A Much Needed Break

Fall break is the perfect opportunity for college students to take a few days off and try to relax.  You have probably just finished midterms and completed numerous assignments.  Late night studying and stressing out has seem to become the normal routine.  Even when life gets hectic, it is important to take a breath and try to relax.  This is where fall break plays a pivotal role in order to rejuvenate and try to find that motivation to continue the semester strong.

For me, fall break is about catching up with family and friends.  I don’t have to get up early in the morning and can watch an episode of Netflix without that guilty feeling.  Even though it should be a relaxing weekend, that doesn’t mean I can forget about college completely.  Depending on your major, you may have assignments due shortly after the break ends.  Sadly, this is the case for me.  Coming back from break I have a project due and a huge exam.  In addition, the Wednesday I get back is packed full of events until the late evening.  So even though I get to enjoy the perks of being home, I can’t become too lazy and complacent.

It is always hard trying to find that balance between college and a social life.  If you manage to find that balance, I would say you have a decent grasp on your life.  I constantly have to remind myself to take a breath and find a moment to relax.  Often, I get too caught up in the next exam and assignment and forget to take a little personal time.  This is the goal of fall break, trying to relax while attempting to not fall behind on coursework.  Overall, fall break is meant to give you a few days away from campus to take a break.  When I do return to Ohio Northern University after a few days, I hope to have found some motivation while feeling ready to dominate the last half of the semester.  

Live Tweeting

Twitter is a great tool that allows people to follow what is happening, especially through hashtags.  For a class assignment at Ohio Northern University (ONU), I had to live tweet an event.  I am not an avid user of Twitter or have ever live tweeted before.  So this was going to be a new experience.  The event I live tweeted was the ONU PRSSA meeting.  PRSSA stands for Public Relations Student Society of America.  For me, it was sometimes hard to keep the tweet under the 140 character limit.  In addition, I used the hashtag of #onuprssa in every tweet so people could follow the meeting if they wished.  Hashtags are a great way to express what is happening at an event to people who could not attend.  This meeting featured Mary Lendzion, who is director of Media Relations at Summit Motorsports Park.  You can check out my Storify for a recap of the meeting.

ONU PRSSA utilizes Facebook and Twitter to keep members and others interested involved.  First, let’s look at the Facebook page.  There was only a tweet relating to the meeting held on Tuesday.  It was a thank you to the speaker for taking the time to present.  In the month of October, there are not too many posts but the month recently began.  In previous months, the meeting date and time seemed to be publicized through this channel.  In addition, the design of this page is really user friendly.  Overall, I think the Facebook page could be utilized a little bit more in the future.  Upcoming regional and national events could be posted there for members to view and like.  In addition, I think Facebook would be a great place for meeting minutes if someone was to miss the meeting and announcements.  The members of PRSSA all probably use Facebook to engage with one another.  By using Facebook more, members could share articles and other news to bring more awareness to their profession.

Twitter was utilized heavily during this meeting.  This makes sense because you can tweet the highlights and key points of the event very easily.  Numerous tweets with hashtags were posted regarding the presenter and what her job entails.  This was done in real-time allowing people who follow the account to keep up with the important aspects of the meeting.  The only thing missing from the Twitter account was a tweet promoting the meeting earlier in the week.  There was no promotional tweet talking about the date, time or speaker.  These details would have been nice so that followers could be reminded of the meeting and what to expect if they did attend.  Overall, the Facebook and Twitter sites for ONU PRSSA are being utilized very well.  I think slight improvements could be made to both in order to increase the effectiveness of the social media channels.  

Social Media and Public Affairs

As I finish reading Share This, the idea of using social media with public affairs was brought into light.  Social media is being integrated into public affairs more frequently than ever before.  The main reason for this is because people spend their free time on social media sites.  People are constantly checking Twitter and Facebook when they have a chance.  I am one of those people checking Facebook during my breaks between classes or when I need a quick study break.  It is a quick way to catch up on what is happening in the world, as well as my family and friends. 

In addition, social media allows relationships to be developed.  Higher engagement can be seen because people are always on these channels communicating in real-time.  This makes social media a preferred route of communication over traditional methods.  These traditional methods can be proven effective.  However, they can take a great deal of time and work to find the correct answers.  Journalists and policy makers can utilize social media as a source of information.  For instance, journalists can use posts from individuals to enhance their stories, whether it be pictures or quotes. 

Even though social media is a great tool, one must be ready for the comments and criticism that can be posted to the site.  For example, during public speeches people can tweet their views on the issue and criticize the official.  This can be seen during political campaigns and debates.  Individuals have the ability to look up information about the argument, and then post their findings.  When using social media in public affairs, it is imperative to be prepared for these circumstances and know how to respond.  Everyone has the right to an opinion, so one must be open to the criticism that can be received.  Social media is a great tool, but you must be prepared and open to whatever might get posted.  

Kappa Epsilon Recruitment

At Ohio Northern University, I am a sister of Kappa Epsilon.  Kappa Epsilon is a professional pharmacy fraternity that promotes women pharmacists.  We have numerous social and service events, including making breast cancer baskets and holiday parties.  In addition to our events, we participate in outreach opportunities that focus on women’s health.  Primarily, we focus on bringing awareness to breast and ovarian cancer. 

One thing I am involved with in Kappa Epsilon is the recruitment committee.  I talk to potential new members about Kappa Epsilon and what we encompass.  Since I am on this committee, I am required to attend the new member events and get to know the new sisters.  This past Tuesday we held a scavenger hunt and bonfire for the new members.  Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate and the bonfire was cancelled.  However, that did not stop us from having a great time.  The potential new members completed a scavenger hunt throughout the pharmacy building.  The clues were cleverly written and led to numerous locations throughout the building.  My team was the first to complete the scavenger hunt and return to the designated location.

After the scavenger hunt, sisters were invited to mingle with the potential new members.  It was great seeing the potential new members talk to current sisters.  This allowed the potential new members to meet more people and get a sense of the sisterhood.  Personally, I enjoy being a sister of Kappa Epsilon.  I love what we stand for and have fun attending the numerous events.  In addition, it is a great way to relax when life gets hectic.  Overall, the recruitment event was a success with everyone having fun and smiling.  I am looking forward to meeting and interacting with all the new sisters soon.