classmates and people she did not know before. “It can be challenging not seeing a lot of people looking like me,” Brown said. “It’s important to surround yourself with people who think and look differently to get different perspectives.” Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging in the field of public relations remains an important topic of conversation. Brown encouraged public relations professionals to include DE&IB in their everyday lives. “Being inclusive and making sure that you know the people around you are diverse allows you to think about other perspectives,” Brown said. When incorporating DE&IB initiatives, Brown cautioned that it is important organizations and people steer clear of being performative. “Sometimes people will do it when it looks good,” Brown said. “It should be one of your morals that you always check yourself on.” Despite Kent State being a PWI, Brown says that her professors have done a good job of talking and covering DE&IB topics. “When it comes to DE&IB, you’re either conscious about it or you’re not,” Brown said. “The professors I have had in PR are conscious of the things they say and talk about.” Brown ultimately believes that Kent State, the School of Media and Journalism and the PR sequence do a good job of acknowledging DE&IB initiatives. “My professors always make everybody feel included and cover topics of diversity when it’s needed,” Brown said. “Everyone here is very welcoming.” |
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