tis the season of college visits...

now that i've made my decision to go to graduate school, how do i go about picking the school i want to go to?

i have to think about*

• the graduate program itself
  
• the university's credentials and reputation
  
• cost
  
• scholarships
  
• tuition wavers
  
• graduate assistantships
  
• internship opportunities
  
• housing
  
• location
  
• application requirements
  

*this list is far from comprehensive...

i've started this research over a year ago by researching graduate programs, requesting information, and communicating to schools via email.

however, this past weekend i made an even bigger step in my search for graduate schools: i visited DePaul University in Chicago.

DePauls's MA in public relations and advertising has been my favorite program that i've researched. it involves both public relations and advertising in a synergistic way that i believe the two disciplines should be. the program blends both strategy and application of PR and advertising in a way that allows its students to succeed in the professional world and in the academic world. plus, the campus is in the heart of Chicago, a city with lots of opportunities for advertising and public relations practitioners.

on Thursday, I met with the Admissions Director for DePaul's College of Communication. She gave me a lot of great information and answered many of my questions. I then took a tour of the Lincoln Park campus, located in a beautiful part of Chicago. next, I met with a professor of advertising at DePaul, who gave me a good idea of what life could be like for me as a PR/ad graduate student at DePaul. lastly, I sat in on her class and listened to a guest speaker talk about a career in media planning, which I found especially interesting given my internship this summer with media buying and negotiating. 

visiting DePaul and learning more about the graduate program in which I'm interested really answered a lot of my questions about my decision (see above). now that I've visited the campus, I know that I am definitely interested in applying to this program.

 click here to take a look at DePaul's Master of Arts in Public Relations and Advertising. 

these are a few of my favorite things...

to most people, obtaining an education means going to school. 

and it's true: if you apply yourself and retain the information given, you can learn a lot from schooling.

why do we go to school? each fall, millions of young people go off to school at private and public institutions. going to school can be time-consuming, costly and expensive. school is more than just learning out of a textbook: our education is filled with rich experiences, both good and bad, that have shaped who we have become. it's a place where young people can come together in common ground, a place where mentors and advisors can help guide, a place where we develop a sense of who we are, a place where we gain knowledge and the tactics to use that knowledge in a real-world situation. 

it's a place where we prepare for our future. 

here are a few of my favorite classes from my schooling. (it includes elementary schools, middle school, high school, and college)

SPANISH II and III (Tulsa Community College, Summer 2004) - Learning another language is an especially interesting way to learn. It opens your mind to a new culture, which in turn can expand your schemas and view of the world in an enlightening way. I took these classes at TCC over the summer in a fast track course, which means each course was only two weeks long. I think these courses are a great way to submerse yourself in the language and learn Spanish rapidly. 

AP WORLD HISTORY (Mrs. Brannon, Union High School, 2004) - It may seem hard to learn about the entire history of the world in a year, but this class was hugely successful. I love history, especially ancient history, and although this class was difficult, I learned a lot. 

LIVING WITH JOY AT LIFE'S END (Dr. Peter Browning, Drury University, Spring 2007) This class was about dying, a subject that many people do not want to confront or talk about. However, I thought this class was the best class I've taken at Drury. One of our projects was to go to a local nursing home and simply talk to our new friend, a patient at the home. My friend, Ora, truly is a remarkable woman. She told me all about her life and I wrote down the things she told me and made a book through Shutterfly, an online scrapbooking website. The book included her life story and pictures that she had showed me. It was truly a touching moment when I gave her the book at the end of the semester. Although death may not be what most people want to talk about, this class prepares you to accept dying as a part of the human life. 

AD TEAM (Ron Schie, Drury University, Spring 2008) This class solidified my interest in advertising as my career path. It is imminently helpful to work on a real case study in your collegiate career; it helped me understand what is expected of an advertising professional and what the industry can really be like.

DOES GOD EXIST? (Dr. Peter Browning, Drury University, Fall 2007) This class helped me answer the question, does God exist? It was a fair class in that we learned both sides of the argument and made the decision for ourselves. Having this academic experience to help me understand my faith was such a great tool for me. 

WHO IS JESUS? (Dr. Peter Browning, Drury University, Spring 2008) This class, along with Does God Exist, were two classes that helped me figure out what my faith is and what I believe in. Again, the class was very fair, presenting both sides of the argument to figure out who Jesus really was.

YEARBOOK (Mrs. Patrick, Maize Middle School, 1997-2000) Yearbook was the class that sparked my interest in designing, layout, photography, copy, all of the elements that would later lead me to discover my love of advertising and public relations. Although yearbook and an ad campaign may seem completely different, they are more similar than one would think. I learned at an early age how to think strategically and creatively and this prompted me to consider the advertising and PR industry.

