When I began my Corporate Communications and Public Relations in the fall, my idea of PR was vastly different from what it is now. What a HUGE change!
Back in September, when I first applied for the program, my image of public relations was more of being a diplomat between companies. Being the messenger between the company to the media or between two companies. Even now, I can still consider public relations to be the same thing, but my view is different. I had no idea it entailed communication plans, or courses like project management – which I am no big fan of.
I guess what I didn’t consider was the amount of business there is in public relations. How can not be?! If you’re going to work for a company, you need to have some knowledge of how it works. I can’t be more grateful for my Business class. Despite the quizzes, it’s taught me what I always wanted to know…like, what collateral means. J
Yes, I am guilty of thinking that PR was full of parties and events. It is true, it does have its events, but managing a budget, creating a critical path, securing a venue, and making sure that every single detail is attended to – this was not what I pictured.
One thing for sure, the realization that Facebook and twitter would be used in my future job was a pleasant surprise. Coming to Media Relations class was the best. Getting to talk about the latest viral video on Youtube, the top bad PR stories. It was just like going home and talking to my parents about what we saw on the news. Just being well informed about what’s going on in the world felt great, I didn’t feel ignorant of the world around me.
Of course, how can I forget the biggest of them all? TEAM WORK. There’s a difference between group assignments in University to group assignments in CCPR. There aren’t as many. You can divide the work and compile it when it’s done without ever having to really sit down and work together. Lastly, there aren’t as many group assignments, period. In CCPR however, it’s a whole other ball game. There are so many group assignment overlapping; it’s hard to keep them straight at times. Meeting up is a must. Pulling your weight is another must. Most important, realizing, as one of my instructors indicated – not everyone will like you, and you won’t like everyone, but the important part is to get through that, learn to work together to get the job done. I couldn’t agree more. Putting aside your pride, taking others opinions into account, respecting each person’s opinions, and trying not to stomp on toes…it all comes into play.
Though many rough lessons have been learned, its refreshing to know that what I learned in this program will be directly applied to my future job. And yes, I had tons of fun. I believe I’ve made some life long friends, which was worth everything. I want to say I wish all the luck to my peers, and to all the future CCPR students at Centennial College. It’s a lot of work, but its worth it for sure!!!
