Our Visit from Bryon Riesch

                A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of having Bryon Riesch come speak to us on communicating with people who are disabled. Riesch graduated from Marquette and during his freshman year of 1998, he had an unfortunate accident on a slip and slide that left him paralyzed from his C5 vertebrae down. This just means that he has no control of what happened below his chest with mild use of his hands, but no fingers. Though Bryon lost so much from this tragic accident, he also gained so much from it. He has started fundraisers, his own foundation, and is now a motivational speaker.

                Riesch has gotten involved with Goodwill by helping people with disabilities get jobs. This taught him how to deal with his diability and helped him find a job at Northwest Mutual. In 2001, after his injury, he put together a golf outing to help pay for some of his expenses. After raising $100,000, they continued this event every year and raised over $2 million dollars and were able to start the Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation, and have donated to Madison’s Medical College for paralysis.  The foundation’s goal is to find a cure for paralysis through funding the latest in medical research and to provide assistance to those that suffer from neurological disorders.

                He told us that at first he was afraid to work with other people with disabilities, and then he realized that they weren’t much different from him.  He also inquired that technology has helped him significantly. Since he doesn’t have use of his fingers he has his Ipad on his lap with him where ever he goes. His house also has voice recognition so he can say turn on the lights, or put the house to a certain temperature, the house can do it for him. I think that this is amazing, I know that there is some cool technology out there but that is awesome that his robotic house can do so much for him.

                He also talked about the expenses of a person with disabilities and I was shocked at the high prices that he had to pay just to accommodate his house to be wheel chair accessible. Not only that, he needed a van,  had to make the van wheelchair accessible, then there’s the wheelchair, and you just have to hope nothing goes wrong with it for a few years because those are expensive too.

                When he talked about actually communicating with people with disabilities, he said to use common sense and be respectful. Don’t stare and don’t be afraid to talk to them, ask what happened, talk normally, introduce yourself, shake whatever hand comes to you first, sit down with anyone in a wheelchair so you can talk to them eye-to-eye.

                Something that he said that really pulled at the heart strings is when he said that his dad asked him, “Can you make a positive contribution to society?”He told his dad yes, and he’s been doing just that ever since. His dad also told him to offer out his hand for a shake and see what you get back, I thought that these are some great words to live by and Bryon is so lucky to have such a loving and supportive family. He said that he lost some friends along the way, but then again he had some friends there that he didn’t even know he had. He also mentioned that you lose your dignity in a situation like this because you can’t do anything for yourself. He has someone come help him get ready in the morning which takes two hours and you lose your independence. However, he did learn how to be creative and became a motivational speaker for people who suffer from accidents like his.

                Some inspirational words he had to say was be an advocate, you have to have a dream, don’t be afraid to dream, but live in reality today. Bryon not only had a super positive outlook on life, but he also had a sense of humor about it. He definitely fills the slot of motivational speaker and he makes me realize all of the things that we take for granted which can be as simple at shaving my own legs. After listening to Bryon speak, checking out everything he represents on his website, and liking him on Facebook, I realize how much of an inspiration Bryon is, and only hope that I can someday give back to society like he has, and will continue to do.

Trish Skram's Visit

                On Tuesday we had the pleasure of listening to guest speaker Trish Skram. Skram is actually a UW-Whitewater alumni, majored in speech communication and marketing with an emphasis in public relations six years ago and now has a variety of occupations. One of her jobs is with Mercy health system as a media specialist. She got started out with them when she had an internship there her junior year of college and was able to continue on with them after she graduated. After her internship she worked as a copy writer and kept moving up from there. For her personal blog she uses the name, “PR gal,’ and for her professional one, www.trishkram .com. owner and brand visionary.

                She also works as a professional blogger for the Janesville Gazette and was able to get the job with them after they read her professional blogging. Where it all started for her was with her social media and blogging strategy. She wanted to help her network grow, help to better her PR/communications industry, and talk just talk about everything she knows and loves. She gave us some informative statistics including: 55% of corporations use social media to seek out job applicants, 58% say they are better known in their industry because of their blog, 77% of internet users read blogs, and there are 95 million tweets per day. That is a lot of connections through social media, by incorporating ourselves in that number we could help ourselves tremendously to stay connected, networked, and hopefully find potential employers or internships.

                So why should we blog? Skram informed us that it generates content, establishes expertise, helps grow your network, offers a place for people to engage (comments), gain valuable knowledge, and gives you information to share via social networks. Having a blog can help us boost our brand, and create connections and build rapport with our customers, stakeholders and future customers. She told us that she had a huge fear of blogging because of what people might think, or she might sound stupid, however, we can overcome that fear by understanding that no one has all the answers and know that social media is a place to start a conversation.

