FSPA District 7 Conference

Home sweet home! :)

This weekend, I took a trip back to my hometown to attend the Florida Scholastic Press Association’s District Conference, which took place at my old high school. I gave two presentations this afternoon: Enhancing Your Professional Image Through Social Media and Finding Your Audience: How To Market Your Blog To Readers, each of which I geared toward high school students.

A few personal realizations today: First of all, even though I’m only 22 years old, I feel ancient. I attended this conference as a high school student and yearbook editor in 2008 and 2009 (and won first place in the on-the-spot news writing competitions, thank you very much!), and when I mentioned that to students, they seemed surprised. As someone who is usually mistaken for much younger, I suppose that a nice shirt and slacks will make you look a whole lot older!

Also, during my social media workshop, I asked students if any of them had ever created a MySpace. The answer? None of them. In fact, as I spoke with students later in the day, I found out that some had never really heard of MySpace to begin with! It made me wonder how obsolete our current forms of social networking will become in the next ten years, and what I will tell my children about them.

I also realized that as much as public speaking intimidates me at times, I love to teach. This reaffirms my belief that pursuing a Master’s degree would be a beneficial path for me, because then I will have the opportunity to teach the subjects I love at a higher level.

Presenting my workshops today (as well as a resumé building workshop last weekend at a leadership conference) was a huge honor and privilege, and I look forward to the next opportunity I have to present a workshop.

The Friday Five: Signs That You’re A Communications Major

As someone who identifies so closely with her major, I can often pick up on some of the differences between myself and my business/pre-med/engineering friends. For those of you who didn’t know, I’m currently a junior majoring in Advertising and Public Relations, which is part of my university’s Communications school. Through my experiences in its academic organizations, classes and internships (along with my interactions with other Communications majors!), I have noticed key similarities among our little group.

If you are majoring in Advertising, Public Relations, Journalism or any other form of Communications — or if you have a close friend in one of these majors or professions — follow along and see which of the following signs are applicable!

The Friday Five: Signs That You’re A Communications Major

1. You find yourself mentally correcting people when they say things that don’t comply with AP Style.

*

2. You live-tweet about the commercials during the Super Bowl instead of actually watching the game.

*

3. “Diversifying your portfolio” has nothing to do with personal finances, and everything to do with clipping unique samples of your work to show potential employers.

*

4. You study the menus at your favorite chain restaurants — not because you’re interested in the food, but because you want to see how those restaurants implement their brand standards throughout their food and beverage menus.

*

5. Because you are relatively active on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, you consider yourself the ultimate social media guru.

*

Readers, what are some signs indicative of your major?