On Sep. 29 The Winona State University’s Advertising Federation of Minnesota (AdFed) club and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) club held a joint event all about internships. AdFed and PRSSA, while different organizations, are often in collaboration with each other and often hold joint events and meetings.
Fourth-year student and chapter president of AdFed, Grace Hillard, has been a part of AdFed for three years.
“It’s definitely very beneficial and fun working with PRSSA. They definitely go very hand in hand with each other, but there’s also things about AdFed and things about PRSSA that kind of make them their own,” Hillard said. “We get to really appreciate each club for what they do… We can kind of take the PRSSA aspect and the AdFed aspect and tie it into one big aspect that all Mass Communications students can benefit from.”
One meaningful and beneficial experience Hillard has had with AdFed was going on an agency tour of an advertising agency in Minneapolis named Fallon during a student Ad Summit.
“My role as the president is to come up with a great learning environment for advertising PR and CDM majors. It’s all kind of come together and work on things that will benefit our futures. in the at PR, CDM world,” Hillard said. “I loved going to the Twin Cities last fall to go to Fallon, the ad agency. I just really loved what they did, and I loved getting to see a day in the life in advertising… and getting to chat with professionals about what they do and how they can inspire us to do what we want to do.”
To kick off the meeting Hillard and Vice President of AdFed and third-year student, Kate Velander, presented on internships, why they are important, where to find them, and their own personal experiences with internship opportunities.
Hillard is a Video Productions Assistant for Galena Country Tourism and she is also one of the Social Media Coordinators for the Winona State University’s football team.
“The purpose of these internships was for me to get hands-on experience because I’m graduating soon and the more hands-on experience, the better for my tourism internship back at home,” Hillard said. “I have a family friend who is the vice president of marketing for my town’s tourism Bureau and she got me set up with an apprenticeship internship and I got to meet a bunch of people in the professional industry who do production, photography, cinematography and just go on shoots that were really cool.”
Hillard’s work was featured in a variety of ways like TV spots, Instagram ads or their bi-yearly magazine.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot about the sports side of social media because that’s my dream job; to do content creation for a sports team. I’ve gotten to know a lot of the players really well and I’ve gotten to really connect with people who also love football, but also love the behind the scenes aspect of football,” Hillard said. “AdFed and PRSSA have helped me in different ways expand my professionalism in the field.” Hillard said. “I’ve been able to take what I’ve learned in my time from both associations and bring that to the table for any industry that’s willing to get to know me as a professional and show them what I can do.”
Second-year student, Claira Weaver, was first time attendee to the meeting and was interested in joining after AdFed’s presentation on internships.
“They gave really great tips about how you get an internship and kind of the different options that were available which is nice,” Weaver said. “I feel like as a sophomore, I don’t know a ton about entering internships yet, so I learned a lot about that today.”
Weaver plans on doing an internship during her Junior year or doing something over the summer of her Junior year. With a major in marketing and a minor in professional selling Weaver commented that while not directly lining up with her career aspirations, she said that joining the club would be beneficial.
“I don’t really know a ton about advertising, but going into marketing, a lot of the skills are probably [similar]. I’m just open to learning about everything,” Weaver said. “That was super nice that they brought Quoba…To be honest, I didn’t even know, so when I got here it was a nice surprise.”
For anyone interested in learning more about either of these organizations, they can follow them on instagram at prssa_winona and wsuadfed or keep an eye out for promotional flyers around campus on upcoming events.
“I think that’s definitely very beneficial for people who want to join.” Hillard said, explaining that with bi-monthly meetings, it is nice to connect with others in the club about personal and professional updates and to get advice from your peers. “I’ve built a really great network of friends through joining PRSSA and I definitely hope I stay friends with them after I graduate. It’s been a really awesome experience.”
Every year AdFed and PRSSA goes on a student Ad Summit around Valentine’s Day. The group also does an agency tour and this year they are potentially doing a tour with Carmichael Lynch. The summit is for anyone interested in the advertising or the PR world, it is an opportunity to see what professionals do.
“I knew the second I stepped into Phelps Hall that this is what I wanted to do. When I met Dr. Ryan, Doug [Westerman], Professor Heckman for the first time, I knew that these were my people,” Hillard discussed that she initially had planned to go into marketing, but quickly learned that she enjoyed the creative aspects more than the analytical within the field. “These people are so passionate about what they do, and I’m so excited to work with them in the future. And it’s just been a great experience getting to build on my knowledge and the mass communications world and I am really excited to take that with me here very soon after I graduate.”
