My Road to Mastery

The time has come for my final journal entry for the Public Relations Master’s Program at Full Sail University. This class allowed me to wrap all the skills I learn in this 12-month program into my capstone project. I enjoyed how each class slowly began preparing to finalize my capstone project. This class was very important to me because If I did not push myself the hardest during this final class all my hard work would have been for nothing. As I have stated many times in these journal entries, my grammar is something a struggled with. (it sucks because I really love to write) This class has shown me to really slow down, proof read my work and pay attention to details. One of the challenges I had during this class was the Pecha Kucha presentation, I did not like creating a presentation and working with such a short amount of time.  It was a new technique that I did not use but I after recording a few hundred times it became easier to do. I believe this technique it is a great way to explain information and grab the attention of others with just images and voice over. I believe my strongest point in this class was revising my thesis paper. Week one was not the best grade I could have received for the beginning of my thesis paper. Thanks to Professor Krasa, her feedback allowed me to go through and revise my paper. This class showed me to trust my skills I did not know how far I could push myself in this program until I tried. I was unsure of what I was bringing to the table before I began my capstone project. Now that this program is coming to an end I am confident that furthering my education was one of the best decisions I’ve made for my future.

I read my original goals for this class and I believe I met them, this class was one of my favorites to date. I love creating online platforms and have free reign to create a media was very exciting for me. This course taught me the how to create content that my target audience will want to see and will appeal to their wants. Honestly, I never thought about much detail goes into what kind of content you use on your website. I knew your content had to deal with your target audience because they continue to use your site if it didn’t. But This course explained how you must the appropriate tone, voice, and style to really show your target audience the content is for them. Content tone and content voice were very interesting to learn because most people would like they are the same when they are not. Content voice is how your content is read while content voice is how your target audience perceives what you wrote. These two methods must agree with your target audience or you will not get the results you are looking for online content. My favorite assignment was creating the media room for my client. I enjoyed seeing all the work from this program come together and it also gave me a confidence boost because this page showed the work I am capable and what else I can do if I put my mind to it. Watching the web page come together with multiple links and a variety of content really showed what I can do for a corporation I work for in the future. Lastly reviewing my peer capstone pages allowed me to look at other pages and see different methods and styles you can use to create your content. This class will prepare me for my future as a Public Relations professional I am excited to see the work that comes.

My Road to Mastery (2016, September 26) My Mastery Timeline…. [Tumblr Post] Retrieved From http://roadtomasterypr.tumblr.com/page/2

This class was one of my favorites so far tapping into Events marketing is something I grew an interest in recently. My current job as a Leasing Agent at Sebastian Village I currently plan all events for residents to participate in.  This class allowed me to create an event and showed me how to create an event from start to finish. I’ve done this plenty of times for different events at work but this class allowed to really take my time a plan every detail down to the last minute. I notice I really enjoyed having creative control over the event. I have been in this student housing industry since 2014 so I have a good understanding of what this target audience looks for when it comes to choosing off-campus housing. Having up to date events creates a buzz with residents and prospects who are interesting in renewing or signing a new lease with Sebastian Villages. Something I struggle with was the webinar assignment at first I was a little nervous because I am camera shy (I know crazy considering the major I chose). I am glad that assignment was added to this course because I think it helps with public speaking and learning how to reach a larger audience. It made me think of ways I can prepare my clients or organization to create topics that can be recorded as a webinar and place on their websites or in their offices for their target audience to see. My favorite assignment was the keynote presentation, it really allowed me to take creative control and start from scratch and plan an event that residents at Sebastian Villages would enjoy. Learning step by step how to plan an effective event is very helpful when it is time to go into my career and I am asked to plan the company’s employee retreat or seminar. Three classes left and I am so excited to see the finish line! 

This class has been a big refresher for me. A lot of the assignments I had to complete were similar to assignments during undergrad. Each week I took something different from this class and Professor Lee gave very good feedback. Some of the grades I received on were not my best effort but each week my grade would increase so I saw progress in my work. During the mastery class, my goals for this course was to be more proficient in different media platforms, building relationships with other media professionals and learn a different way to get stories out using more than a journalist. This class taught me that creating a positive relationship with journalist and using the right approach will help me get stories about my organization out the public. Communicating correctly with journalist will allow the company or organization you represent a chance to get their story heard. Calling too many times and not giving the chance to respond could hurt your reputation as a PR professional. The media kit assignment is my favorite one it gives me an idea of what my job will consist of when working with a client or organization.  Though most of these assignments were similar to assignments I did during undergrad they did not go in depth like week 4 assignments did. I really appreciated the depth of the assignment because it allowed me to try my hand at creating quick facts, and creating tough questions to answer during a press conference. When I decided to go into this career answering really tough questions was always a worry for me because I was afraid I was going to make the situation worse. But being honest, and remembering the company or organization you represent values makes the answers flow. This class opened my eyes to what a day could be like as a PR professional.