Skram also gave us information on eight ways to build a brand with a blog; what do you want to get out of it? Know your competency, listen and learn about your audience, add a personal touch to it, be positive, encourage engagement, research keywords, and be consistent. She also said that we should create a code of conduct and gave us a list of hot topics that could attract people to read our blog. Kram utilizes twitter, @trishskram, and linkedin.com/om/trishskram professionally to help promote her blog and to update followers on the gazette and Mercy Health Systems. I thought that Skram had a lot of great advice about blogging and utilizing social media in the work place. Before listening to Skram I only considered blogging for class purposes, however, now I would like to start writing as an entrepreneur like she did and hope that it will make me more marketable in the work arena and enhance my writing abilities.

Amy Paul's Visit

Yesterday our tactics 2 class was fortunate enough to have guest speaker, and former UW-Whitewater student Amy Paul come and speak to us. Amy graduated this past spring with a Communications major, Public Relations emphasis, and a minor in music. Her current job is a public relations assistant for the Milwaukee County executive’s office. Some of her responsibilities include social media management, press releases/media advisories, monitor media coverage, website management, plan major events, and responds to media calls. A big project that she just finished up with was the September 11^th tribute downtown called Milwaukee County remembers 9/11. She was in charge of planning who was going to be speaking, making the event pamphlets and thinking of a logo for the event. Amy mentioned that she was assigned this task a little over a month before it actually took place and I think she did an amazing job being able to think on her toes and getting the whole event to take place. How she got to where she is today is from her internships, involvement on campus, and networking. The internships she had while she was in school were with the Admirals, Qdoba, the UWW University development office, and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. She also mentioned that all of these internships were unpaid, however, they all provided her with more experience than any paid internship could have given her. I appreciated this piece of advice because I never really looked at unpaid internships because I needed something that was going to compensate me for my work; however, any experience is going to make the potential candidate stand out more than someone with no experience. On campus , Amy was very involved with PRSSA by writing their insight editor, she was the professional development chair, being regional activity coordinator, and attending the national PRSSA conference in Washington, D.C. Some of her recommendations were to make the most of our college experience, don’t be afraid to ask questions at internships, network, get involved, don’t give up, and have fun. The recommendation that I liked the most was her advice she gave me on writing a cover letter. She recommended that I make it more personal and like a story rather than just telling them this is who I am and this is why I want the internship. She offered out her social media information including twitter: @AP2005, Webs: http://www.amypaul.webs.com/, LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/amypaul04, and Facebook: Amy Paul.  

The PR Student

                My name is Brittany Kutchera and I’m a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. I’m a double major in Public Relations and Spanish, however, that decision did not dawn on me over night. My last minute decision to come to Whitewater was exciting because I was the first one out of my family of six to move out of the house and attend an actual University. After my first year I decided to move back home to save money and commute to UWM but it was not the ideal life for me. After my sophomore year I was financially stable enough to move out and pay for school, so upon re-entering Whitewater I declared my major as Public Relations. I received sixteen retro credits after taking a placement test  for Spanish so I could either graduate early or double major, and since the job market is not ideal right now I decided the more knowledge I have, the more marketable I am to potential employers and chose to double major.

                After this semester I have only one more PR class to take before I’m finished with the program, however, I hope to find an internship this semester or the next. Internships are essential in our field and I hope to acquire one that will hopefully provide a great learning experience and possibly offer me a position for the future. I would love to travel with my career and hopefully work in a position that would offer me the opportunity to work with international affairs. I’m just excited to be the first in my family to graduate from a four year university with no loans. It’s hard to say where I see myself in ten years but I’m sure my assortment of internships, jobs, and experiences will make a path in the right direction towards where I want to be with my career in the future.

UWW YouTube Alumni Videos

After watching the UWW YouTube Alumni video interviews, I was introduced to fourteen different individuals with fourteen different jobs, responsibilities, and career paths. They all had a different way of getting to where they are today, but they all started out at Whitewater. I enjoyed listening about each individual occupation and the advice that they had to give out to students. Some of the reoccurring advice that I heard was to get as many internships as I can, get as involved as I can, and none of their days at work are ever the same. Out of all of the videos there were three that stood out to me the most, those being Merri Oxely, Cassandra Sura, and Brian Kohlmann.

                Merri Oxley, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDUWZEc2Nws went to UW-Whitewater in the 1960’s when the Vietnam War was going on. She said that Whitewater helped her learn team work and get along with people. Right after school she moved to Washington D.C. working for applied linguistics and met people from all over the world. When she moved back she was able to start her own company. What made me remember Merri Oxley above the other interviews was how knowledgeable she was. She has had so much experience with different jobs that she had so much advice to offer out for students graduating from college, I enjoyed listening to her.

