Dream Job (part 2)

While journalism is not completely out of the picture, I've also grown interested in another industry - public relations.

In college, I was involved with student government (ASUP), most notably the Campus Program Board (CPB), a student-run event programming organization.  During my time as CPB Director, I gained experience in event planning, which was rewarding, enjoyable and challenging.  During my first term, I was still convinced that I would pursue my dream job of being a journalist and figured I can do event planning on the side, like as a wedding planner.  As graduation loomed closer, I was torn about what I wanted to do.  My adviser, Jillian, suggested public relations because I would be able to combine my skills as a writer and an event planner.

I didn't know much about public relations, but luckily I was able to take a course about it before I graduated.  I got a basic understanding, but during my first post-grad summer, I talked to someone at Burson-Marsteller, who said I had a superficial image of public relations.

It wasn't until I moved to New York that I got a better understanding of this new dream job...

Thanks to my internships with City Parks Foundation and Baltz & Company, I have a better understanding of public relations.  While it's from an intern's perspective, it's better than where I started.

According to PRSA, the official definition of public relations is:

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

From those experiences, I found out how public relations was used to connect organizations with their publics, whether that was through a variety of media outlets like television, newspapers, magazines, or social media as well as events and public appearances.  Through my internships, I found that public relations allows me to practice and learn more about communication - verbal, written, in person, online, over the phone, one-on-one, or in a group setting.  It definitely keeps me on my toes and will continue to do so as communication change with technology.

I'm interested in learning more and figuring out which field is my forte, whether that is non-profit, food/hospitality, technology, travel/tourism, corporate communications, or in-house among others.

While the ultimate goal for this dream job is not concrete quite yet, I'm sure that once I get more into it with a company I love, that goal will formulate.  As for now, I'm taking it one day at a time and hoping to optimize the next opportunity to officially start my public relations career.

TRAVEL: Portland (round 2)

Only one month until I'm back in the Pacific Northwest for a weekend!  I'm so excited to finally visit after a long hiatus, almost two years.  I can't wait to see my friends who are still in Portland, and I definitely hope I have enough time to spend with everyone!

Some things I'm looking forward to:

BESTIEEE TIME!!

CST (Jan 2010)

It's been such a long time since I've seen CST! I really hope we can all eat out for ol' times sake (even though our favorite hangout is long gone. *sigh*).

DANCE OF THE DECADES!!

Totally rockin' those rad 80s prom dresses! YES! (DOD 2010)

Yes, even alumni can enjoy this popular CPB dance!  Not sure what decade I'll be dressing up as, but it'll be a good way to hang out with friends, dancing the night away to some totally awesome soundtracks! Woo!

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!!

With the playoffs starting next week, it'll be fun to see who makes it to the Super Bowl!  I've never watched a major sporting event at a sports bar, so we will venture to one. Yay! I really hope Kristina flies in on time for the kickoff! ;)

FOR THE SAKE OF THE BLOG!!

The adventures continue...

Who knows? There might be surprise blog posts...from you-know-where! hahaha

A-SUP OFFICE!!

The ASUP Team 2009-2010

My second home while in school. Things have changed, but I'm sure it was all for the better. It'll be good to visit the office as well as the current board and the Office of Student Activities. Oh those student government days! Good times.

THE FOSCHO SHOW!!

Well, I can't promise this will happen, but I really hope we at least get to spend time together.  But honestly, if we're together, we might as well make a video...or two.

DOWNTOWN ADVENTURES!!

Gotta venture down there at some point.  Maybe get some Voodoo or just walk around (depending on the weather)...

There's probably a half dozen more things I could list, but since it's only a weekend, I have to be realistic!  I'm down for anything, so come on Portland friends, show me what you got! ;)

P365: Dorm Life [065]

When I lived in the dorms, we had name tags on our doors.  Since I lived in there for four years, I collected one from each semester.  Now they are all on my door at home. Aww…good memories! :)

NYC: New Year Brings New Hopes

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! It's 2011! :D

For the first time ever, I actually celebrated New Year's Eve.

