Personal and professional Growth through 1910 PR

By Ashlyn Cook-Huggins

As I near the end of the semester and graduation, it's time to reflect on my experience with 1910 PR. Coming into the experience I did not know what to expect. I understood it was a capstone course, but I was unsure what it would entail. Given my minimal expectations, I have been pleased with the professional development and hands-on learning opportunities. I also have the unique perspective of being able to compare it with another public relations capstone course, which I am concurrently enrolled in through the agriculture department.

Ashlyn Cook-Huggins

By far, my favorite portion of being involved with 1910 PR is the hands-on learning opportunities which facilitated my personal and professional growth this semester.

The client work through the City of Canyon gave me an insight to how the industry truly functions in regard to communication, client feedback, and working with the public.

Working for 1910 PR, we must hold ourselves to the standard of public relations professionals, in the manner you interact with the client and more specifically for our group—how we conduct ourselves with the interviewees.

Coming into the class, I already conducted myself in a professional manner, but I'm maintaining this professionalism more consistently, being “on” all the time since PR is a profession that doesn’t sleep.

The personal growth I have experienced this semester has been exponential, stemming from managing the demands of my senior year. As rewarding as working for 1910 PR has been, it requires a lot of dedication outside of class with video editing and conducting interviews; managing the workload was cumbersome at first.

Knowing this is not just another class but a real client is an added level of accountability and motivated me to adapt my time management skills and prioritization systems.

Though I know my career will not be directly in public relations, the professional and personal lessons will carry me into graduate school and for years to come.