Comments: What is one of your favorite classes from school?

learning through a summer internship

recently, i was fortunate to have to learning experience that helped me grow in many different ways. I was selected to become a Stickell Intern through the American Advertising Federation. The AAF placed me with Valassis Communications, Inc., a marketing company located in the Detroit area in Michigan. this was truly one of the greatest learning experiences I’ve had: not only did I move to a new area and meet new people, but I grew as a person and a professional. 

at Valassis, I interned dually in the Promotion Distribution Procurement and Newspaper Information Services departments. I learned a lot about the process of buying and negotiating media for clients. I worked with various newspapers across the United States and with various marketing products and services including ROP ads, FSI’s (free standing inserts), co-op coupon books, and more. I helped fax over 600 newspapers to confirm information about their circulation and contact over 1500 newspaper asking about their schedule for holiday publishing. I also implemented a scanning process for all co-op contracts to facilitate easy electronic access within my departments. I worked on several client-specific projects, including projects for many large corporate businesses. I also worked on an internship project focused how Valassis could be environmentally sustainable and many of our ideas from the project have already begun to be implemented in company operations. 

through these projects, I learned what it’s like to work in the field of advertising and marketing. there were so many acronyms used in my job, I made a list of 30 or so just so I could learn the trade terms. in addition to terms, I learned how the process of media buying and negotiating is completed, from beginning to end. I also learned about being a responsible professional. this kind of real-life professional experience supplemented what I’ve been learning in my communication courses perfectly.

outside of my internship itself, I had so many experiences and adventures that helped me grow. I lived by myself for the first time in a fully-furnished apartment about ten minutes away from Valassis. I made some lifelong friends with other interns and we had so many adventures together! we played whirlyball, a game where you are on teams of five, each in a bumper car called a whirlybug, and you drive around and shoot a whiffle ball into your opposing team’s basket. my department at Valassis attended a Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball game one day during the week. the interns also hit downtown Detroit, including the famous Greektown, where Greek food delicacies like saganaki and spanakopita abound. I also traveled to northern Michigan and explored Crystal Lake, where the water is so clear you can see logs in the bottom of the lake, Lake Michigan and the old Frankfort Lighthouse, and the giant sand dunes of Sleeping Bear Dunes. we went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to see a concert in the University of Michigan college town. we traveled to Toledo, Ohio, for the grand opening bash of a Melting Pot fondue restaurant. we also crossed the border to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and explored Canadian town for a weekend. we also went to a giant country music concert in Ford Field in downtown Detroit, where the Detroit Lions play and where the Super Bowl was held a few years ago. 

in Michigan, there were no reservations. we were determined to have fun and experience all sorts of different things to grow and learn about the world around us. these experiences that I had while I was interning made my summer experience so beneficial, exciting, and fun. learning does not just have to be in a classroom or at a job site: learning can be from experiences and people you meet along the way. 

 

 

internships are a learning experience that I think all college students should experience.

 

tips on finding your perfect internship:

1. start early with your research. internship deadlines vary from organization to organization, so start your search early. look at internship opportunities at companies that are leaders in your field of interest. for instance, I found a list of some of the top advertising agencies today and from that list, I went to the company websites and looked at some of their internship programs. if they didn’t have a program, I emailed them and asked them if they had any opportunities. also, be organized in your search and know when the deadlines are and what is required for each organization. I contacted over thirty organizations either with my internship application or an email asking about their internship opportunities.
   
2. have your resources available. have your resume ready and have many professionals or professors look it over to help you make improvements. if your internship requires a letter of recommendation, ask your professor or supervisor at least two weeks in advance: don’t make them rush to write a letter for you at the last second.
   
3. don’t get discouraged. a lot of companies don’t have time to respond to every email, so don’t get discouraged if you receive little response.  also, be optimistic about your search, even if you start to receive rejection letters from companies. you’re not going to get every internship, but if you work hard in your search, a great internship opportunity could come your way.
   
4. don’t be afraid to get outside of your comfort zone. I knew from the start of my internship search that I wanted to go far away for my internship. don’t be afraid to apply to internships that are far away in proximity: many internship hosts provide housing or will give you suggestions on finding a place to live. when you’re interning, don’t be afraid to travel, make friends and contacts at your job and outside of your job, ask questions and soak up information. the point of an internship is to learn about your field of interest.
   
5.  apply to lots of organizations. believe it or not, I applied to FIFTEEN different companies for my summer internship. thirteen of the fifteen organizations did not offer me an internship. it is important to apply to lots of places to have a better chance of receiving one of the positions.
   
6. be prepared for interviews. I had two interviews for two separate internships, one in advertising and one in public relations. one was a phone interview with a PR firm in New York City. phone interviews are a great way for you to show your personality to the internship selection committee; plus, you can have all sorts of references spread out in front of you to reference while your on the phone, like notes of answers to common interview questions, your resume and application, and more. I also had an on-site interview with an ad agency in Kansas City. I printed out a list of some of the most common interview questions and practiced how I would answer those questions. I also did extensive research on both of the companies that I interviewed with so that I could demonstrate a knowledge of these organizations. also, be prepared with a few questions that YOU want to ask the company about their operations or the internship itself.
   

this summer was one of the greatest ever. I had the opportunity to learn, grow and experience new things. I hope I can help other college students have a similar opportunity.

comments: I want to hear about YOUR internship experience.