By Abby Johnson

 

 

• COMM 197- Build Your Media Brand

 

Taught by Dean Hardin herself, this class is a must-take. I took this class the first semester of freshman year, and it set me up for endless success within Penn State and beyond. As a freshman, I was given a senior mentor with the same major, who I was able to look up to and go-to for any and all questions.  The purpose of this class was to explore and apply the concepts, tools, resources, and techniques involved in building a strong digital brand as I started preparing for a career in the communications profession. It is a one-credit class that meets once a week for an hour. The in-person sessions were a perfect mix of interactive lecture, discussion, and classroom visits from alumni. By the end of this class, I had created and received feedback on my canvas profile, action plan, mission statement, resume, LinkedIn profile, networking techniques, social media posts, elevator pitch, and a portfolio. And, on top of all that I got to form a connection with the Dean as early as my first semester! 

Some questions the class answered for me:

• What is “branding,” and how can it help you meet your career-related goals? What are the tools you can use for intentional networking?
• What should you do now to get ready for the job market?
• How can you make your online identity work for your future?
• What is an “elevator pitch,” and why do you need one? What should be in your action plan to grow your brand?

 

 

• COMM 297(A)- Intro to Media Graphics

 

COMM 297- another one-credit class that goes unnoticed, but was extremely beneficial for my public relations skillset! This class gave me a working competency with design software (InDesign & Photoshop) used in mass media. Specifically, this class explored how the graphics programs, Photoshop & InDesign, are utilized for advertising, communications, and journalistic applications for public relations and news communications. I learned an overview of graphics file formats created from Photoshop & InDesign, as well as other basic design terminology and how & when each software program could be used appropriately in the development of mass communication messages. In class, the professor walked us through step-by-step instructions on the weekly topic. We then applied those skills in our homework at the end of each week. I loved being able to apply what I learned to my internship at Student Affairs through new graphics. Free access to adobe suite is an amazing perk of being a Penn State student, so I was grateful this class taught me how to use a few of the softwares. 

By the end of this class, I understood the following: 

• Overview of graphics terminology & common file formats, what they mean, how used (i.e. EPS, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, .psd, .indd, etc);
• The difference in Photoshop use for both Journalistic use (image correction) & Advertising/Design use (photo collaging & manipulation);
• How/When to use which software; & •How to “Save” + When to use these corrected/manipulated images;
• Technical setup of basic page layouts (ads, brochures, posters & journalistic newspaper/magazine articles)… NOT how to come up with the
  design of the layout…BUT How to use the software to treat the image & text elements to “build” or “setup” a page layout.
• Understand the basics of typography terminology;
• Brief reference to how Illustrator fits the design process

 

 

• COMM 373- Crisis Communications in Public Relations

 

Taught by the infamous Steve Manuel, COMM 373 is a course designed to introduce you to Crisis Communications, which includes assessing the risks and scope of a crisis situation; protecting the organization’s reputation; minimizing the damage and promoting the organization’s assets; and delivering positive media interviews in order to deliver key points and project confidence to the target audience(s). This class could not be more applicable to the real world. This skillset will be invaluable to whichever company we end up in one day, and can give you a huge heads up in the interview process. The final project of this class is to create a massive crisis communications plan including; working in a crisis communication team, managing key information, and maintaining effective media relations during a time of high anxiety. I genuinely looked forward to each and every class, as Steve always kept us up to date with the news and applied each concept to the real world. Take this class- you won’t regret it!!