President

Throughout 2024, I have served as the President of the Auburn University student chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America & Public Relations Council of Alabama (PRSSA & PRCA). Going into this position, my goals were to motivate stronger attendance numbers, host meaningful speakers at meetings, and overall create an environment where members could use our meetings to grow their network and perspective as they enter the professional world.

To accomplish my first goal of motivating stronger meeting attendance, the Executive Board and I collaborated on ideas and changes we wanted to make from the previous year. We decided to move our meeting location to a more vibrant and positive space, and change meeting times to earlier in the evening. Additionally, we created a survey for all members to take so that we could accurately gauge where their interests and priorities lie. Through this survey, we learned that a lot of members wanted to see a more excited and committed board, were interested in the sports, hospitality, and corporate industries, and would be most inclined to attend meetings that were held in the early evening and included free food options.

After creating a meeting schedule that met each of those requirements, we brainstormed ways to increase involvement and dedication to the organization. From that, we determined there was a hole in our executive board for a position specifically dedicated to marketing the organization as a whole. So, we decided to create the Public Relations Committee. The goal with this committee was to increase member involvement, increase the reach of the organization, and eventually add an executive board position for the role.

After a semester of managing the PR Committee, we were able to add a formal Public Relations Director position for 2025. The committee proved to be a great way for more members to be involved in leadership positions and we saw strong growth in our Instagram analytics because of the strategic posts made by the committee. The 2025 PR Director is looking forward to increasing the reach of the organization even more by creating more print materials, a LinkedIn, adjusting our logo and the brand kit, and creating merch for members to purchase.

The 2024 school year for PRCA/PRSSA was widely successful in hosting more meaningful speakers at meetings, increasing engagement with members, and expanding our network to create strong relationships with the professors and professionals in our area.