NYC or OKC?

NYC or OKC

The first time I remember seeing my mom reading her magazines was when I was around 5 years old. Every night she would sit and read Vogue, Bergdorf Goodman and tons of other magazines of all different types. I don't know if it was the glossy pages full of bright, colorful pictures or the fact that it was my mom reading it, but after that magazines became a sort of obsession. I couldn't read but I would sit there for hours looking at the countless stories, advertisements and pictures full of glamorous things and people.

Of all the things that have changed since I was 5, the one thing that hasn't is my interest in magazines. Although that's been a steady part of my life, I've had my share of 180s. Born and raised in Oklahoma, all I could think about when I was a teenager is getting out. It's boring. It's slow. Nothing ever happens here. There is nothing to do. Those were just a few of my reasons for wanting to leave.

When I hit 20, something changed. All those reason I had for leaving suddenly became reasons for staying. I started to appreciate the simplicity of life here. Maybe it was maturity, comfort or something of that nature. No matter what caused it, I reached a point where the more I travelled, the more I enjoyed returning home.

As much potential as Oklahoma has, it is still not the ideal place to go into Magazine industry. So there is my problem. Sure, I can still go into the business and stay here which is probably what I'll end up doing, but it would be hard to beat the excitement of working for a prestigious magazine based out of New York City.

With graduation coming up, we all have a lot of big decisions to make. It's a pivotal time in all of our lives. As scary as it is, I'm a big believer in fate and like to think that things happen for a reason. I think maybe that is why these HUGE decisions that I will be faced with don't scare me as much as they should. There is so much opportunity and so many different things possible. With those endless possibilities, there are a lot of chances for things to go wrong but I find some sort of peace in the fact that maybe it is out of our hands. The only thing we can do is our best and go wherever that takes us. So no matter what happens in the future, whether I end up here in an industry I never expected or in some busy city working for a magazine, I know I'll be happy.

http://www.style.com/vogue/

http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/

My dream job? Traveler extrordinaire. My PR dream job? To be Kenny Mossman's successor.

When I was a little kid my dream job was to be a pro athlete, when I hit about 16 years old and needed to stand on a few phone books to hit 6 ft. tall, I figured I would start looking into other options. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to become a PR practitioner in the sports industry. After meeting Kenny Mossman this semester, my goal was completely solidified. Kenny Mossman is the Media Relations Director for The University of Oklahoma's Athletics Department and pretty much my hero.

There are so many incredible aspects to Mossman's job that they are too numerous to be listed. Let's start with he gets to hang out with high-profile athletes and coaches all day long. He is also ultimately responsible for all of the external media relations communications that come out of OU's Athletics department. Mossman travels with the team to away and bowl games, and he gets paid pretty well as well. Gosh, I'd do all of that for free. I am currently taking Mossman's Sports PR class, and every time I leave on Thursdays I think to myself "he is such a badass".

I have probably learned more about what I want to do with my life over the course of this semester , than i have in my 4 years here at OU. Mossman could take a terrible situation and turn it into something positive without hesitating for a second. The best part of it is, he doesn't need slant or spin, he is just so experienced that nothing phases him.

Now on to what it takes. Ultimately, to get into Sports PR you have to start from the ground floor, or just be really lucky. According to Mossman over 90% of those in this line of work started at a volunteer level. From there you must gain experience and start from a little pond and work your way up into the ocean of high profile collegiate and professional programs.

what dreams are MADE of...

"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you."
-Hebrews 13:5

There is no way to get around it, in order to succeed in life one must have money and the most common way of obtaining money in today’s society is to get a job. Money is what sustains us and it is what gives us the means to survival and beyond that it allows us to enjoy pleasures in life. In many ways, money drives us. With that being said it comes as no surprise that people who find a job for the sake of having money are often left unfulfilled. In order to refrain from this many people attend college to get a degree that will hopefully give them more options to find better jobs with better pay and in turn a better way of life. I, however, am a firm believer that money does not make you happy in the long term, but finding a job that you love.... will.
As a senior at the University of Oklahoma my time to find this dream job was fast approaching, and half way through my last semester I felt confused and much like I was the only one of my peers that had absolutely no clue what they would be doing with their diploma. However, that all changed when I was browsing on the internet one day, for what I don’t recall, and came across the Web site prcouture.com. The name itself sparked my interest and I delved further into what the site was about, and as I researched the idea of Fashion PR became extremely intriguing to me.

Ultimately my dream job would have to be designing clothes for a living because I think it is very important to do something that you are passionate about and fashion is one of the only things I know it would be hard for me to get tired of. A few of the steps I am currently taking to accomplish this dream are: I applied to a fashion school in Las Vegas and will attend in April 2008. I also ingest as much fashion as I can be it through television, magazines, or internet. I know I can accomplish my goal of having my dream job because my public relations degree will give me the tools I need to market myself to the media and other outlets and my fashion degree will give me the skills I need to be a designer.