This class was an eye-opener for me, my last research class was my sophomore year in undergrad. So, it’s safe to say I was a little rusty, I received my first grade from this class in week one and I was very shocked and that is when I realized I had to take the dust off and really focus on what was ask of me.  As I’ve stated before in these journals grammar is not my strong suit but I have used that as a crutch for so long it aggravates me when I say it. After week one I had a few people look at my paper and give me feedback on grammar and mechanics and that allowed me to see the mistakes I was making which help me prepare for the upcoming drafts. Professor Palmisano provides great constructive criticism. She told me what I was doing wrong, where I could find the lesson to understand how to do it right and even gave an example as to what it was supposed to look like. The memorable assignments for me are was the entire thesis paper, breaking this paper up into sections was amazing because I really got to spend time on each section and make sure everything was explained correctly. This entire class gave me the structure and skills to understand what my clients want and figure out their target audience and how I can make their product or service appeal to them. When I go into the PR industry I will remember the steps I need to take to create buyer personas, conduct primary and secondary research show clients the steps to appeal to their target audience. This class was not my favorite one at times but it helped realize this is grad school and I must take the training wheels off to make it across the stage!

Social Media Metrics and ROI was a very interesting class for me. I learn so much about the business aspect of social media. Some of the memorable assignments were signing up for google analytics looking at the statistics of my website. Also creating my final pitch for my capstone project was an eye opener. The google analytics assignment on the Hardcore Nepal website really showed me how to gather data and develop information about a target audience who is viewing a website. Learning what devices, they use, where most of the views are coming and how long they stay on the page will really help develop a plan to revamp the website or certain section. I felt more comfortable describing what the target audience is because I had the data to confirm my research. I believe when I get into my profession if I am presenting to client google analytics will show the clients why the need to invest in Social media.  Creating the final pitch really made me realize we are winding down in this program. I went back and forth with Professor BK about what project I should do and she told in her opinion which idea is the best. But I still felt my best friend Taylor Vegan website would serve as a better project. However, when professor BK said again “something that is more established will look better as a project.” I began to agree and creating my PR campaign on the apartment complex I work for began to make sense to me. When I started the paper ideas started to flow and before I knew I was 10 pages in and I couldn’t believe how much I had written. This class sparked a fire in my PR bones to begin my capstone project!

This app would be a heavy on graphics because you want to grab those who are interested in graphics. The content will match the tone of the graphics because graphics may grab your attention but you want to keep the audience there. Dribble’s website is very straight forward, it starts off with a popular page that is filled with graphics, so the app will match that technique. Those who need this app could be an art student who needs a creative nudge to finish their senior project. A teen who needs an idea about a story they want to write based on a picture then seen. This app will help start the creative flow for a lot of people who need a push. I am always looking for inspiration for my short stories because of my phone always by my side I would be the customer to open up Dribble and scroll through and spark my creative flow.

Charlotte Jones -PR (www.charlottejjones.com)

Legal Aspect of Media has been a challenging class for me. Law has never been interesting to me and understanding law jargon and going over case studies were not easy for me. This course was similar to my law class that I took in undergrad, and it helps me remember certain circumstances and terms when it comes to media and law. I learned that communications professionals need to have a sound understanding of the law. The real-life scenarios gave me a clear vision of how certain laws affect the way we do our jobs. My favorite assignment was week two, the research case study presentation.  This research case study allowed me to dig deeper into my understanding of New York Times v. Sullivan and Gertz v. Welch. With a clear vision, I felt very comfortable talking about these cases and creating the presentation. The course topics that were covered this month copyright and defamation were two most helpful to me as a communication professional. These two subjects will help with legal issues in the industry because it will prepare me for what not do when it comes to what I advertise to the public and materials used in PR kits. In public Relations our primary job is writing and creating for our target audience or clients. We have to be careful about what we say and how we say it because it could tarnish someone reputation which could lead to a defamation suit. Public Relation deals with a lot of promotions so using a video or pictures could be a liability if it is not used correctly. When doing a presentation or creating advertisements for a client you have to be sure you have the right to use work from others. If no permission was given and the proper attribution was not made, then it looks like PR agency or person created it, and that can lead to a suit. This course met my expectations because I assumed we would be dealing different law terms and getting a deeper understanding of how that law works and how to avoid lawsuits in our profession.

 Overall Great Course!

 Link to Mastery Journal: http://roadtomasterypr.tumblr.com/

Today is just like any other day don’t dread today make it great! #BringitonMonday 

My Mastery Timeline

I will utilize Full Sail University career development department.

Logo for week 3- Mastery

Linkedin- https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlottejjones