I’ve accepted an invitation to join the advisory committee for the public relations program at Loyalist College. I’m a graduate of the Print Journalism program at Loyalist, so I’m pleased to be able to give back to the School of Media Studies. I’m also quite confident that with my concentration in digital communications, I’ll be the “way out there” practitioner on the committee. I’m not worried – bring on the constructive dialogue. I’m looking forward to meeting the other advisors next Friday.
I believe Kerry Ramsay, the program’s coordinator, is doing a tremendous job preparing her students to embark on careers in all facets of communications and public relations. I have been to the college to speak to her students a handful of times over the past few years and each visit provided me with an opportunity to get out of the “weeds” of day-to-day execution and gain some perspective on the work I’m doing and how the changes in our industry present compelling opportunities for new professionals.
Here are some recent highlights of the kind of learning activity going on at Loyalist College Public Relations program:
- Community Media Workshops for members of the non-profit sector hosted by the students from March 16-19. The free workshops are an opportunity for those working within small agencies to discover ways of achieving success with limited resources. Participants will learn effective evaluation tools for their fundraising and campaign initiatives, where to find grants and how to get them, and how to use blogging, Twitter and wikis to enhance their operations.
- Kerry and a couple of her students made it to Podcamp Toronto last weekend to learn and establish connections. (And they even managed to squeeze in a lunch with yours truly and bunch of characters from the Podcamp scene. See photo here.)
- Organized a Jams 4 Cans benefit concert and raised 283 kg (622 pounds) of food to support the local Food Bank.
Thanks for the shout out, Leona! See you Friday
Kerry