5 Ghetto Tips on Looking Professional

While I was packing for PRSSA National Assembly in Seattle,

I started to realize lots of little shortcuts I take to make myself appear professional.

Let's face it.

I am a college student.

I am working on developing a professional wardrobe,

but sometimes the cash is just not there.

So I thought I would share 5 of my Ghetto Tips to Looking Professional:

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1. Sharpie Shoeshine:

Do you ever have scuffed black pumps? I am super clumsy, so I have this problem frequently. I should probably buy some shoe shine, but right now I am satisfied with black sharpie. Just color in the scuffed marks with black sharpie, and your shoes will look as good as new. This tip actually came from Dr. Wood in Communication Careers.

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2. Safety Pins Fix Everything:
"Dang it! My button fell off my pants!" Never fear, safety pins fix everything from necklaces to black pants. Just safety pin, your pants together and wear a belt over it. No one will know the difference.

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3. Steamy Shower Straightens Fabric:

If your shirt is wrinkled and no iron or dryer is to be found, a shower will work. Yes, you heard me. I actually heard this tip from my roommate at Assembly, Veronica Adamcik. Hang up your wrinkled article of clothing in the bathroom and let the shower on hot. (Not in the water!) Occasionally, pull the clothing to make it straighter.

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4. Fill Holes in Hose:
This tip is more common, but if you rip your hoes ladies, never fear clear nail polish can fix it in a jiffy. A small tip that can save your life.

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5. Hiding the Melted Mess of a Shirt:
Have you ever ironed anything that wasn't supposed to be ironed? I have. At a Speech and Debate tournament. I freaked about it for a while until I realized my cardigan covered up the crazy mess. No one was the wiser.

Hope these tips help you navigate disasters at professional conferences!

I will keep you updated on the Assembly as well!

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Confessions of a Wannabe Vagabond

Here comes another confessional blog post.

I talk about adventure and travel all the time,

but really I can be quite the chicken.

I desire to be that woman who 

knows 7 languages

has traveled the globe

and

always has a story to tell.

I want to be 

"Marie" off of the movie "Dan in Real Life",

or

"Belle" from "Beauty and the Beast",

or

Elizabeth Gilbert author of "Eat, Pray, Love".

I want to "want adventure in the great wide somewhere"

I want to "want it more than I can tell".

But the truth is,

I am not a risk-taker.

I like to play things safe.

Roller Coasters terrify me.

I will be boarding my first solo flight in 4 days,

and I am freaking out a little bit.

I will be living in another country for 4 weeks this summer,

and I am freaking out a little bit.

Don't get me wrong,

I am SO excited about these trips,

but I am an unexperienced traveler

about to embark on some adventures that put me out of my comfort zone.

But then again it wouldn't be an adventure 

if I wasn't out of my comfort zone.

So this wannabe vagabond is about to 

jump in head first into the great wide somewhere.

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Pray for Japan

I am writing an article about Springfield's relief efforts with the recent Japan disaster.

Can I be honest with you all for a moment?

With Spring Break and school and work,

I kind of avoided the whole suffering in Japan thing.

I know, it is a terrible disaster,

but I didn't let myself come to grip with the incredible reality that so many people were suffering.

Then I talked to Jeff Nene, the PR Directer at Convoy of Hope.

I watched their video

and 

listened to horrific stories

and

was confronted with the faces of despair.

Here is what Jeff had to say:

“We’ve have never faced anything like that before in our disaster response history,” Nene said. “Japan didn’t suffer a disaster. They suffered three disasters one right on top of the other. You have the earthquake then you have the tsunami, which has caused much greater loss of life and loss of buildings and property than the earthquake did, and then you have the nuclear problem on top of that, which just hampers the response. We have people in those zones that can’t come out of their houses. We are afraid to send a team to those areas for fear of radiation exposure, so we have had to step out of our comfort zone and do things differently than we are accustomed to.”

 Japan's disasters are so great relief has been done from afar.

Jeff said that 350,000 people are still left homeless.

It is incredible to think about those in Japan,

but there is hope.

There are people everywhere pulling together for Japan's sake--

including Japan.

They are fighters.

Springfield is doing their share of relief as well.

Next Monday, Springfield's Nakato is donating all their sales they make that night to Japan.

Since Isesaki, Japan, has been Springfield's sister city for 25 years, the city is sending funds to them to help them through this tough time just like they did for us in Ice Storm 2007.

Don't ignore it like I did at first

avoiding the hurt.

Empathize with our brothers and sisters across the globe.

Pray for Japan.

Pray For Japan from Convoy of Hope on Vimeo.

If you want more information on how you can be a part of relief work in Japan, check out my Ozarks News Journal feature.

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Build Your Own Cathedral

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One of our speakers at PRSSA Day last Friday was Ryan Knapp, Digital Manager of NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America). He gave some invaluable tips on using social media to build your personal or business brand. (Although, he said that the phrase "building your personal brand" rubbed him the wrong way). He was an incredibly engaged speaker with a lot of content directed at social media.

5 Social Media Tips from Ryan Knapp:

1. Social Media is not free. Yes, it is essentially free to utilize; however, in order to use it well, it takes time, which is cost. So it is important to know what social media outlets would give your company value (benefit over cost).
2. Make the networking come to you. He shared a story about how a young guy created a place for soccer people to discuss things online bringing the networking to him.
3. Don't just send a resume. Make a full "I want a job" campaign. He shared another story about a lady who used the hashtag #IwanttoworkforDR (Digital Royalty). She would post blog posts to Twitter and tweet things of why she should work there. She works there now. 
4. Social Media can be utilized for "Social Good". It is a great way to promote and bring people together for a cause.
5. It is just a tool just try something. Do. Tools should play off your ability to do. Social Media is like legos. There are instruction booklets out there, but you need to build your own car. (Hence, the awesome Twitter graphic made from legos!)

Knapp also shared a great story of a man named Don Justo. A man from Spain who built a cathedral out of nothing. People thought he was crazy, but he continued to "build his own cathedral". 

That is what social media boils down too: tools that allow you to Build Your Own Cathedral.

My favorite power point image used:

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

I hope you laugh at this picture as much as I did, and don't leave rude commentz...unless you want to. ;)

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PRSSA Day 2011: Social Media

PRSSA Day was on Friday.

It was a HUGE success!

It essentially is a student planned PR conference at MSU.

We had key note speakers like Ryan Knapp & Tressa Robbins, social media panel, & networking.

This year's theme was Social Media.

Yeah!

Not to mention GREAT FOOD!

And only for $12! 

(Well, $15 for me because I registered late.)

Here is a picture of our awesome executive board who made it all happen this year.

Sara McClendon, Sara Gwin, Lindsay Van Quaethem, and Daniel Ortega

I will share what I learned in more detail soon!

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