Fashion is a fast-paced and ever-changing career and I think that is why I love it so much. I decided to continue my education with fashion because having the two degrees will broaden my opportunities upon graduation. I will have the option to do fashion design, fashion pr, or public relations in any realm I choose. It is necessary to be specialized in today’s job market because there are so many more college graduates then there have been in generations past.

There is a long list of designers I admire because of their individuality and uniqueness in the fashion world. It is important to be a brand as a fashion designer and some of my favorites are: Betsey Johnson, Christian Dior, and Chanel.

“Making clothes involves what I like…color, pattern, shape and movement…I like the everyday process…the people, the pressure, the surprise of seeing the work come alive walking and dancing around on strangers. Like red lipstick on the mouth, my products wake up and brighten and bring the wearer to life…drawing attention to her beauty and specialness…her moods and movements…her dreams and fantasies.”

– Betsey Johnson

I am most interested in haute couture because it allows you to be very personalized in your designs and I am a big fan of having a one-of-a-kind design. Fashion allows people to express themselves as them; we are what we wear essentially and for the reason that I want to dress people to make them feel good about themselves in their own skin by putting on the most amazing clothing they can.

My Dream Job – a Jacqueline of All Trades for All Ages

-- Rachel Wright

As an unhappy Psychology-degree-seeking sophomore, I decided it was time to make a change. I spent sixteen hours on the career planning program at Tulsa Community College, where I spent my first two years of school-after-high-school, or as some called it 13th and 14th grade. Either way, I had no idea what I wanted to do. But, I knew I didn’t want a job that would leave me emotionally drained at the end of the day, with no energy for my family and friends. And, I knew how much I loved writing and traveling so my initial thought was print journalism.

After looking into print journalism and speaking with professionals in the field at local newspapers and magazines, I decided that desk-bound, deadline-driven lifestyle was a bit closer to what I wanted, minus the desk. I love being on deadline, I adore writing and I get itchy feet after staying in one place for more than six months. The fast-paced ever-globalizing world of firm PR seemed right up my alley.

Then I started thinking, but what about if I have kids or (gasp) find someone to marry? Then I won’t want to be traveling all over, working eighty hours a week. Money will be important, but I’d like to think not as important as my family would be. So corporate PR presents itself. More of a nine-to-five, amazing benefits gig, corporate PR often offers more stability for those who sadly consider dental and vision to be perks.

Then the tree-hugger in me reared its ever present head. I’m not ashamed of my eco-loving soul, but it’s definitely not the best of me. I started thinking, what about when I’m ready to retire? Will this degree and the life it sets forth for me offer an alternative to sitting at home when I don’t have to work forty hours a week anymore? When I’m too stiff from arthritis (thank you young, crazy years) to reach the most extreme places on our planet, what will I do? Well, then I can work for in nonprofit pr and go home at the end of the day knowing I’m contributing to the greater good.

So, it seems, public relations has all of my concerns squashed. Now, as the thought of graduation goes from a distant whisper to an ear-piercing scream, forget what I want to do forty years from now, or even ten years from now. What do I want to do, come December, to support myself, make the best of my education and enjoy life? Work for a company that’s full of people with the same ideas. I think I’ve found it: Text 100.

Text 100 is a technology-based PR firm with North American offices in Boston, Rochester, NYC, Seattle and San Francisco. The firm offers a uniquely generous vacation leave and benefits packages, with employees’ first year’s vacation of thirty-two paid days off and benefits extending to partners, not just spouses. Text 100 also started its own trend called Duvet Days. Employees are allowed two days a year on which they are allowed to pull the duvet back over their faces and go back to bed, with pay and with no explanation to the firm. Text 100 works with high-profile clients such as Xerox and even helping to launch Microsoft Vista.

Here’s what Text 100 web site says they’re offering:
Account Coordinator: A great place to start your PR career. As a Text 100 account coordinator, you support several account teams. Typically you’ll be tracking press clips, assisting in research, maintaining media contact lists, and supporting media relations. This is a stepping-stone to becoming a full account executive and a great way to learn the nuances of PR.
So, yes, it’s an entry level spot. As horrible as all the stories of coffee-running and late nights we’ve heard from our elder graduate friends are, why not start (and possibly continue with, or finish with) a company that has its employees in mind?

My long-term goal is to work in the travel industry, maybe for the Travel Channel or to write for Travel magazine or Frommer’s, Lonely Planet, or Rough Guide. I need to do more research in that area, but my current internship with the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation’s magazine, Oklahoma Today is a good start. This Friday, Statehood Day, I plan to shine up the ol’ resume and find more tourism departments looking for young professionals like me.