Notable Classes
Strategic Communications
As part of my Strategic Communications minor, I completed PR Writing, a strategic communications class in which I simulated the position of an in-house PR specialist at a fictitious environmental consulting start up, Solvent Blue. In my 12 weeks as a PR Specialist, I created weekly deliverables to communicate the company’s purpose, announcing partnerships, managing reputation, and building a brand for Solvent Blue through weekly deliverables.
PR Writing
Building upon my PR Writing skills, I began curating strategies in my principles of PR class. I completed crisis communications strategies, media monitoring and analyses, and product launch campaigns for clients. I worked on B2C and B2B clients in this role, collaborating with new groups of classmates each class. With just one class period to craft each strategy, this class taught me the importance of being quick while still being concise and detail oriented. I coupled this class with a class focused on running social media campaigns to maximize my understanding of PR strategies and how they can be applied to different platforms.
Principles of PR
To fulfill the rest of my Strategic Communication minor, I have taken numerous theory based classes. In Crisis Communications, I learned what makes a good and bad crisis response by studying past crises and analyzing them in group discussions. In Framing Race in the Mass Media, I learned about bias in PR, and how to avoid it to the best of my abilities. Finally, in Media Ethics, I am learning how to conduct myself as an ethical communications professional.
Communication Theories
Philosophy
By considering perspectives from different philosophers, I gained an understanding of why we share certain ethical social standards, as I questioned the impact of an individual’s violation of these laws and analyzed the impact of such violations. Focusing on the relationship of trust, I learned why people trust, who they trust, and how they trust. I use these philosophical theories to guide communication strategies that require trusting relationships with audiences and consumers.
Daily Ethics & Social Trust
In many of my philosophy courses, particularly this one, I have been challenged to explore various theories about what constitutes an ethical way to live. By focusing on applied ethics, I have learned to adopt new perspectives and apply them not only to myself but also to hypothetical individuals in hypothetical scenarios. This process has taught me to think critically about how different people perceive the world, ultimately improving my ability to connect with and understand diverse audiences.
Moral & Political Philosophy
Psychology
In my psychology courses, I focused on social theories and experiments to understand audience mindsets. Through a seminar and an advanced methods course, I explored the language we use, the emotions it evokes, and the role of cultural context in shaping how language is perceived. As part of the advanced methods course, I conducted an experiment examining how media outlets influence the reception of specific language used in Public Relations.
Language, Culture, and Emotion
For the remainder of my psychology coursework, I focused on applied social psychology, taking classes such as Cognition, Personality, Positive Psychology, and Introduction to Social Psychology. I gained insight into various psychological theories and their influence on the development of people’s mindsets. These classes enhanced my ability to understand and engage with different target audiences through effective social interactions.