GMU PRSSA Guest Speaker Presentation, Presented By: Chloe Clark

About me: I am a highly motivated leader, business owner, and award-winning communication ambassador with 7+ years combined marketing, nonprofit and public relations experience. Proven success developing, managing, and implementing strategies across digital channels. Known for crafting compelling messages that cut through the noise to reach target audiences.

Education: I began my college academic journey at the age of 15 as a dual enrolment student in high school at Piedmont Virginia Community College. I then graduated high school as an early college scholar and transferred my credits to George Mason University where I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Public Relations. While at George Mason, I decided I wanted study abroad in one of my favorite places in the world, Italy. I studied Italian Media, Society, and Culture at The University of Milan (Università degli Studi di Milano). Upon graduating with Honors from George Mason, I was set on not going to grad school and wanted to work immediately. I had advisors and professors at George Mason push me to apply for grad school on multiple occasions, but I was not 110% set on that path, so I waited.

Using my connections established through my dog business I began networking with the leader of an organization I really wanted to work for. After a few months of discussing how my expertise could fit within the organization, I applied and got the job. I worked for one of the oldest nonprofits in Washington D.C. where we advocated for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

From there, I quickly realized that if I wanted to climb the corporate or management ladder faster, I needed a more advanced degree. I also realized that for my own personal journey, a bachelor’s degree was not enough. I was approached another time by advisors and faculty at George Mason to start applying to grad schools. I quickly pulled all my materials together that I needed for the application process, and I was set on applying to my dream school, The Johns Hopkins University. I have always approached life decisions both personal and professional with the mindset that if I did not get in, it either was not the right time, or was not the right school. It was the ONLY school I applied to. As you can imagine the application process at Johns Hopkins is intensive, and it is an extremely hard school to get into at the undergraduate level, let alone the graduate level. I am not sure how familiar you are with the graduate level admission process, but oftentimes admissions representatives or advisors will set up interviews just as you would with any job hiring process to see if you are a match to their program, besides what is reflected on paper. I was told I would know the admission decision within 4-6 weeks, and I found out just days later that I was admitted.

My initial program decision was the Master of Arts in Communication with a focus on Corporate, and Nonprofit communication. About halfway through the program, I decided to add in a focus in Health Communication to be able to further leverage the Johns Hopkins name in future career decisions. I also wanted to take advantage of the fact that I would be studying health communication at a university that was the leader in research and data reporting throughout the pandemic. I will touch more on grad school a bit later.

While at Mason: Let’s now discuss my involvement while at Mason. I knew that the second I got to campus “freshman, or in my case sophomore year” I wanted to be involved, but I wanted to be strategic in choosing an organization that represented the coursework I was completing but also represented the type of atmosphere I would be working in upon graduation. PRSSA stuck out to me, and I became a member.

As a George Mason University PRSSA member, at that time I remember looking up to Executive Board members wanting to be in that position serving students while upholding rigorous academic standards. I then became the Vice President and leveraged the connections I made while networking and intertwined that into my work on various communication campaigns and events such as the Communication Fall Forum. Through my work on campus as an advocate for the Department of Communication, I won the Communication Ambassador of the Year award.

I realized that I wanted to work with students in another leadership capacity, so I took an independent study course called Facilitating Communication Education or COMM 451. This course is based in theory and practice in facilitating learning of communication principles and skills. Students work as instructional aides in lower-division classes under direct supervision of faculty member. Activities may include online learning support, social media updates, media production, facilitating small-group activities and individually critiquing oral performances. I was the teaching assistant for Rhetorical Theory & Criticism with Dr. Tucker in the Dept. of Communication, George Mason University and I loved it!

Notable Achievements: Here are a few notable achievements I received during my three years at George Mason University.

• George Mason University, Freshman Academic Achievement Award

• George Mason University, Dean's List

• George Mason University, PRSSA Special Recognition Award

• George Mason University, CHSS Dean's Challenge Award

• George Mason University, Communication Ambassador of the Year

• George Mason University, CHSS Honors Research Presentation Award

• George Mason University, Outstanding Undergraduate Alumni of the Year

These awards were presented by the department of communication, specifically faculty, staff, and advisors. If you have not already, I highly encourage you to build close relationships with your faculty members, staff, and advisors as these are the individuals who pay attention to students effort, academic standing, and involvement on campus to receive awards listed here.

