PRSSA in Real Life: How I Applied PRSSA to my Internship

By Lauren Garczynski
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Anyone who knows me is aware of my passion for all things politics. So you can imagine how ecstatic I was this summer when I had the opportunity to intern at a research and publishing non profit in the center of all things political, Washington D.C. If there was any doubt in my mind that PRSSA did not apply to the real world, it quickly vanished after my first day of work.

Networking is important, and in a big city, you can find opportunities almost anywhere
As someone who is entering her third year of being a PR major, I have constantly heard how important networking is.  However, this is something that I’m not fully accustomed to yet. To my surprise, D.C. was and continues to be a stomping ground for networking opportunities. During my time there, I found that I was able to take what networking experience and knowledge I had gained through PRSSA and put it into action.
One event in particular in late July, hosted by Lauren Berger – better known as the Intern Queen, introduced a variety of panelists representing Under Armour to the Smithsonian Museums. The event was an incredible networking opportunity where I was able to exchange business cards with tons of other PR majors from across the country, including a girl from California! This was incredible, because of this networking experience, I was able to connect and share stories with someone from a state I had never even been to.

So how did PRSSA apply to my internship? Well here are a just a couple of the many ways:

1. Dress to impress

Whenever we host a PRSSA meeting featuring a professional, we dress up. This was a no brainer to apply to a real work setting. Just like in life, you never know who you are going to meet and when. The time and date when you could meet a professional is completely unpredictable. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to wear a suit at all times, but you do want to dress to impress – even if there isn’t a dress code set.
For example, there was no strict dress code where I worked, while you were expected to not come in looking like a mess, this was common knowledge among the employees. One day, a representative from Women Make Movies, a nonprofit that aims to support and facilitate media made by women, showed up at the office. I always tried to dress at least business casual for work, and because of this, I was able to communicate with her without fearing that my appearance was holding me back from making a good first impression.

1. Mentors can provide valuable support

While PR pals, PRSSA’s newly revived mentorship program, wasn’t around when I first joined PRSSA, I found a mentor in someone who gradually became a close friend to me. Mentorship can be extremely helpful, whether you need advice or guidance for school, the PR sequence or life in general. Having someone you can go to who has already been there is like having a class cancelled, in terms of relief.
Luckily for me, my mentor now works in D.C. and we were able to hang out, talk about work, and do exciting city explorations such as seeing a free show at the Kennedy Center. While you can’t exactly force a mentorship, programs like PR Pals are extraordinary because it helps facilitate the initiation of that mentee/mentor relationship.

1. Overall, PRSSA helps equip you for work in the real world

During my sophomore year, I joined PRSSA’s web committee. Here, my fellow committee members and I drafted posts for social media, as well as brainstormed content for the social media pages. What I have learned in my PR sequence classes in addition to joining PRSSA has abled me to utilize my skillset during my internship this summer. These are skills that I will continue to learn about and hopefully be able to apply in the future. I came into my internship already knowing InDesign and this skill proved useful. I was one of the few interns who knew the program well, and because of this, I was able to create promotional materials like flyers and event programs.
Being in Washington D.C. this summer felt like a dream, and having been a member for a while now, I can say that I’m grateful that PRSSA allowed me and possibly you to be prepared for the PR professional world.

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