Being a Full Service PRo - Regional Conference Recap

After months of planning, dozens of meetings, sleepless nights and days of crying (just kidding…not really…) Being A Full Service PRo is officially OVER!

The conference was amazing! All of our hard work paid off and watching it all come together this past weekend felt surreal. If you couldn’t attend the conference, here’s a brief recap of what you missed.

Friday, March 22 we kicked off the conference with a reception dinner at the Hard Rock Café. This was an informal networking dinner that guests could attend. Our Chapter President, Chelsea Seidel and our President-elect, Emma McClain gave a special toast for Temple PRSSA’s 50th anniversary.

Don’t even get me started on the food… it was AMAZING! We had cheesesteak egg rolls, coconut chicken and grilled cheese with tomato sauce in a shot glass! I know it sounds crazy, but it was delicious.

Saturday, March 23 was the big day! Over 130 students from 24 different universities came to our campus to learn from industry professionals in the communications industry.

The conference began with opening remarks from Sr. Assoc. Dean, Deborah Cai and a few words from Mayor Kenney. Afterwards, we had our first breakout session that included 3 panels that students could choose from. The panels included the Agency/Client Relations Panel, Fake News & Ethics Panel and the Diversity Panel.

After our first breakout session, we jumped right into the second one. Those panels included Special Events, Professional Development and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Next, we arrived to one of my favorite parts of the day… LUNCH TIME!

Although yes, I was starving, the food wasn’t the only reason why I was excited for lunch. One of the reasons we decided to host a regional conference this year was to celebrate our 50th anniversary. So, in honor of that, we took a walk down memory lane and showed a video of Temple PRSSA over the years.

Afterwards, to honor our wonderful faculty advisor Gregg Feistman, we surprised him with a video of past PRSSA members expressing their gratitude towards him. He loved it!

Attendees of Being a Full Service PRo enjoying lunch and watching the dedication to Gregg Feistman.

Shortly after we had our luncheon panel: PR in the Age of the #MeToo Movement. The panel was moderated by LiRon Anderson-Bell, an assistant professor at Temple and included Mary Austen, President & CEO of Tierney, Afia Ohene-Frempong, Communications Manager at PECO and Megan Smith, Founder/President of Brownstone PR. The panel was awesome—very informative and very entertaining.

Before the conference ended, we had one more breakout session. The panels included Engaging Influencer Campaigns, The Convergence of Advertising and PR and Analytics.

Not to brag, but… we had amazing speakers! Each panel was filled with highly seasoned professionals and offered great advice and insights into the industry.

As the conference came to a close, students had the opportunity to network with each other and few professionals in the industry.

Overall, I can confidently say that Being A Full Service PRo was a huge success! Planning this conference has definitely been a beast, but it was extremely worth it. And if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing!

This blog post was written by Shania Genwright, Assistant Conference Coordinator.

Membership Spotlight: Maxley Kittiver

The ninth membership spotlight of the spring semester is Maxley Kittiver, a freshman majoring in public relations. This is Maxley’s first semester as a member of PRSSA and she is already a stand-out member of our chapter! Maxley can often be found attending PRSSA events and bonding with other members.

Here is a Q&A session with Maxley:

Q: Where are you from? What is your major/minor?

A: I am from Annapolis, Md. and I am a recent convert from an Advertising major to a Public Relations major.

Q: Why do you love PRSSA? What do you hope to get out of it?

A: I love PRSSA because everyone involved is so kind and wants to give advice to people like me who are just starting out within PR. Since becoming a member I have learned so much and have been become involved with things I never would have been able to if I wasn’t in PRSSA.

Q: What committee are you a part of? What have you done with this committee?

A: Since the beginning of the semester I have been working with the conference committee, specifically the hospitality committee for the conference. I wanted to become involved with this committee because I am interested in exploring event planning as a part of PR.

Q: What PRSSA events have you participated in?

A: I am in the mentorship program and so I attended the first mentorship event where I met my mentor and a lot of other people within PRSSA. I recently went on the agency tour to SEER Interactive as well.

Q: What other TU organizations are you a part of?

A: Besides PRSSA, I am also involved with the living learning community for media and communications.

Q: What is the coolest place you’ve ever visited?

A: Los Angeles! My sister lives there and over winter break I went to go visit her. I love that city and I can’t wait to go back so that I can explore more.

Q: Favorite social media platform and why?

A: My favorite social media platform is Twitter because it is where I get a lot of my news. I also think that the culture of Twitter inspires people to more authentic than they would be on Instagram or Snapchat.

Q: Dream job?

A: My “dream job” is something that I’m still figuring out. I don’t have anything specific that I think I would want to do but my dream job would be working for a company that I really believe in and enjoying working for.

To learn more about Maxley follow her on social media!

Twitter: @maxleyk

Instagram: @maxleykittiver

This blog post was written by Caitlin Gemmi, Digital Publications Editor & Maxley Kittiver, General Body Member & Spotlight Recipient.

Mumps at Temple: How to Avoid the Outbreak

With spring and summer fast approaching, germs are coming along as well. Up to March 20th, there are 55 probable mump cases and 12 confirmed cases at Temple University main campus. There was a rumor spread among students that the main campus was considering a temporary closure. Temple spokesman Christopher Vito put these rumors to rest and stated "no conversations regarding university closure have taken place."

Before there was a vaccine, mumps was a common disease in America. Years after years, the number of mumps cases have increased from hundreds to thousands. Initial symptoms are fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite--which are non-specific and flu-like. A signature symptom is the puffy cheeks. There is no treatment for the virus, only relief of symptoms.

Tip #1: Get Vaccines

If you have not gotten MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella vaccine), which is the most commonly used form of the vaccine, you need to go get one as soon as possible. OR if you got the vaccine more than ten years ago, you need to go get another one. MMR vaccine prevents most, but not all cases of mumps. People who have received two doses of the MMR vaccine are about nine times less likely to get mumps than unvaccinated people who have the same exposure to mumps virus, however, they are still possible to get mumps. Even if the get the mumps, they will likely have less severe illness than an unvaccinated person. The vaccine's can be not effective over time, however, meaning a booster shot may be necessary to keep up the body's defenses against the virus.

Tip #2: Develop good personal hygiene habit

Some basic tips for preventing mumps are to wash your hands and not to drink after others. Based on my personal experience, athletes often share cups for fluids during games and practices. So remember, all it takes is to walk a little bit to a drinking fountain to get water rather than risk getting sick by sharing drinks with friends and teammates.

Tip #3: From Temple Health Center’s health update

The following precautions against mumps and flu are advised:

Cover your mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing; use your upper sleeve to cover your cough, not your hand. Wash hands frequently and efficiently. When unable to wash with soap and water, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid sharing food and drinks or participating in other activities that may result in saliva exposure. Stay home from school or work when you are sick to rest and limit the spread of illness to others.

Hope everyone stays warm and away from the mumps!

This blog post was written by Cindy Chen, TSG Representative.