May 21, 2021 | By: Analleli Penaloza
It’s been a whirlwind of a year amidst CSUF’s transition to virtual learning, but it’s finally coming to an end. Over the course of this semester, we’ve come together as a chapter and adapted, developed and triumphed!
To celebrate the semester coming to an end, I’ve provided a brief outline of CSUF PRSSA’s spring accomplishments.
Board Position Elections
As the school year ends, CSUF’s PRSSA chapter held executive board elections to select new members for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year. People interested in obtaining a leadership position on the board were required to attend at least one of three open board meetings and read about board member position requirements. After submitting an application, the executive board reviewed each application and members were required to be interviewed by the President, Incoming President and the board members of the position they were applying for. After the interview, the Executive Board created a nominating slate, detailing their recommended candidates for each position. On April 7th, applicants were then given 2 minutes to present a speech followed by a question and answer session open to the audience. PRSSA chapter members present at the Executive Board elections were able to exercise their right to vote for the next executive board. On April 9th, the new executive board was announced to the chapter!
Without further ado, here is the Executive Board for the 2021-2022 school year:
- President: Emma Rowell
- Vice President: Priyanka Jain
- VP of Professional Development: Elyssa Ruiz
- VP of Outreach: Cesar Villa
- VP of Administration: Matena Jarjis
- VP of External Digital Communications: Vianey Sanchez
- VP of Internal Digital Communications: Tabby Rodriguez
- VP of Sponsorships and Fundraising: Vicky Hernandez
- VP of University Relations: Caleena Sugiharto
- VP of Finance: Allison Ruiz
Congratulations to our new Executive Board! We can’t wait to see what you have in store for next year!
The DKC x PRSSA Mentorship Program
The DKC x PRSSA Mentorship Program was established Spring 2021 and ran from February 5th to April 16th on a bi-weekly basis. DKC aimed the program towards connecting students with professional mentors in a highly interactive and engaging environment consisting of presentations and short assignments. Twelve PRSSA members were paired with mentors from DKC and learned about topics such as crisis communications and client management, and gained a greater perspective based on their mentors’ experiences. The program allowed members to network with industry professionals, their peers, and hone their public relations skills
I was among the 12 participants and can genuinely say that the program was unique and offered me new information and insight I never knew of beforehand. If you’re on the fence about joining a mentorship program, I would highly recommend that you do so!
Socal Coalition
This semester CSUF continued to participate alongside local PRSSA chapters from varying universities within Southern California in the SoCal Coalition, which was established during the Fall 2020 semester. This spring, CSUF hosted their last PRSSA SoCal Coalition panel “Strategy and Storytelling” on April 14th, 2021. PRSSA members from chapters across the coalition attended to learn about PR efforts within the nonprofit and public sectors.
Also, other chapters hosted their own panel events throughout the semester that coalition members were able to attend. One such panel was CSUN’s PRSSA chapter, who hosted a tech panel and in attendance remained CSUF PRSSA members, joining in to take advantage of the virtual event.
Overall, the Socal Coalition was one of the most unique opportunities that came to fruition as a result of the pandemic and our resulting virtual semester. It was a fantastic opportunity to strengthen bonds across chapters that might otherwise never have been formed.
Conclusion
This year it was a challenge to adapt to a virtual setting, but CSUF’s PRSSA chapter proved once again its ability to rise and overcome adversity. Our chapter continued to provide quality events, programs, and learning opportunities. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
