High School Outreach Initiative
Learn more at www.bit.ly/isprforme.
If you are reading this, that means you are interested in presenting to a high school class and teaching them about the career option of public relations. We are so excited that you’ve chosen to be part of this recruitment initiative. This webpage has material that will help you along the process. The overall goal of this initiative is to inform high schoolers about public relations being an option for them as they’re choosing their college major. We’ve found that the majority of our PR Kent graduates got here indirectly because they didn’t know PR existed until they got to college. A secondary goal of this initiative is to inform high school students about the public relations program at Kent State University. That’s why the material for this initiative is not branded as Kent State’s, but includes the relevant information about the university.
Questions about this initiative can be directed to Professor Luke Armour at [email protected].
Questions about this initiative can be directed to Professor Luke Armour at [email protected].
View the Google Slides presentation here:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OSUCM4DknbTDeoeaA3QId6LztG2XRg6r0uVK69K2HMk/edit?usp=sharing
View the printable handout here:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OSUCM4DknbTDeoeaA3QId6LztG2XRg6r0uVK69K2HMk/edit?usp=sharing
View the printable handout here:
| Printable Handout |
Who Should I Contact?
If you’re deciding who you should reach out to at the high school, the best answer is a guidance counselor or any person in a career planning position (in most cases this will be the guidance counselor).
When you reach out to the guidance counselor your message should say something like this:
Hello _____!
My name is _______ and I am a public relations student at Kent State University. Our department is working on an initiative to introduce public relations to high school students, specifically high school juniors. We want to teach high school students that PR is a career option for them, because we’ve found that so many of the people in our program didn’t know that the field existed until they got to college! I would love the opportunity to speak to a class of juniors about considering PR as a career option. We’ve found that English classes are a good group to target, because of the writing intensive nature of the field. Is there any opportunity for me to spend 20 to 30 minutes speaking to a class in the near future? Is there anybody else that you think I should contact about this opportunity (a specific teacher or an administrator)? Let me know if you’re willing to talk more about this project!
Thanks,
When you have set up a date and time for your presentation, please notify Professor Armour at [email protected].
If you’re deciding who you should reach out to at the high school, the best answer is a guidance counselor or any person in a career planning position (in most cases this will be the guidance counselor).
When you reach out to the guidance counselor your message should say something like this:
Hello _____!
My name is _______ and I am a public relations student at Kent State University. Our department is working on an initiative to introduce public relations to high school students, specifically high school juniors. We want to teach high school students that PR is a career option for them, because we’ve found that so many of the people in our program didn’t know that the field existed until they got to college! I would love the opportunity to speak to a class of juniors about considering PR as a career option. We’ve found that English classes are a good group to target, because of the writing intensive nature of the field. Is there any opportunity for me to spend 20 to 30 minutes speaking to a class in the near future? Is there anybody else that you think I should contact about this opportunity (a specific teacher or an administrator)? Let me know if you’re willing to talk more about this project!
Thanks,
When you have set up a date and time for your presentation, please notify Professor Armour at [email protected].
Preparing for the Presentation
Once you have gotten permission and established a time with the teacher or counselor to speak to students, you’ll need to prepare the material. The content for this initiative has already been prepared, but there are a few things that you still have to do.
Step one: Download the presentation as a Powerpoint file, and read through it to get familiar with the content. Transition sentences are included In the speaker notes section on some of the slides. Slide 19 is yours to customize. If you are interested in talking about your personal experience with public relations and PR Kent, please add a picture and some talking points. If you do not want to customize this slide, please delete it. This is it really awesome way to customize this project and show these students what you love about what you do.
Step two: After you have reviewed the presentation, save it on a flash drive so you are able to easily bring it up on the high school’s computer.
Step three: Print color copies of the handout. It’s a good idea to reach out to the teacher or counselor and ask for the number of students that you’ll be talking to. There are two handouts on each printed page, so remember to cut the handouts in half before you go to the school.
Once you have gotten permission and established a time with the teacher or counselor to speak to students, you’ll need to prepare the material. The content for this initiative has already been prepared, but there are a few things that you still have to do.
Step one: Download the presentation as a Powerpoint file, and read through it to get familiar with the content. Transition sentences are included In the speaker notes section on some of the slides. Slide 19 is yours to customize. If you are interested in talking about your personal experience with public relations and PR Kent, please add a picture and some talking points. If you do not want to customize this slide, please delete it. This is it really awesome way to customize this project and show these students what you love about what you do.
Step two: After you have reviewed the presentation, save it on a flash drive so you are able to easily bring it up on the high school’s computer.
Step three: Print color copies of the handout. It’s a good idea to reach out to the teacher or counselor and ask for the number of students that you’ll be talking to. There are two handouts on each printed page, so remember to cut the handouts in half before you go to the school.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I’m already committed to a college and it doesn’t have public relations as a major that’s available. Are there other related degrees that could get me the same kind of jobs in the long run?
Yes, communication, journalism and marketing are all three integrated parts of public relations. Obviously, a PR degree would be your best option for public relations job. There are professional and student organizations that you can join to be connected with public relations students and professionals like the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). PRSSA is open to students of all majors.
How much money does a public relations professional make year?
The salary of a PR professional changes a lot, depending on the area and the job position that the professional is in. PR is a growing field, and there will continue to be a high demand for it. The more experience you have in the industry, the higher your pay is. A typical base level salary for a young public relations professional is typically between $35,000 and $50,000.
What if I really like to write, but I don’t really like to do public speaking. Would PR still be a good field for me?
Yes, PR professionals are required to have a lot of different skills. But that means that there are a lot of different jobs that focus on those different skills. In some jobs you might be required to do a lot of research and back-end content creation. In others, you might be client-facing and speaking in front of groups of people. There’s a lot of room for creativity in PR, so anybody with a good set of writing skills and a sharp mind can be very successful.
What if I’m already committed to a college and it doesn’t have public relations as a major that’s available. Are there other related degrees that could get me the same kind of jobs in the long run?
Yes, communication, journalism and marketing are all three integrated parts of public relations. Obviously, a PR degree would be your best option for public relations job. There are professional and student organizations that you can join to be connected with public relations students and professionals like the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). PRSSA is open to students of all majors.
How much money does a public relations professional make year?
The salary of a PR professional changes a lot, depending on the area and the job position that the professional is in. PR is a growing field, and there will continue to be a high demand for it. The more experience you have in the industry, the higher your pay is. A typical base level salary for a young public relations professional is typically between $35,000 and $50,000.
What if I really like to write, but I don’t really like to do public speaking. Would PR still be a good field for me?
Yes, PR professionals are required to have a lot of different skills. But that means that there are a lot of different jobs that focus on those different skills. In some jobs you might be required to do a lot of research and back-end content creation. In others, you might be client-facing and speaking in front of groups of people. There’s a lot of room for creativity in PR, so anybody with a good set of writing skills and a sharp mind can be very successful.
