Chicago Trip

    As some of you might know, our PRSSA chapter traveled to Chicago, Wednesday through Friday, for our Midwest District Conference. I got to visit three different PR/Communication companies and learned a lot.

    The first place my group and I visited was APCO, an independent global public affairs and communications company. Upon arrival, we were taken to a big, homey feeling office, where the team gave us a presentation all about APCO. I learned that they work with a lot of well-known businesses and corporations, such as Levi’s, IKEA and MARS. A big part of what they do at MARS is create issue groups to discuss what crises may occur and how to solve them should they transpire. I also learned that APCO helped to fight gender inequality in crash test standards. Many people don’t know, but the likelihood of women getting injured in car accidents is significantly higher than men because the crash dummies that are used for testing are all based on a male’s body. Realizing this, APCO started a campaign to update crash test standards. Their campaign has helped secure support for updated crash testing standards in Congress, resulting in multiple bills being introduced in the U.S. House and Senate to make driving safe for all.

    Following that was our commute to Edelman. The whole conference met at Edelman, where we were spoken to by a panel of their employees. They all told us what their position is at Edelman and what their everyday looks like. They then allowed us to ask them questions. All of the panelists were great, but one stood out to me a little more than the rest because of her answer to one of the student’s questions. A student had asked for advice when trying to get a job in the field, and Maia Haworth, a research analyst for Edelman’s Data and Intelligence Department, took the mic and told her story about how Edelman had originally turned her away after her first interview, but after taking their feedback, improving and staying connected with the interviewer, they ended up offering her a job. She said to remember that no doesn’t always mean no forever, and that stuck with me. After questions, we were provided pizza and salad and had the opportunity to network with the panelists. We, already having eaten pizza the night before, decided to go to Harry Caray’s for dinner. For those who don’t know, Harry Caray was a famous sports announcer for the Chicago Cubs in the ‘80s and ‘90s and now has an Italian steakhouse named after him. All that aside, the food was fantastic! It was a bit pricy, but it was worth it, in my opinion.

    The next day, I went with a group to a company called Reputation Partners. Reputation Partners is a communications firm that builds and protects brands. When we got there, we were taken to a conference room where account executive Emma Smits and assistant account executive Grace DuFour gave a presentation about the firm. The Chicago firm only has about 20 employees but has worked with over 700 companies, including a multitude of Fortune 500 clients such as McDonald’s, Subway and KOHL’S. Reputation Partners has also worked with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) on a case study about why 100,000 nurses left the workforce during the pandemic. This was such a notable case study that they won multiple awards for their work. After learning about Reputation Partners and their achievements, the group of us headed up to their office space, where we networked for the rest of the time.

    This conference was such an amazing experience! Not only did I get to tour companies, network with professionals, and see the beautiful city of Chicago, but I got to do all of that as a freshman. Thanks to this conference, I got to meet and form connections with both students and professionals in my field, and I got a glimpse of what my world will look like in the near future.  I’m so grateful to have been given this opportunity, and I hope that more students take advantage of it in the coming years.