Participate in PRSA’s online training session, “Getting Ready for the Readiness Review,” on Feb. 14, 2012, 3–4 p.m. EST. This public relations accreditation training sesssion is free to PRSA members.

Ever since I was a student at Buffalo State College and a professor brought in an APR to discuss the benefits of Accreditation with the class, I knew the APR was something I wanted to pursue. Many of my peers in the Buffalo Niagara Chapter of PRSA had earned Accreditation and I wanted to take my career to the next level, as they had.

Participate in PRSA’s online training session, “Getting Ready for the Readiness Review,” on Feb. 14, 2012 3–4 p.m. EST. This public relations accreditation training sesssion is free to PRSA members.

I had never been so nervous about clicking a mouse.

After spending nearly four hours taking my computer-based Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations, I was about to learn the unofficial results and see if all the effort I had devoted to studying had paid off.

The process began nearly a year earlier when I mailed in my APR registration form. Although I’ve worked in public relations for more than 20 years, S&A Cherokee is the first company I’ve worked for that promotes the value of Accreditation and encouraged me to pursue it.

I never studied public relations in college, but was confident in my ability to learn and demonstrate my knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). The major obstacle for me was time.

Join Malayna Williams for her online training session, “Digital Media and Today’s Digital News Release,” now available on-demand. This media relations training sesssion is free to PRSA members.  

Recently, PRSA rolled out new webinar offerings along with a shiny new system.  I was lucky to be invited to present their first webinar on the topic maximizing digital news releases. In true PRSA style, everything was buttoned up and well managed. But the most exciting change was a chat feature than enabled hundreds of PRSA members across the country to communicate with each other throughout the webinar.

Being a working mom, I like to think I’m good at juggling multiple things at once. But I have to admit, presenting while chatting was a bit too much for me. So it wasn’t until after the webinar that I really had a chance to read all the comments and appreciate how much the participants likely got from each other. This is our digital world working just as it should!

Participate in PRSA’s online training session, “Getting Ready for the Readiness Review,” on Feb. 14, 2012, 3–4 p.m. EST.  This public relations accreditation training sesssion is free to PRSA members.

The process to achieve Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) is an important experience for anyone practicing in the public relations field. From filling out the application, to participating in the Readiness Review, to taking the computer-based Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations, each step brings new challenges and learning experiences for even seasoned public relations professionals.

It is quite mystifying to think what life would be like if I hadn’t signed on that dotted line back in May of 2005.

I could have easily skipped my university’s first PRSSA meeting to do a number of things — intramurals with friends, hit the books to better understand the differences between minocyclines and tetracyclines or maybe update my profile on this new site called thefacebook.com.

Luckily for me, I went to that meeting and established my membership, which is now approaching seven years as a PRSA/PRSSA member.

PRSSA provided me with ample opportunities to establish my confidence as a leader within my Chapter and later, on a larger scale, as a National Committee member. It also provided me the opportunity to meet my eventual employer at the PRSSA National Conference in Philadelphia.

Once a graduate, I didn’t hesitate signing on that dotted line once more to establish my membership — this time as a PRSA member — and opportunities have continued to emerge. As a young professional in my PRSA Chapter, my membership has meant a few things to me.