GV PR students to present at national conference in Orlando

Courtesy Photo/ Stacey Nardozzi
(From left to right) Katie Downey, Stacey Nardozzi, Kelsey Schultz, Breann Andersen and Taylor Heggen practice their Chapter Development session presentation in front of GV PRSSA members. They will be presenting at the PRSSA National Conference in Orlando this Friday.

Courtesy Photo/ Stacey Nardozzi (From left to right) Katie Downey, Stacey Nardozzi, Kelsey Schultz, Breann Andersen and Taylor Heggen practice their Chapter Development session presentation in front of GV PRSSA members. They will be presenting at the PRSSA National Conference in Orlando this Friday.

Dan Spadafora

The Grand Valley State University student chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America was one of eight chapters selected to go to the PRSSA National Conference on Friday in Orlando.

GV PRSSA will present to the conference how the GVSU chapter has developed in Michigan and how it plans to grow in the future.

Tim Penning, associate professor and academic adviser for GV PRSSA, said this is one of the premier conferences for students because they have their own specific conference dedicated to student chapters. Chapters applying for the conference had to submit a presentation proposal before being selected.

“It’s just like the public relations professionals and public relations professors who have to submit a proposal, not everybody gets to present so it’s kind of a nice gesture that they get the opportunity to do this,” Penning said.

Stacey Nardozzi, president of the GVSU chapter, said she looks forward to the opportunity to not only present at a national conference and gain networking opportunities, but also to gaining new friendships while at the conference.

“This opportunity will allow our chapter to gain national recognition,” Nardozzi said. “Other conference attendees will look to Grand Valley’s PRSSA chapter as role models and they will ask for our guidance and advice. I also get to represent my university and show the nation why Grand Valley students are some of the best in the Midwest.

Their presentation is titled “Seeing the World, One Agency at a Time.”

The conference ends Tuesday.

“I think they did a very professional job in their proposal and how they presented it and also what they are talking about will also be helpful to other chapters around the country,” Penning said. “Grand Valley’s chapter has really grown over the past 10 years in terms of numbers but also in terms of what they’re doing.”

Along with presenting growth within the GVSU chapter, GV PRSSA will also explain how agency trips can be beneficial to chapter members and they will also give guidance to other chapters on how to plan agency and public relations department tours.

“I expect to learn a great deal of new information from the presenters and chapter development sessions at the conference,” said Allison Root, vice president of member services for GV PRSSA. “The keynote speakers have years of experience and insights that I as a student may not have had the opportunity to consider yet.”

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