#PRSSANC: I Left My Heart In San Francisco

This week has been crazy trying to get back in the swing of things because ya know…I’ve been in SAN FRANCISCO!!! PRSSA had their National Conference, and I’m so glad I was able to attend. We had the opportunity to hear from some amazing people who are successful in their PR careers. It is truly inspiring to be taught by people with so much passion for what they do. I aspire to have that kind of drive in my future career. I would like to share some of the things I learned at the conference because, really, it can apply to anyone. 

We live in digital world that is constantly changing. It doesn’t surprise me how important social media is becoming in all careers. To illustrate the world of digital media, Timothy Jordan Senior Developer Advocate for Google, shared an interesting statistic. He said, “For every child born there are three smartphones activated. That’s crazy! But that just shows you how digital media is evolving.  

A common theme I noticed throughout the conference was discovering a passion for something. Recently, I have been digging deep into the PR world trying to find what I love, and what I want to do within the business. It’s hard to find one thing I’m passionate about, but I’ve narrowed it down to a few things: fashion, life and style, and entertainment. Knowing my passions puts me one step closer to a career. 

Being a PR major you always hear the phrase, “Learn how to write, and be good at it.” I can’t tell you how many times I hear this in a single day, but it’s something I need to know how to do if I’m going to be successful. Between writing for my communication classes, maintaining my personal blog, and the Color in Motion 5k blog, I’m getting tons of writing experience. I just hope I have the writing skills needed for PR.

 

The highlight of the whole conference was combining with the PRSA, which is the professions PR society. We had the opportunity to hear from the co-founder of Twitter, Biz Stone. I’ve recently become a frequent tweeter so it was really neat to hear from one of the guys that started it all, and he offered some really great advice. He said, “In order to succeed spectacularly, you need to fail spectacularly.” This is true in all aspects of life. All successful people failed many times before they reached the top. 

 

 

Another thing Biz talked about was manufacturing opportunities. I look at my life and think of all the great opportunities I’ve had, and realize how hard I had to work for them. Nothing in my life has been handed to me, and sometimes even when I work hard I still fail. I’ve realized that when you REALLY want something you have to go above and beyond. Don’t wait for opportunities to approach you, approach opportunities. 

Now as much as I know you all would just love to continue reading about my super awesome experience, I know you want to see some pictures from the beautiful San Francisco. So here you go!

 

PRSSA knows how to throw a party!

 

First day of classes

Chinatown!

 

Clam chowder in a bread bowl. So good!

Ghirardelli Square where I bought some delicious Pumpkin Spice chocolate

We paid many visits to Starbucks

 

 

Catching my first taxi!

Golden Gate Bridge!

 

 

Awards Ceremony and Dinner

 

Needless to say we had an AMAZING time! I’m so glad I got to share these wonderful experiences with great friends. J Every time I go to a conference like this I get super excited about PR and want to so many things. I have to remind myself to take it one day at a time. 

 

The next few weeks I really have to crack down on school. I’m going on a business trip with my internship next month to help out with the first Color in Motion 5k race in Dallas. I’ll be heading down to Florida a few days after that for Thanksgiving! I really can’t wait to see Justin! We have been apart for too long! So much excitement I can’t contain it! 

 

Xo