欧美视频

By Kylee Julian, May 9, 2019

The 欧美视频鈥檚 public relations program changed my life. When I transferred to UCM, I had never heard of a public relations major, and I certainly didn鈥檛 know I could get a degree in it! I didn't know what strategic communications was either, and it's pretty much the same thing. I wasn鈥檛 in the dark very long. I told my friends and academic advisor that I liked to tell stories, was intrigued by organizational management and business, loved being creative, and felt good helping other people. It didn鈥檛 take long for me to discover that everything I liked to do is actually a major at UCM - a public relations major - and what a ride it has been!

The program鈥檚 tagline for public relations helped me figure it all out. We鈥檙e taught that PR is the 鈥渧oice behind the voice.鈥� No wonder I didn鈥檛 know I wanted to major in public relations BEFORE I got to UCM. There really does exist this thing called the public relations field, and a college student can earn a public relations degree in it. Behind every great front page story of a newspaper, you鈥檒l find a public relations professional. Behind every great speech, is a public relations professional. The strategist behind a successful event series? You got it - a public relations professional. Behind every video that pulls you in and gets you excited, there鈥檚 a public relations professional working hard.

Public relations people are everywhere. They help their organizations or other people BE HEARD. That鈥檚 pretty cool. They don鈥檛 get the limelight or byline, but that鈥檚 okay with me. They even set the stage so that marketing, development and advertising people can get their jobs done. The relationships they form with journalists, financial analysts and other influencers often set the course for an organization鈥檚 success or failure. Who knew? But, gosh, it鈥檚 exciting.

It鈥檚 an awesome degree that lets you develop all kinds of skills - more than 10 by my count. I know a little bit about a whole lot of things, and people pay me for it鈥�already. I got paid for my internship. Now, I am getting paid to help other students learn about public relations at UCM. We鈥檒l team up together to help Innovative Public Relations clients (IPR is UCM鈥檚 award-winning student-led public relations firm) be heard. I can actually use Adobe Creative Suite to create brochures, web images, logos and all other kinds of things. Plus, I know what kind of resolution is best for digital or print, or when video is better than a still image.

I鈥檝e been challenged a lot by the UCM public relations faculty, but it鈥檚 been all good. They鈥檝e given me marketable skill sets and confidence. I even got to travel with the program when it helped 33 students take an awesome study abroad trip to Brisbane, Australia. We had so much fun, learned about public relations in another country, put our storytelling skills to the test (yep, we produced blogs and social media posts with a purpose), and connected with more than 25 international professionals. Now that鈥檚 what I call an awesome education. It鈥檚 what UCM folks call 鈥渓earning to a greater degree.鈥� Australia? Well, it was opportunity in action.

As a closing thought, here鈥檚 what鈥檚 really cool. As I get ready to graduate, I know I can do something many graduates from other majors cannot do. I can use my PR skills in any industry I want (and get paid more than $40K to do it). Finance needs public relations. Entertainment needs public relations. Fashion needs public relations. Animal safety enthusiasts need public relations. Engineering companies need public relations. Agricultural companies need public relations. Companies in crisis need public relations. Hospitals need public relations. Manufacturers need public relations. Universities need public relations. Every organization needs public relations.* I can start out an events coordinator, media relations specialist, crisis communication strategist, public affairs officer, public relations manager, promotions coordinator or social media manager. Need I say more? It really is 鈥渙ne degree, a world of opportunities,鈥� just like the UCM public relations program claims; with so many different career paths, it's no wonder PR is often called strategic communications! For more information, check out ucmo.edu/pr.

*According to the , the job outlook for PR managers from 2016 to 2026 is 10%, which is faster than the average for all other occupations. The median manager salary reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2018 was $114,800. This is similar to the median salary reported by PRWeek in its 2018 Salary Survey of $95,000 for all levels of public relations employment, not just managers.

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