By: Anna Kendall
At the end of May, I flew down to sunny Scottsdale, Ariz. to attend PRSSA’s Leadership Rally. The event brings together chapter presidents and firm directors from all around the country to learn about effective leadership and share best practices.
During my time there, I was reminded of three awesome things I’ve noticed at every national PRSSA event I’ve attended.
1. There’s always something new to learn
Sometimes it can feel like there’s nothing new to discover once you’ve spent years studying and practicing a profession. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.
National conferences take knowledge from classes and internships to the next level by connecting you with practitioners from all over the world and discussing emerging industry trends. You learn about everything from diversity and inclusion to emergency communication, from people who’ve lived through it.
2. PR people are the easiest to make friends with
I’m a natural born introvert and networking doesn’t come easily for me. Every time I attend a national event, I’m reminded just how easy it is to make friends with other public relations students.
They’re eager to tell you about their chapter and ask about your own, and even more eager to add you on Instagram and ask what you’re doing after the day’s sessions. No matter how shy you are, making connections is inevitable.
3. Everyone there wants you to succeed
It can be easy to think that our struggles aren’t similar to other chapters or that the national PRSSA committee is too busy to help, but events like Leadership Rally prove this to be false.
When speaking with other chapter leaders, I learned many of them have similar challenges and heard how some groups managed to overcome them. National committee members also took time to offer suggestions and connect me with resources I didn't know were available. Most remarkably, members from both groups shared their business cards or LinkedIn profiles and asked me to follow up.
Whether it’s Leadership Rally or National Conference, each PRSSA event leads me to new lessons, new friends and new resources. I can’t wait to see what International Conference has in store.
If you’re interested in attending this year’s National Conference in San Diego, Calif., visit PRSSA’s website and email Anna Kendall at kenda1ac@cmich.edu.