The Next Step: Serving on a Nonprofit Board in Your 20's

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As college students, we have the world in our hands. If we push ourselves and take advantage of opportunities that come our way, we can excel greatly in our field of study.

Many students take internships, and some take more than one. Other students volunteer for organizations or get involved in professional student activities.

However, there is another type of professional development experience that college students may not know they are qualified for. That experience is serving on the executive board for a nonprofit organization.

At first, this idea seems strange and even impossible. As twenty-somethings, how would our generation be able to provide direction for a non-profit?

However, our young and creative minds are exactly what most organizations are looking for, and with new ideas (and knowledge that we learn from our studies), we can have a profound impact on an organization.

The experience itself will be a great resume booster, however, you will also get to network with many professionals and learn how the inside of a non-profit works.

You will also learn skills (such as finance or corporate law) that you wouldn’t have otherwise become exposed to.

If you are interested in joining a board, it is important to find a cause that you care about. Whether it is animal welfare, sustainability, or poverty resolution, be sure that you have a personal reason for taking on a position. If you join a board that you are not passionate about, you will not have a worthwhile experience.

Once you are on a board, be sure to seek out mentors who have served for a longer period of time. This way, they can catch you up on important items you need to understand. They can also provide guidance with future decisions you will have to opportunity to influence.

It may be a daunting responsibility, but serving on a non-profit board can give you a great boost on your resume. Also,  the connections you will make may help you down the line, and you may learn skills you won’t in a classroom setting.

Be Your Authentic Self

Michael Stevens from Vsauce

In June, I attended a Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield, England while I studied abroad. The conference had various sessions and keynote speakers that talked about how children in the United Kingdom get and use media. One topic I heard a lot during the sessions was the importance of children being authentic with their online profiles. Several professionals shared how sometimes children develop an online self and authentic self that tend to conflict and present different images.

Michael Stevens, one of the keynote speakers and creator of Vsauce, shared how being authentic has led to his success on YouTube. He began Vsauce in June 2010 and has expanded to three YouTube channels with about nine million subscribers.

He relates his success to him being authentic because his subscribers see him being very candid and they form a friendship. Stevens also explained how he films the videos alone and being real leads to viewers feeling like they are hanging out with him and that there is not a barrier between him and the audience. His videos are very conversational and use plain language that makes his content easy to understand and is friendly to people of any ages.

In his keynote, he also pointed out how Echosmith singer, Sydney Sierota, is a great example of being authentic on social media. She regularly uploads videos on her YouTube channel and other social media profiles from her iPhone. The videos are very causal and creates a dialog between her and her fans. Stevens also praised Sydney on how she replied to comments fans leave on her videos and shows she cares.

Whether you are a celebrity or not, being real and authentic on social media is key to maintaining a strong, relatable presence. Some other keys to staying authentic on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social media outlets include using your own photos, genuinely engaging with your followers and replying to comments and having a unified brand and purpose.

What are some of your social media tips that allow you to grow your following and stay real?

This blog post was written by PRowl Secretary Shaun Luberski. You can follow her on Twitter here. 

Ghostwriting: The ethics of using a Quentin Miller to reach communication objectives

While some of you are enjoying your summers abroad or off vacationing with family and friends, others have been occupied with the drama between rappers, Drake and Meek Mill. For those of you who have a life during the summer: don’t worry, I have you covered. Recently, I’ve been occupied with trolling the Internet and analyzing the beef between the two. It all started when Meek Mill called out Drake for using ghostwriter, Quentin Miller, to write popular tracks on his latest album, If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late.

Ghostwriting is viewed as a dishonest practice in the rap world… but what about in the communications world? The practice of writing material for another person, without a byline, in exchange for profit is common in organizations that have PR professionals working to meet communication objectives. The public is typically aware of ghostwriting when it comes to speeches and autobiographies, but in some instances ghostwriting can be deceiving.

Live Tweeting: How Much is Too Far?

We are all aware that social media has unmistakably changed the game in many ways. From Twitter to Periscope, there are so many ways to be interactive with the public. Live tweeting is something that has a very thin line. Where do you draw the line?

Live tweeting is tweeting during an ongoing show or event. The Academy Awards, GOP National Debate, or Grey’s Anatomy can all be live tweeted about. Lets look at some positives and negatives of this 21^st century craze.