Notable Certifications: As a student, I wanted to take advantage of any free time I had to further my education outside of the classroom. As I paid independently for my degree, I wanted to find certifications at little to no cost, so I looked at Hootsuite, and HubSpot Academy. I also worked on certifications during various times of employment to further my knowledge and expertise. I also received certifications from Johns Hopkins. As part of the pre-registration and enrollment process Johns Hopkins takes plagiarism, sexual assault, Title IX and harassment very seriously. Over the summer or the semester before you are to be officially enrolled, you are to take courses with modules and exams in these areas. You are then instructed to upload and present these certifications prior to course registration. As the first ever research university with a stellar reputation, in my opinion Johns Hopkins sets the standard for how students should be trained in these areas.

My advice to you all is, if you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room. Certifications make job candidates stand out amongst the crowd. Certifications can increase the likelihood that you will get a raise or promotion.

If you are applying for a job and have not had the chance or opportunity to secure an internship or part time job opportunity, do not let anyone tell you that you do not have “experience” your coursework is your experience. There are many students who feel discouraged when entering the work force because most jobs ask for a certain number of years at various companies or organizations to count as experience. Try working on certifications between homework assignments to help set yourself apart.

Favorite Events: As a member of PRSSA it is likely you have attended or will attend various events across campus either as a representative of the organization or just as a student curious to learn more. I will give an example of a time I attended an event not specifically as the VP of PRSSA but as a communication ambassador for the Department of Communication. At the time, I was steadfast in building my personal brand on social media through LinkedIn. I wanted to build a name for myself early on in my journey at George Mason. I attended as many events as I could, and I was thrilled to attend the Communication Fall Forum.

During the weeks and months prior to this event I was using my LinkedIn to highlight my dog business, coursework, projects I was working on, certifications, and various campaigns. I tell you all this because spending time building my brand prior to this event paid off! I always arrived early to everything that includes class, events, and meetings. I will tell you a phrase I live by to this day “ARRIVING EARLY IS ON TIME.... AND ARRIVING ON TIME IS LATE”. I was one of the first people at the Fall Forum and was in the middle of grabbing my coffee still trying to wake up and a woman came up to me and said something to the effect of “Hi Chloe it is so nice to see you, I have been following all of your content on LinkedIn and I have to say I am very impressed, can you tell me more? I had no idea who this woman was, but I clearly made an impression just by being myself and sharing content strategically. Come to find out after researching names of those I met at the event, she is one of the department committee members and has had quite a remarkable career and had made a name for herself.

A few takeaways here:

· Always dress for success you never know who is in the room alongside you

· Work hard until you no longer have to introduce yourself

· Be yourself, the world is watching

· Create business cards and carry them around with you – I had business cards on me at the time of this event for my business. You may attend events with hundreds to thousands of people and no one will remember your name or face in the crowd unless you make yourself stand out. One way to do this is to leave that person with a business card with your contact information on it.

· I have 3 types of business cards in my wallet currently, one is for my dog business, another is for marketing and PR, and the third is for my catering business.

Speaker Events: Upon Graduation from Mason, I was invited to speak at various events regarding my experience and success while at Mason. I spoke at a young alumni career panel designed as a Q&A for students interested in attending Mason. I also spoke at events on campus designed for both students and parents to come learn about various programs at the university.

Prior to ever thinking about applying to Johns Hopkins I was invited by their director and assistant director of the Advanced Academic Programs to speak as a webinar co-host alongside a faculty member from George Mason who also teaches at Johns Hopkins to talk with students about LinkedIn Brand Management. Since the webinar received so much attention, I was invited back by their director and assistant director of the Advanced Academic Programs to speak as the webinar host to discuss LinkedIn Brand Management once again, but with a focus on how to navigate and network through the pandemic.

The Contented Canine: While at George Mason trying to balance a very demanding course schedule as well as extracurricular activities, involvement in attending various events while representing PRSSA I had to find a job opportunity to help pay for school as I paid independently. After a few months of brainstorming what I wanted to do, I decided that I needed to be in control of my own work schedule, essentially, I needed to be the boss for this to work. From there I had to think of what can I do that provides an essential need for others? Well, living in Old Town, Alexandria you will quickly realize that there are often more dogs than kids... and coming from a family that is dog friendly I knew this is what I wanted to do.

Now your immediate thoughts may be oh was she just a dog walker? The answer is no, I provided a non-traditional approach to dog walking. My clients ranged from business executives, chief executive officers, lawyers, government employees, people who have worked at CNN... you name it. My clientele were individuals at the top of their career, so watching their dog included watching their home, their mail, their cars, etc. I became somewhat of a house manager and with this type of clientele as you can imagine trust is their top priority, dealing with high levels of security in and around various homes. My reputation was my priority. The business was founded in 2018 and I started out with a very small list of clients out of the apartment complex I was living in at the time and the business expanded throughout Old Town, to surrounding neighborhoods, to Washington D.C. and as far as Baltimore Maryland. I built such a strong relationship and bond not only with my clients but with their families that when I moved back to Charlottesville, VA I traveled 2-3 hours to watch over my clients’ animals and their homes.

