Coming into college I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life.

I had this

vision of being a speech pathologist for the rest of my life, but after taking a couple courses I

realized that it wasn’t the best fit for me. After a long and difficult transfer from DePaul

University to Illinois State University my grades took a turn for the worst and my GPA was not

where I knew it could be, I wasn’t happy with my major and I knew it was time for a change. I

started to research new majors this past summer and came across Public Relations, also known as

the People Business.

I knew this would be a good fit for me because I’m all about the people and what is best

for them. I tend to always look out for everyone else’s best interest even if it leaves mine behind.

Some may say that’s a weak trait to have but I believe it’s a great one in the Public Relations

world. Who better to represent you than someone who puts everything aside to bring your

company or brand success?

I am currently enrolled in COM 178 which is an Introduction to Public Relations course

and I couldn’t be more excited about what is to come next, I cannot wait to dive deeper into

Public Relations and begin to enroll in more challenging courses this upcoming Spring. We

recently had our first test in this class and I was proud to have earned an 80%, but am working

harder to do better on the next one.

Thus far COM 178 has taught me about professionalism in the communication world,

how to pitch to an audience, and it has introduced me to the different types of Public Relations

that are out there. Our class was fortunate enough to listen to guest speakers inform us about

agency, corporate, and institutional PR. I really enjoyed the presentation on agency because it is
the one I am most interested in. I want to be in a competitive setting where not one single day is

like the other, and I want to be the reason why someone’s company is successful and big.

I believe this major can make my communication skills stronger, I tend to struggle with

what to say when I get nervous or when something goes wrong, and I know that this career will

prepare me to be a better communicator. I really want to excel in this skill because I know

communication is a huge part of our every-day-lives and it is especially important in Public

Relations.

I am also excited about what I can bring to this major; I have had previous experience

working with people in customer service. Everyday I am constantly making about 30-40 phone

calls asking people how their experience was with Directv technicians. I have learned how to

work with customers when they are unhappy with their service and I’ve learned how to use my

words to make the issue a little better in hopes of not getting a negative review that looks bad on

the company, and hopefully still keeping them as clients. I believe that this experience will be

very helpful in the career I want to pursue because likewise I am going to want to keep my

clients happy.

I also believe that my strong skills in writing will be a great attribute to Public Relations.

Communication requires a lot of writing, and I am confident my skills will bring me success. I

took a writing course at DePaul and thrived in it. My professor even used some of my writings as

examples for the class to follow. I hope to gain more knowledge and become an even better

writer than I already am. The only part where I find myself constantly struggling is when it

comes to AP style. It is very detailed and there are so many different rules that I can’t get them
all down, but I hope the more I write in my COM 161 Convergent Media class, the more

knowledge I will gain about AP style and hopefully learn to perfect it.

This past week we had an assignment due that required us to use AP style and I didn’t do

so well on it, but after meeting with my TA and going over where I went I wrong I have a better

understandment. I earned a 73% on the paper because I wasn’t capitalizing certain words when I

should’ve been and I was being bias when I shouldn’t have been. I met with my TA after getting

the paper back and we went over why I got those points off and what the correct answers

should’ve been. This was really helpful because I was able to earn points back.

So far COM 161 has taught me how important it is to revise, rewrite, and repeat when

writing papers, and whenever you are unsure of how to write an address or when to abbreviate

certain words check the AP Stylebook (it really has all the answers). It is important to always

revise, rewrite, and repeat because you want to make sure everything is perfect, so when it does

come time to publish your work the editor doesn’t have to fix so many mistakes. The more

people that revise your work the better chances there are for a better grade in COM 161. Now I

know what to do in order to receive a better grade on the upcoming assignment.

Although I believe myself to be an intelligent student my college GPA of 2.7 isn’t the

best. I’ve always strived in my academics but college has been pretty difficult for me. I want

nothing more than to be successful now and after college. I find it easier to want to learn now

that I am actually enrolled in classes that are going to benefit the career I want to pursue. I

believe Public Relations can help me reach the goals I have for my future career by preparing me

to build beneficial relationships between people in the agency world. I am looking forward to

diving deeper into the Public Relations; it is truly a major that can open many doors.