The Goshen College chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America hosted the first event of its lecture series Wednesday evening. The key speaker was Melissa Kinsey, owner of Kiva Group and environmental educator at Camp Friedenswald. Kinsey has also taught business at Goshen College. The focus of Kinsey’s speech was the value of combining your passions with your career.
Christina Hofer, PRSSA co-president, hopes to provide members with diverse and hands-on experience in the field. “This includes event-planning, poster design, writing for the media and photography opportunities,” said Hofer. “I also hope to plan some fun events as a chapter for the campus. I hope to help this chapter grow stronger so that we can have a bigger impact on campus.”
This is only the second year that Goshen College has had a PRSSA chapter. The club has ten official members, down two from last year, but according to the club’s faculty advisor, Pat Lehman, other students have attended their events in the past.
Caleb Sawin, who introduced Kinsey at last night’s event, believes PRSSA membership can be a valuable experience for students, even those who may not be public relations majors. “We love to have non PRSSA members attend the events, because we think that the lectures will be valuable for people of all study backgrounds,” said Sawin. “With public relations there are so many connections you can make because every industry needs public relations. You can find ways to network within your field at some of the events we do.”
PRSSA also provides networking opportunities outside of the immediate community. Members in the Goshen College chapter can attend regional and national conferences and meet other students and professionals in various fields. The most recent conference took place this week in Philadelphia and ran from Oct. 25-29. Quinn Brenneke, a senior, was in attendance.
The next PRSSA lecture will be held on Nov. 26 featuring Phil Thomas, owner of D3 Associates. Thomas will be coving the issue of international conflict and peace. PRSSA has plans for other events each remaining month of the school year.