I assume you have heard the phrase “your reputation proceeds you” Well, mine did. Word of mouth became the number one way of securing clients. I never paid a dime for advertising and my only cost associated with my logo was my business card, and I used a free website builder, so the rest is history.

Espinoza Cuisine: Towards the end of 2022 I thought to myself how do I expand my marketing and public relations portfolio even more but in a very different direction? Knowing that my partner is a Chef at a prominent restaurant in Charlottesville, VA I sat down with him and pitched the idea of Espinoza Cuisine. Not long after our discussion, I immediately hit the ground running with business cards. I pitched the idea and vision I had in my head to a leading nonprofit organization whose mission and vision of serving the Charlottesville community really stood out to me. Shortly after, we co-hosted our first annual Fall Festival Event raising over $2,000 for the Charlottesville First United Methodist preschool program. The community event was such as success we have now continued to partner with this organization and Espinoza Cuisine will be attending another event on April 29th. We are already booked for the annual Fall Festival this coming November!

Internship Advice: Now that we have covered my background, education, my time at George Mason, notable achievements, events, and both businesses let’s move forward and discuss internship advice, career advice, and graduate programs.

Let’s begin with internship advice.

Here are 10 steps I recommend you to review and think about during your time as an intern or to think about if you wish to apply to an internship.

1. Meet your coworkers. Sounds simple right? Make an effort to speak with each person and learn more about what they do. You never know when another employee in the organization is engaged in activities that might one day be of interest to you. Even if you might not want to stay with your employer for the long run, you should ask for a referral. The suggestion will be stronger if you perform a better job and if your boss and coworkers are more familiar with you and your style of work.

2. Set goals. Meeting with your supervisor at the start of the internship is usually a good idea to find out what they anticipate from you. You should ask for a meeting time if your boss doesn't schedule one with you. What are you required to do each day, each week, or each month? To ensure you are moving in the correct direction, make sure you ask your supervisor for feedback. Finally, remember the things you want to learn and the goals you have for your internship. Ask your manager if there are any possibilities to participate in your hobbies after sharing them.

3. Watch and learn. Every time you begin a new job, it's important to understand the organizational culture and conduct yourself accordingly. Observe your colleagues and coworkers and ask for advice. What are the organization's procedures? Read all organizational documentation, including the policies and procedures. Ask to observe meetings or other workers' work, if appropriate, so you may become familiar with the workings of the company.

4. Be professional. Pay attention to how you come across to your coworkers and manager. What kind of clothing should you wear to work? What kind of email address should you use for the person you are writing to? Who is the best person to talk to if you have questions or a problem that you're not sure how to handle? Remember the fundamentals of common decency as well, such as being on time, saying thank you, following up, and following through.

5. Keep busy. Make sure your boss is aware if business is slow for you. Afterwards, if business is still slow, study some trade publications or determine whether it is OK to approach a coworker for assistance. Instead, come up with suggestions for longer-term projects that you may work on to pass the time and propose them to your manager. Everyone must occasionally perform menial tasks, and the more eager and willing you are to do them, the more likely it is that you will be recruited on a permanent basis and/or receive a glowing reference. Also, there could be a quicker or more efficient way to complete the tedious activity.

6. Stay organized. Keep notes throughout every meeting, and maintain a to-do list with due dates. Keep your workspace orderly and out of the way so that your work is accessible while you are not there. Pay attention to how data is stored; if your company saves files in centralized areas, take note, pay attention, and preserve records in line with policy.

7. Mange time wisely. Always complete projects on time, and when one task is done – ask for another. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with projects, talk to your supervisor about prioritizing your work.

8. Keep track of projects. To share your progress with your manager, start a list of all the projects you have worked on. Also, it will make it easier for you to recall all of your accomplishments for updating your résumé, adding to a portfolio, or relating them in a future interview. Request permission to keep samples of the projects you've worked on for your portfolio. Always seek permission before taking any copies of work with you because some of this material may be sensitive. Utilize management tools like Slack or Asana.

9. Buy a coffee/tea for your contacts. Ask your boss and/or other employees if they have 15 minutes free for a coffee and a talk, either during your internship or after. Individuals enjoy discussing themselves and their journey. Everyone's journey is unique, so make an effort to connect with as many individuals as you can. If you don't hear back right away, try again one or two more times if appropriate. People are very busy; thus, when you perceive somebody to be avoiding you, it is frequently due to their workload and not a lack of interest in conversing.

