Amy Paul: Preparing now for the future

Last week, in my PR Tactics II class we had the pleasure of listening to a guest speaker. Amy Paul, a recent UW Whitewater graduate shared with the class her tips and tricks to get ahead in the PR world.

Amy has gained a lot of experience in the field after graduating from UWW in May of 2011. Amy began her PR career as a PR assistant in the Milwaukee County Executive Office. Amy mentioned she found out about the opening from professor Anne Knabe. 


Following that, Amy took a position as a PR assistant at small firm called Bottom Line Marketing. Amy currently works for a company called Ascedia working as an interactive account coordinator.

Among many other useful recommendations, Amy emphasized about the importance of internships. This is something I have heard time and time again from professors and academic advisors so it was nice to know that a recent graduate agrees. I have an internship with the Madison Children’s Museum I know from personal experience that it has taught me a lot about the event-planning sector of public relations. I hope to gain experience through an internship at a PR firm in the spring to help me decide the specific area of PR I want to pursue a full time position in.

Hearing from Amy Paul reminded me of another Amy I know. A few years ago a friend of mine introduced me to another recent graduate of UWW’s public relations program, Amy Celinski. We met just after I finished my two-year degree at MATC. I was having a little trouble deciding on a major and college to finish my degree. Amy had nothing but positive things to say about the school and professors. I remember her telling me that professors really do their best to help prepare you for that first job in PR. Now that I am in my final year of school, (woot woot!) I am thrilled with my decision to attend UWW and I am excited to see what the future holds! 

The PR Student

Christen Gullickson: The PR Student

Let me first start by sharing a bit about myself; I am currently a senior at UW Whitewater (woot woot!). I am studying communications with an emphasis on public relations and a minor is in marketing. I'm taking fifteen credits this fall in order to lighten the load for my spring semester to ensure I have plenty of time to search for jobs or internships. After attending the first week of classes, one class in particular, PR Tactics II, sounded especially interesting. As I am nearing the end of my college career, I am realizing the importance of taking classes will help me succeed in the future. After hearing a rundown of the syllabus and the course schedule, I was pleasantly surprised. It seems there is much to be gained from this course, both from a personal and professional standpoint. 


One of the assignments we will be working on this semester involves attending a professional networking event. Last year I attended PR Pro Day with the UWW PRSSA chapter. This was by far one of the most valuable experiences in my college career because it gave me insight into the world of PR. We heard from professionals from various areas of the PR industry which really helped me narrow down what I want to do after graduation. 


This brings me to my future goals; as I can imagine many people my age still don't know exactly what they want to do when they "grow up," I feel proud of the fact that I have narrowed it down into a few select areas. After hearing from the PR professionals, working at an agency sounds appealing to me. I am also interested in event planning for a future occupation. One of the great things about getting a communications degree is that it is flexible. I'm confident that choosing the PR program was a great fit for me and the skills that I am learning in school will help me succeed in all of my feature endeavors.

Here's to hoping for a great fall semester!!