- First and foremost, make sure you take the time to set up a good organizational system. At the end of the first week, I went home and organized everything. I set up a deliverables calendar in a Google Docs table, as well as the calendar on my computer. It helped to have everything lined up in a table format and felt productive when I crossed them out after handing in the assignment.
- Start a Slack channel with your class instead of using Facebook Messenger. You will be so thankful you did. We used it not only as a collaboration tool but as a socialization tool as well. We had channels for each class, as well as one for The Bachelor, one for socializing and one for participating in an extracurricular like the Spartan Race.
- Don't get wrapped up in the grades aspect, it's important, but it's more important that you are understanding and making mistakes now.
- Keep the end in mind––think portfolios, practical knowledge and takeaways you want to bring with you onward, it’s not just about passing tests and getting good grades.
- Embrace reading the news and having an opinion on what's going on. Embrace listening to 680 News in the mornings on the way to school. The world is so interesting and you're lucky enough to see the stuff you talk about in class unfold all over the news in real time, it's better than case studies!
- Fatal errors are much scarier in theory, but if and when you get them, they should remind you to be more detail-oriented going forward. Double and triple-check your work!
- The weight of the world doesn’t rest on just one thing (one assignment, one class etc). Kalene will say it multiple times. It's PR, not ER. Breathe!
- Re: group projects. It helps to figure out who you work best with and what you can do best, then divide and conquer. In the beginning, we all wanted to be in charge of how the work got done and that wasn't a productive mindset in group work. Do your part, the work always gets done and the same person doesn't have to manage every project.
- Friends happen. Not everyone goes into the program looking to find friends, some people are really good at compartmentalizing their lives. But friends happen.
- A lot of PR is summarizing and re-framing content to be more digestible for the outside world.
- Ask around in the class if you are confused. You're a team and you can't be good at everything. When you are good at something, play to that strength and help others.
- The profs are on your side, they really want you to succeed. You're not going to connect with all of them, but make the effort because they're really great people and mentors.
- Nothing in this program is ever isolated.
- Take advantage of the student title while you can. Go out and meet with people and ask them questions and explore the world you're getting into, look at all the options, send bold emails, ask for the things you want. Everything in this time can be chalked up to you being an inexperienced, yet hungry student.
- The PR world can be a hard world to break into! Don't feel discouraged if it doesn't happen for you the way it happens for your peers. Everyone is interested in different realms of PR and will land in totally different fields once their careers begin.
- And the best advice: put your head down and just do the work! I can't tell you how many times I've tried to avoid getting something done by not doing it. You don't really have time to avoid doing assignments in this program, especially if you have or want to have anything else going on in your life. Aka start your assignments as early as you can even if it is just the outline.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further clarification! Xx
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