Reflect on your experience. Ask your boss and coworkers for comments on your performance if there is not a formal evaluation procedure so you may find out what you did well and where you can improve. Examine the abilities you have acquired via your internship, and edit your résumé to reflect your achievements. Even if you ultimately determine that this line of work is not for you, the experience is still worthwhile.

Now that you have graduated and are beginning next steps towards establishing your career there are a few things I want you to remember.

• First, not all feedback is created equal. Good tip: Consider the feedback sender for a bit before responding to all input right away. Do they have your best interests in mind? Do they have knowledge or experience in the area they are providing you with comments on? If the answer to either question is "no," you might want to reconsider giving the advice any thought.

• Second, flirt with yourself first. Sounds strange, I know. Consider going on a first date, going out to dinner, or attending a concert with friends. One of the first things you could do is put on a few different outfits, hats, or sunglasses in front of the mirror to see what looks best. Your career can benefit from using the same principle. The goal is to deliberately experiment with and "try on" various jobs, as well as leadership styles, to find what works best. Good tip: Make an effort to switch from work mode to play mode more frequently.

• Third, schedule a life check-up. Approach your professional checkup in the same way you would a medical check-up. Asking yourself how you're doing with your career and your current work is part of a life check-up. It makes sure that you aren't following a professional route blindly that you'll later regret. Pro tip: It might be easy to believe that the grass is greener on the other side when conducting a life check-up. If you're thinking of switching jobs, for instance, it's a good idea to consider what initially attracted you to your present position and organization. Next, consider if leaving is actually required for you to achieve your goals.

• Lastly, do your job well, even if it is boring. Millennials are well known for having high expectations of their job. That is a good thing. Yet it's also important to recognize that no work is ever entirely interesting or demanding. Ironically, it may be the less "pleasant" aspects of a work that provide you the opportunity to excel. Don't complain about how tiresome or monotonous your job is, expert advice says. Every job has both positive and bad aspects. To stand out from the crowd, perform each task properly. While sound advice is beneficial, it's also important to be aware that there is a lot of poor advice out there. Don't follow any advise if it doesn't sit right with you, won't benefit you in the long run, or won't help you move closer to your goals.

Graduate Programs: You might be thinking…I cannot wait to graduate and be done with school. I relate to being in that same position. The wonderful thing about grad school is that you can go when it is the best time for you to accomplish your next career goals, and aspirations. You should go only when you are ready to do so or if it is required by an employer. Some students continue on with grad school right after they graduate, on the other hand some students want to gain experience in their desired field before continuing their education. Some working professionals decide much later in life that they want to learn more, refine their skills, and gain expertise in a certain area.

At this stage in life adding in a degree while working full time, or even part time can seem daunting alongside other responsibilities such as being married with kids. I knew going into grad school I wanted my program to be entirely online so that I could complete coursework while balancing all of my other responsibilities and traveling to meet clients for work.

I want to specifically highlight Johns Hopkins University as the Advanced Academics Programs’ MA in Communication was recently ranked as the number one online Master’s degree in Communication nationwide by SR Education Group. That is a profound statement which speaks for itself. Johns Hopkins Advanced Academic Programs (2023) states that "Successful communication demands strong writing and presentation skills, strategic thinking, creativity, and an understanding of digital platforms, analytics, and audience engagement. The Master of Arts in Communication degree from Johns Hopkins University is designed for the workplace of today: a cutting-edge curriculum that integrates writing, research, technology, and strategy."

I have listed the specific courses here that I have completed throughout my program: Research & Writing Methods | Introduction to Public Relations | Health Psychology & Behavior Change | Health Communication | Organizational Communication | Changing Behavior Through Communication | Persuasion | Foundations of Digital Media | Health Literacy, Language & Culture | Communication.Org: Not-for-Profits in the Digital Age. Aside from research and writing methods, a course required for all students in my program, the rest of these courses were chosen to reflect the areas of focus I was interested in most.

You may even realize that graduate school is not the right option for you, and you are able to leverage your bachelor’s degree to the full extent you wish and that is totally fine. I wanted to bring this to your attention as it is important to be able to empathize with someone who has already gone through this experience that is why mentorship is a crucial part in career development.

Thanks for viewing!

I have presented a lot of information here that I hope is beneficial to students, and working professionals. I am happy to address any comments or questions.

Let's get in touch! Chloe Clark | The Contented Canine 🐾 | Espinoza Cuisine