Brianna Condra – My Last Week at the College of the Arts

For the last week of my internship I am helping Kern wrap up the semester by preparing for spring semester.  I’m creating lists of the Schwob Music calendar by month and posting the last events of fall semester on community websites such as Muscogee Moms.

The main thing we’re tackling this week is promoting The Department of Theatre’s production of A Place Called Christmas.  We’re doing this mainly through the venues I’ve mentioned above and social media posts.  You can find more information on the performance here.

I’ve really enjoyed my time with the College of the Arts and I have learned so much.  I feel like this experience has prepared me for a real job and I believe I’ve been very lucky to work with this awesome group of people.

Brianna Condra – Amahl and the Night Visitors

Over the past few weeks, I have learned that a lot of PR work is simply reaching out to media outlets with the information your organization is sharing.  This week, Kern has had me email the Ledger, the Riverside theatre and post the Schwob Music concerts on multiple community websites, such as the Fort Benning Area Guide.

We have also been promoting “Amahl and the Night Visitors” in particular.  “Amahl” is one of the biggest performances of the semester as the Schwob School of Music puts on few opera performances.

Check out the details of the performance here!

Brianna Condra – Student Directing Series

This week, Kern gave me the task of creating Facebook banners for the Student Directing Series this semester.  The difference between these and the other Facebook banners is that I was given creative freedom for the first time.  She gave me the information that needed to go on the banners and said, “Have fun!”

This was nerve-wracking to me because I’ve never considered myself to be creative.  It is hard for me to imagine an image and execute it on Photoshop.  I’m much better at working with assigned images.  So, to complete my task, I looked up the play.  I found that it is about a young couple interviewing a serial killer as they worry whether they are reporting facts or glorifying his murders.

That’s pretty macabre so I decided on a dark theme.  I was able to come up with a pretty awesome Facebook banner for Down the Road.

Brianna Condra – Boogie Fest

This past week has gone by in a blur!  This was the final week of OneSource’s preparation for Boogie Fest, the Halloween-themed dance marathon fundraiser for the Ferst Foundation.  We have put in a lot of hard work over several stress-filled weeks and I feel like the event will be a good one.  We’ve decorated the venue, collected most of our food donations and we are ready!

The event will take place in the Multipurpose Room on November 2 from 10am-4pm.  Tickets are $10 with a valid student ID.  There will be a DJ, food and contests!

Brianna Condra – Our Town Poster?

This week, Kern asked me to design a poster for the Our Town play.  The professor over the play sent me a picture of a flag that he wanted me to incorporate into the poster.  Other than the flag and the stipulated text, Kern told me to “go nuts!”  I did.

I had a lot of fun designing this poster.  I used a gradient in the background from the base color in the flag and I used a few effects on the text.  I think it turned out pretty well.  I am not sure if it will actually be used, but it is fun to hope!

Here is more information on Our Town!

Brianna Condra – 2014 Southeast Trombone Symposium

This week, Kern asked me to update the journal advertisement for the 2014 Southeast Trombone Symposium.  The original journal advertisement was too wordy and hard to read so I deleted some of the text and added a list at Kern’s suggestion.  I also changed the background photo.  The original did not show the beauty of Legacy Hall as the current picture does.

I was given the logos and the pictures to use at the bottom.  Some of the pictures at the bottom needed to be resized and/or cropped so the image would not be distorted.

Working in Photoshop is one of my favorite parts about my internship.  Dr. Park taught me well.

Brianna Condra – Legal Considerations in PR Work

This week, Dr. McCollough lectured his PR Campaigns class on the legal considerations, ethics and cultural sensitivity involved in PR work.  My favorite thing about Dr. McCollough’s lectures is how he uses current stories to explain PR concepts.  Most of these stories are in funny memes or YouTube videos.  For example: he was explaining the legal considerations in investor relations and warned us against insider trading using a meme featuring Martha Stewart.

Needless to say, I will not be forgetting this particular lesson anytime soon.

I always absorb his lessons and I look forward to next week’s lecture!

Brianna Condra – Dance Marathon

I have discovered an important fact this week: planning a fundraiser is stressful and difficult!  Warren Steel suggested that OneSource plan a dance marathon as a fundraiser.  We agreed because it sounded like a lot of fun and a great way to get college students involved and aware.  It will be a great way to get college students involved and aware because it has been proven at Auburn University.

It has only been a week since Mr. Steele suggested a dance marathon and I’m already inundated with all of the tasks at hand.  I am a little overwhelmed but I am not afraid to ask for help.  I truly believe that this can be a great event and I certainly hope that will be true! Like the Ferst Foundation Facebook page here!

Brianna Condra – Goals and Objectives

This week Dr. McCollough lectured his PR Campaigns class on the difference between the Goals and Objectives of a campaign.  In short, goals are the broad elements to be achieved by the end of a campaign and objectives are the quantifiable steps taken to reach those goals.  OneSource’s goals for the Ferst Foundation include raising funds and raising awareness in the Columbus community.  OneSource will raise $5000 through a dance marathon and raise awareness through increasing Facebook likes by 20%.

OneSource is just beginning to form a plan for the Ferst Foundation so this list of goals and objectives will be sure to grow.  Make sure you like the Ferst Foundation Facebook page here!

Brianna Condra – LinkedIn Problems

This week I began concentrating on improving my online presence as I am about to start applying for jobs at the end of this semester.  Last Fall semester I took Dr. McCollough’s Intro to PR class and as a final project we were to create a professional social media presence through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and WordPress.  Unfortunately, I did not keep up with all of those platforms since then, particularly LinkedIn.  This poses a problem because, surprisingly, I have found that several companies do not provide online applications but instead provide a link to LinkedIn in lieu of posting a résumé.  I panicked a little.

I decided to do a little research and I found an article on prdaily.com describing 4 tips on how to make your LinkedIn profile extraordinary.  After reading and following the advice I feel confident in my LinkedIn profile.