Every year, my family keeps it low key...and by low key I mean seriously low key. We're usually just playing on the computer or the Wii for most of the day, and then when it's the last 30 minutes or so, we'll watch the NYE TV coverage (aka the video of the ball dropping 3 hours before).  Then we'll eat some kind of snack and bust out the sparkling cider.  Totally low key...

There are several reasons to celebrate 2010 and to welcome a new year.

1) Graduation from the University of Portland - Those last couple months as a Portland Pilot will definitely be cherished, even with all those sleepless nights and papers I wrote.  There are so many awesome memories that I made with my friends that shadow those lows, like when they kidnapped me to VooDoo Donuts, when we ventured downtown, when we went to the many successful CPB events, when we made those hilariously fun dance videos and soo much more! :D

2) Summer Travels - Although it was a summer without studying abroad, it was fun to travel to Colorado, different places in California, and back up to Oregon.  And what made it better was being able to spend time with my family and friends.  It was such a chill summer.  However, it really sucked applying for all those jobs and not getting any response back until...

3) NEW YORK CITY! - I know I've probably said this a million times, but honestly, I definitely was not planning to be in New York City 6 months after graduation from college.  It has been a whirlwind of success so far, and I'm excited to see what the new year brings...

Here's to 2011!!

To welcome in the new year, Ben and I went to Times Square and waited for a good 8 hours for the ball to drop. We ended up on 49th Street and 7th Avenue.  The view isn't bad from there, but we definitely wish we were closer to get the sweet hats and streamers.  Definitely good to know for the next time I go on this escapade to Times Square on New Year's Eve!

The experience was one to remember.  I don't know how many times I thought about how surreal this is.  Everything about being here in NYC has been surreal.  It's like living a dream, which reminds me...

Our theme for 2010 was the year of chasing dreams! I'm positive Ben and I have accomplished the theme, especially by ending up in NYC to actually chase those dreams and TCOB. Because of this, 2011 has so much promise for us...

As we begin enterprising - boldly going where we have not gone before.  (Go ahead and laugh at my inner geekiness....). But it is true. This is the first time in my life where school doesn't dictate my year.  In fact, I don't even know what the year looks like beyond the first couple months with my internships.  It is exciting, and I know this year has a lot in store.  It's just a matter of continue having that drive and motivation to accomplish everything and reach that end goal of having a career in PR/Marketing.  2011 will be the year to make it happen!

The path is already being paved with my continuing internship with City Parks Foundation and a paid internship with Baltz & Company, a boutique PR agency that specializes in food and hospitality.  I'm so excited to get started with them.  I'm also stoked to continue my internship with CPF, especially as we prep for their biggest event of the year - SummerStage.  With these two internships, I will be able to gather the knowledge and skills needed to excel in PR whether that is in the non-profit or agency setting.

But yes, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Make 2011 an awesome year! I wish the best for you! :)

Reality Check...

Being in Portland but away from all the 

UP Orientation activities was a reality check.  

I know I graduated 5 months ago, and I thought it hit me back then when I conducted my last CPB meeting.  The bittersweet feeling of graduating lingered throughout senior year, especially as the weeks got closer to that final day.

However, today, it hit me that I'm no longer a student at the University of Portland.  I LOVE the University of Portland and all my friends who are still there.  It's just weird not being on campus with them now, helping out with Orientation and welcoming the new freshmen like I have done for the past three years.

I'm thankful that I was able to see so many familiar faces while I spent time here in Portland, but I wish I was able to spend more time with them like we did before, whether it was around campus, in the library or in the basement during those crazy late nights. I won't ever forget the memories I made at the University, but I hope to continue to make new memories with the friends I made there.  I know it'll be difficult to plan out when and where we'll next meet, but I'm positive that it will happen!

