PRSSA’s Big Plans

BY TINA HENNESSEY
SC Contributing Writer

East Stroudsburg University’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has been active on campus since the fall semester of 2010. However, they were not officially recognized as an organization on campus by the university until December of 2011.

PRSSA is open to all majors but is mostly made up of members that are communication majors concentrating in public relations.  In addition, there are members in other majors such as graphic design and journalism.  Although they are a newly established club at East Stroudsburg University, PRSSA has many plans for this academic year.

When asked what they were most looking forward to, ESU senior and PRSSA member Samantha Swank stated, “I am looking forward to getting more involved with PRSSA by being on the e-board.”

Swank has taken on the role of web editor/social media director for PRSSA this year.

PRSSA has their own student-run public relations firm named Warrior Relations, which members provide public relations services for organizations.  These services can be anything from advertisement or graphic design, to press releases, to promotions and social media.

Recently PRSSA has been working with Run4Kelly, an annual memorial run that takes place at Notre Dame High School in East Stroudsburg, PA.  The money that is raised through the run is donated toward melanoma research.  PRSSA assisted the Run4Kelly organization in promoting their event on campus and throughout the community as well as through social media.

In addition to serving clients through Warrior Relations, PRSSA also helps The United Way of Monroe County, which is their philanthropy.  They help raise money for the organization throughout the year with events such as canning at Wal-Mart.

Because PRSSA is a professional organization, members have many perks of being a part of the club, such as taking part in PRSSA conferences.  From October 25, 2013, to October 29, 2013, a few members will be attending the PRSSA 2013 National Conference in Philadelphia, PA.  There, members will take part in many sessions, workshops, and discussions.  As well as be able to network with many professionals.

Every semester, PRSSA also hosts workshops for their members.  These workshops give students a chance to learn more about the public relations field and learn tactics on how to write a resume and how to look for a job.  Chris Landino, Coordinator-Entrepreneurial Leadership Center, recently spoke to PRSSA regarding internship and externship opportunities.

Another workshop will take place on October 15, 2013 with Jan Hoffman about LinkedIn.  This year PRSSA is also going to be incorporating webinars into their meetings about different public relations topics.  And will focus on a new topic or issue each month.

If you are interested in joining or learning more about East Stroudsburg University’s Public Relations Student Society of America, meetings are every Tuesday at 3 PM in Monroe Hall 116.

Email Tina at:
thennessey@live.esu.edu