To prepare for careers, WSU PR students say that they want to have more concrete, practical skills as part of their education. While they feel ready through theories and practices, actual experience is seen as lacking.
According to the WSU website, Public Relations as a degree teaches students how to “create and maintain positive brand images by analyzing audience personas, developing campaign strategies and growing brand loyalty while developing positive relationships and company stakeholders.”
Senior PR student Emma Huber is currently competing in the national Bateman Case Study Competition. This competition, fully named The Public Relations Student Society of America Bateman Case Study Competition, challenges teams of students to research, plan, implement and evaluate a public relations campaign for an actual client.
This year, the WSU Bateman team consists of PR majors, advertising majors and risk and crisis communication majors.
Huber’s team is working with ACCESS Newswire as their client. ACCESS Newswire, a free PR distribution platform used by professionals, is being introduced in some classrooms to help students practice writing and pitching press releases in a real-world setting — at no cost.
The team researched and found that students and teachers want more resources and even took out a survey to real PR professionals that gave the team real-world insight.
Many students at WSU say they graduate with strong theory and writing skills but limited exposure to the tools and platforms actually used in professional PR.
As internships and entry-level roles become more competitive, students are increasingly seeking hands-on, industry-aligned experience during college.
“I feel prepared to enter the PR industry after graduation.” Huber said, “I feel that my classes have equipped me with the necessary skills to work in PR but I’ve found that most of the experience and actually working with clients is something you have to seek out.”
At WSU, the clubs that students can take to further their academic understanding for the College of Communication are Cable 8, Crimson Creative, Communication Graduate Student Organization, The Daily Evergreen, KUGR Cougar College Radio, Murrow Student Ambassadors, National Student Advertising Competition and the Bateman Competition.
These depend on a student’s major throughout the college but options are limited and outside internships are encouraged at every college.
“I feel prepared, but not just from WSU alone, which is a bit frustrating considering tuition, time, resources, etc. I’ve poured into my four years here.” Huber said.
Another student on the Bateman team, Kira Holmberg, said, “Something that would help me feel more prepared for the PR and Advertising industry is to see the back end of these PR tools that I have learned about in classes. It’s one thing to learn about these tools, but it’s very beneficial to see how it works and know how to use them.”
The team also consists of associate professor Cara Hawkins Jedlicka, whose primary expertise is in digital advertising strategy with an emphasis on social media and online communities.
“Bateman is about researching a problem for a real client, finding a solution, and running a campaign based off their research. This is more than just pitching; this is also executing. It isn’t a hypothetical,” Jedlicka said. “This goes beyond the classroom, but students have guidance, but they learn to really be curious and solution-forward, which are assets for careers in PR. They also must handle multiple deadlines, changing briefs and curveballs like a snowy day on the day of your event and adapt.”
For students like Huber and Holmberg, competitions like Bateman offer a glimpse of the real-world industry. A fast-paced, client-focused and unpredictable project. These same kinds of hands-on opportunities should be integrated into classrooms here at Murrow College.
This results in the need to give future PR students the chance to graduate with both the understanding and the experience needed to succeed.