                The next interview that stood out to me was Cassandra Sura, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_rIR3EDxPM. I was able to see Sura in person when she came in for a speaker meeting for PRSSA and I enjoyed meeting with her in person as well as seeing her online interview. I thought it was nest that Sura works for Elmherst Memorial Healthcare and does all of their planning and events. She also gave great advice on how your first year out of school is very important in choosing exactly what it is you want to do with your life. She said that once you’re placed in your job setting it may not be exactly what you expected so we may want to wait to go back to school and get our masters. I’ll be able to keep this advice in mind for after I graduate.

                The final individual that I took an interest in watching was Brian Kohlmann, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU6z0LJ9Qzg. I liked Brian’s enthusiasm about his job and how he said that there’s never a dull day because every project is a little different and challenging. I also could relate to him when he said he chose to go to Whitewater because it was close enough to go home when he wanted to, yet far enough to where he could move away because I thought the same thing when I went here.  I also liked how he said that his experiences in school affected him as a person and that we should get as involved as possible.

                All of the interviews had something different to offer, however, I took a particular liking to Merri Oxley, Cassandra Sura, and Brian Kohlmann. It was nice to hear advice from people who are professionals in the area that I’m majoring in. I’ll be able to take their advice and apply it to my career.

Rise of Social Media

The world of technology has been advancing at such a steady rate that it would be foolish for public relations trends not to keep up with it. New social media trends such as linked in, twitter, and weebly are all helping people around the world stay connected, network, and stand out to potential employers. http://www.linkedin.com/nhome/ shows all of the professionals and students I am connected with, information about myself, and a background on my school career and work experience. What I find to be useful about linked in is how personal all of the connections are. Twitter allows you to follow professionals, celebrities, and students; however, the connection is only reached on one end. http://twitter.com/ allows me to have access to hundreds of PR professionals and public relations agencies in the surrounding areas. www.bigshoesnetwork.com posts new internships for students every day, which gives them plenty of opportunities to seek out new experiences. A few organizations that are offering out jobs and internships through twitter are as follows: Laughlin Constable @cooljobsatLC, @buzzmonkeysPR, @branigancomm, and @emeraldislePR. All of these PR firms are in the surrounding or Milwaukee areas and I recommend following them on Twitter. www.weebly.com allows students and professionals to put up an online resume for potential employers to scope out. When we went to the BMA event a few weeks ago, speaker Haley Landsman, @haleylandsman, said that 75% of employers are looking at online resumes. This allows us to gain exposure, get involved, and find us jobs. Not only is the social media world helping us find jobs, but also, it is an actual job for some professionals.

http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2010/12/28/rise-in-social-media-jobs-means-opportunity-for-job-seekers says that there are nearly three times more jobs with social media in the title, with quote, "It's becoming a vital part of what companies do, and that's good news for job seekers in a market that—admit it—you know is brutal," says Bernhard Warner, editor of Social Media Influence, a London-based industry newsletter. Fortunately our economy is on the rise from 2009, and I think it is wonderful that we have been able to offer job opportunities in the social media world. Being connected in social media has become essential in the public relations field when it comes to staying connected and having an online resume for the 75% of employers that are seeking potential employers. Not saying that having twitter, linked in, and weebly are the only places that an employer looks, but it definitely would not hurt to have it.

BMA Event

Last night I attended the BMA lightning Round interviews at Manpower in Milwaukee. I would have to say that it was a great experience. I was able to have a mock interview with four different professionals who were all able to give me different sets of advice. I was able to get some business cards and follow them on twitter, @emeraldislePR, @tworiversmktg, @seroka, and @manpower. They were able to offer me advice on my strong points and what needed to be worked on for future reference. All of these individuals had a different occupation and were able to enlighten me on what they did for a living. I was also able to meet with two different people who looked over my resume and had different advice as to how they like to see resumes set up and what exactly they look for. Some people were afraid of what people were going to have to say about their resumes but I figure I am going to be looking for a summer internship and eventually I am going to have potential employers looking at it so why not start with a mock trial. I found these two parts equally and of most important value. The last speakers we saw, which I did not find quite as valuable was the social media section. However, the speakers did have valuable information to offer about online networking and taking advantage of the internet by putting out your resume for employers to see since 75% of them are looking on linked in. @haleylandsman, @apiwarun, and @stratocasting were the professionals that put on the presentation and I thought they did an awesome job.  There are plenty of places where you can check out the BMA event including, http://www.bma-milwaukee.org, http://www.facebook.com/pages/BMA-Milwaukee/143605512066 , and on twitter @BMAmke. I recommend any student to attend this event in the future!