By Ashley Bowen, MBWC Intern

Some students breeze through college passing classes, maybe working a side job at the mall and hanging out with their friends on the weekend, but many don’t ever open their eyes to the opportunities through student organizations on their campus.  

When it’s time to get a “real job” or an internship, they hopelessly scan over their résumé and realize they don’t really have any experience within the field they’re studying.

A great way to gain experience and meet professionals in the public relations field is through serving as a leader in PRSSA – the Public Relations Student Society of America.

This past year, I served as UT’s 2009-2010 PRSSA chapter president, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had at the University of Tennessee. I had the opportunity to lead a student organization of more than 80 members while also planning the meetings for the organization and working with PR professionals to serve as speakers at the meetings.

I was the face of our organization, and it was a bit scary at first. I thought, what if I do a bad job and fail at this position? Have they ever fired a PRSSA president before?

Then I received some great advice from our PRSSA faculty advisor, Michael Palenchar. He explained that I could make the organization and anything I do in life as successful as I wanted it to be. It was my choice. But, he warned, not to spread myself too thin by taking on too many responsibilities. It’s better to be very successful at a few big things than it is to be less successful at many different small things.

Keeping this advice in mind, I planned the school year’s meetings accordingly and picked only a few different non-profit events to participate in that semester.

Along with meeting such wonderful and helpful people such as Dr. Palenchar, I was also able to network with different PR professionals in the field. This networking led to many great contacts and eventually internships with East Tennessee Public Television, Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee and Mary Beth West Consulting.

A key aspect I’ve learned about networking, however, is to keep in touch with people, whether it be through social media, email or meeting with them personally. Later on they might come to you with a great opportunity or you might need a favor from them.

While leading a student organization of more than 80 members, I also led a board of seven other executive members. Managing the PRSSA board was one of the most challenging aspects of the organization. I needed to learn people’s work and leadership styles and how to work with them in the most effective manner. I learned some people need to be told 15 times to do something and others only need to be told once and it’s done.

I also learned how to deal with officers when something wasn’t done right and it was necessary to confront them about it. Most importantly, I realized that you can’t do everything yourself. You must hand the reins over to other people at some point, or you might have a nervous breakdown in the end.

I’ve realized by watching Mary Beth West and my other internship supervisors that they have the exact same experiences in the work place. We all have to learn how other employees work and previous experience gives you a roadmap for how to handle situations such as this.

Along with managing a board, I’ve also learned how to manage my time. This is a huge and important lesson in life. I thought I was stressed out from serving as president of PRSSA, serving on two advisory boards, participating in a sorority, interning and attempting to have a social life and see friends and family. It seems from listening to others that I have no idea of what’s to come. This experience has just prepared me for later in life and made me realize that sometimes it’s hard to find that balance, but eventually you find it.

Through serving as the president of PRSSA this past year, I’ve learned many important life lessons and met some truly amazing people. PRSSA has helped me jumpstart my career in the public relations field and taught me many things you can’t just learn in the classroom.

I look forward to coming back to the University of Tennessee in the future and sharing my experiences and advice with students in PRSSA. My first piece of advice to any student, however, is to serve in a leadership position. It could change your perspective about your career and your life.