Negatives

1. Spoiling a Show- If you are missing the finale of your all time favorite television series, stay off Twitter. You are guaranteed to find out what happens before you watch and ultimately become irritated you scrolled down to refresh your feed. For those live tweeting during a show, don’t give things away and everyone will be happy.

 2. False Facts- It is important to have an opinion on a political or social matter, but make sure you fact check before you send out a 140-character rant. Stating untrue statements can easily get you roasted by one of your followers in a matter of seconds. It is important to stay on top current events, but think before you type.

3. Not Actually Watching- The whole point of live tweeting is to interact, but there is a point where this can be taken too far. How many individuals live tweeting are casually typing at a commercial break vs. ignoring what is on television. Stay interactive, but make sure to actually tune in before sharing favorite moments or thoughts.

Positives

1. Diverse viewpoints- It is interesting to see what everyone has to say. Diverse viewpoints are a good thing and not everyone has to agree. It gets people thinking and learning more about a subject. As stated earlier, just make sure to do your homework beforehand.

2. Connect with Others- Almost every television series or live event nowadays has a custom hashtag to go along with it. Using the hashtag is a great way to connect with other active users or even those behind the show itself. Live tweet right and you might gain yourself some more followers or get a shoutout from your favorite character.

3. It’s Fun!- At a conference or on your couch, live tweeting is meant to be fun. Pay attentions and share your thoughts or favorite red carpet dress. Tweets are meant to be casual, so don’t take it too seriously and use it as a positive.

4 things you should know as a media spokesperson

Tell someone to be a media spokesperson, and he or she will most likely be running for the door.

Dealing with the media can be extremely daunting, and if you’re not prepared for the worst, it could really backfire. Here are some tips to help you ace that media interview:

Making Your GenEds Work for You

Like all liberal arts colleges, part of your time at Temple will be spent taking general education courses – the “GenEds”. Temple’s ultimate goal with the GenEd curriculum is “equipping students to make connections between what they learn, their lives and their communities”. Even with this in mind, it’s easy to lose sight of the purpose GenEds serve in our education. As aspiring PR professionals, classes like “The Chemistry of Wine” and “Math Patterns” don’t offer much in the way of preparing us for our careers. But there are ways to take advantage of your GenEd requirements and make the classes work for you.

With so many options, choosing your GenEds can seem like a difficult task, but it helps to consider your professional goals and take note of specific skills you (and potential employers) find important. Forbes.com lists the top 10 skills employers most want in recent graduates, as determined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The list highlights basic skills like working in a team environment and problem solving, and other more specific skills like data analysis and software knowledge.

Using this list as a guide, here are a few suggestions for more relevant GenEd courses:

Burning Out: How to Survive at Work During a Personal Crisis

(www.dyingmatters.org)

It is one of the golden rules when working in the professional world: don’t let your personal life interfere with your professional one.

You’ve been warned time and time again about letting the lines blur between your social life and work duties, and so far, it has been easy to keep them apart (keeping separate professional social media pages, avoiding overly-personal conversations at the office, etc.).

However, what are you supposed to do when something goes awry in your personal life, and completely throws you off your game in every way?

This could be a family member’s passing, a devastating breakup, a financial blow, or anything that makes you feel helpless or beyond stressed out.

You have been taught to keep your personal and professional lives from intersecting, but should you really avoid the office altogether and take as many personal days as possible?

The short answer is “no”, but the truth of the matter is that it takes work and resilience to stay focused while undergoing a painful life event.

Even though it may seem impossible, concentrating on your work can help you recover from the pain you are feeling.

By focusing on your job while under a great deal of personal stress, you will be able to take your mind off of it. This can be helpful in many ways, especially if you have been unable to focus on anything else. Sometimes, taking your mind of something can help you see it clearer in the future, and by focusing on work and putting the personal situation in the background, you may find clarity when you clock out at the end of the day.

Also, if the personal situation has made you feel bad about yourself, being productive at work can make you feel more confident in your abilities. Acing a presentation or media campaign may just be the confidence booster you need to feel better after a painful situation.

In the end, everyone copes differently with stress and pain. If you need to take time off to recuperate, it is understandable. However, if you are low on personal days or have too much work to take a break from, remember that work can be helpful in overcoming your grief, and you will get past this.