Good luck this year Pilots! It'll be another great year on the Bluff! :)

UP History

On Facebook, the University of Portland put up some old photos of the campus.  It's so interesting to see how the school has changed over the past 109 years.  UP is rich with history from its founding in 1901 to its expansion in 2009 with the purchase of River Campus, the establishment of Fields and Schoenfeldt Halls, the Bell Tower, and the renovation of the Engineering Hall (aka Shiley Hall).  Even with all these physical changes to campus, UP still rings true to its mission of Teaching, Faith and Service.

So it's fun Friday, and they made a game out of these pictures.  Whoever guessed the correct year first for each picture won!  They gave away soccer tickets to the men's game vs. Oregon on August 25. GO PILOTS!

But yeah, check this out (all photo credits go to the University of Portland archives):

1938

1950

1971

1985

1997

(I won soccer tickets by guessing this one correctly after two guesses) 

2009

Isn't it amazing to see how UP has expanded and changed over the years?  I can't wait to see where the future takes UP.  I know it will continue to grow and establish itself as a distinguished institution. 

Ah! Can't wait to visit UP in a couple weeks! See you at the game! :)

P.S. I feel like this should be on the library blog...oh well. 

TRAVEL: Future trips

One week until Colorado! 

I've never been there, unless you count the times I went to the Denver International Airport (once to change planes to Nashville and another time to change planes to New York City).  Nice airport. It'll be nice to actually step out and explore the Mile High City.  However, for this week long trip, we'll be spending time in Colorado Springs area.  

Not only that, my family and I will be attending my cousin's wedding, so the whole fambam - cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. - will be there to celebrate!  It'll be good to see everyone because we haven't seen each other in awhile.  :)

I'm not sure what our exact itinerary holds, but I'm positive that we'll have some excellent adventures, seeing that Colorado is surrounded by wondrous natural sights, especially within the Rocky Mountains.

I'm really excited about heading to Colorado! YAY! :)

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In other travel news, I booked my flight today with Southwest (thank goodness they have awesome sales), and I'll be heading to Portland, Ore., for a week or so in August to visit my friends at the University of Portland.  I know they'll be busy with Orientation and getting ready for the beginning of the fall semester, but it'll be nice to see everyone before they are swamped with school work and such.  Another exciting trip ahead! Sweet!

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 Interesting fact about these two places:

Both of them were listed in Yahoo! 

as the top summer destinations. 

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I'm hoping for some more travel opportunities in the future.  Still need to make that travel wish list...

Dear Family & Friends...

As much as I love telling you all individually what's going on with my post grad life, I figure it might be easier to just blog about it, but I'd love to keep in touch with you too.    :)

This new chapter in my life is quite different from the rest.  I'm so used to knowing what's coming next and what to expect later, but now, my future seems to be a big question mark.

So back tracking to high school, my goal was to get stellar grades and participate in a ton of extracurriculars to get into college. Then major in Communication Studies to become a journalist. After graduating college, it was off to grad school to further enhance those journalism skills.

My original plan was right on track until I got to after college graduation...and that's where this blog begins.

It has been 1 month, 13 days since I graduated 

from the University of Portland in Portland, Ore.

In my graduation announcements, I announced that I got an internship in Portland, Ore. Unfortunately, that is not that case. I was qualified for the position at this public relations (PR) agency, but due to my lack of reliable transportation in the city, I was turned down.

Side note:  During my senior year, I increasingly became interested in PR and event planning as a possible career. However, I'm still fascinated with journalism. Needless to say, my options just widened by a lot.

So I'm at home, searching and applying for internships/jobs (more about this later), but no such luck.  It feels like summer vacation, and I'm still in the mind set that I won't be here after August, even though I will.  As much as I love this infinite summer feeling, it has been frustrating that I haven't found an internship or job yet.

I really want to gain more experience so that I have something to work off of in grad school. Yes, that is still part of the plan. It's just a matter of figuring out what I want to focus on.

Well, that's my current scenario in a nut shell.  This blog will record my post grad life, including updates on the job hunt, future goals, adventures with family and friends, random thoughts and more.

Until next time...