Phenomenal PR Trip

Over fall break, I took the opportunity to go on an agency tour in Columbus, OH. While some students decided to enjoy their break from home, I was back on campus late Monday afternoon. As a collegiate basketball player, I never have the luxury of enjoying a full break. We are given limited days for the holiday season because we have games to play. Thus, I had no problem with sacrificing a day of my break to travel with my wonderful PRSSA classmates and Dr. Agozzino.

We left campus early Tuesday morning to arrive in Columbus, OH where we first met with the Ohio Department of Transportation. The professionals at ODOT gave a fantastic presentation. I was excited when they asked about our majors and interests. Those small moments show me they cared about us visiting. Our second stop of the day was the Columbus Crew. I am a huge sports fan, so I was smiling ear to ear the entire tour. We switched locations for our tour, so it took us a little extra time to find our way into the old stadium. When I say a little, I mean an extra 15 minutes. We were driving around in circles and lost the other two cars full of students. Thankfully we found one another and had enough time for our tour. PR in the sports world is essential. Athletes and organizations need to maintain a consistent brand to sustain their fan base. After visiting the Columbus Crew, we ate lunch at the Walrus. The food was terrific, and we were seated in a room just for us! I was nervous to visit Nationwide Children's Hospital. Healthcare has always been overwhelming to me. After the pandemic, I never thought I would be interested in any healthcare position. How do they handle all the stress? After listening to the passionate speakers, I was less overwhelmed by the world of healthcare. Our last stop of the day was Slide 9. I found the unconventional design of the office interesting. The design highlighted different styles of seating to give employees a creative workspace. Normally, Slide 9 runs a virtual work style, but a few of the employees worked in person so they could make time to speak to us. It gave me hope when I heard about the different paths employees have taken. None of them followed their original paths.

I genuinely appreciated the variety of agencies we visited. It was great to hear from professionals in government, agency, sports and healthcare. I still have no clue what I want to do in my professional life. Thankfully I have two more years to try to figure it out. Agency tours are great ways to network, but I always make fantastic memories. All the laughs and deep conversations in the car mean more to me than some of my classmates may think. These truly are the best days of our lives. I love preparing for my future with the people who are by my side.