HMS is giving back!

Well world, it has been awhile since I posted last (life of a busy college student!) But I am proud to say that some of my photography has been chosen to be printed in the Spring 2011 addition of The Muse!  So the main reason I’m telling you all this is because something I realized after lying in bed last night. This Muse award is not the biggest thing in the world; the majority of the people I know don’t even know what it is. But I still feel so proud of myself for getting recognized and appreciated. And when you feel appreciated, understood, and accomplished your eyes open up to an entirely new world of insight and opportunity. I decided that I want to share this feeling with others; especially college students who have suffered from server anxiety like myself. I am going to plan a fundraiser, that involves HMS Photography, to support those who have lost loved ones to suicide and young adults with depression and anxiety.
I haven’t had a great deal of time to think over exact details; but the thing that popped into my head first was how confident and beautiful I felt after I left a modeling shoot. Modeling really helped me see the outer beauty as well as my inner beauty that had been clouded by my anxiety. I will provide photo shoots to those who need this kind of pick-me-up. I still have to work out all the kinks and details but overall I want to give back to community and help those who have and are suffering from anxiety and depression. There is always  a way to see the light, why not start with a flash of the camera?

GE Medical and Z2 Marketing PR class!

I must say, my public relation’s class has been very lucky this year. We have had a large handful of speakers and events to attend; and last week we got to add 2 more speakers to that list! The first speaker was a 2006 UW-Whitewater graduate, Melissa Bohl. Melissa currently works at GE Medical and thoroughly explained her role at the company, along with Assure Point which is her group in the company. Her presentation was mainly on internal and external vehicles that GE uses to communicate with their customers and employees. For example, some internal vehicles are @service magazine, GE connect (similar to blogs), Yammar (resembles Facebook), Support Central (Internal Departments websites like intranets), Homepage article, Health Care Systems newsletter, and more. Some external communications include Next Level, which is an asset management website with blogging, videos, and online tools. GE also uses YouTube channel, and LinkedIn.

Our second speaker was Cory Zimmerman of Z2 Marketing. Cory’s presentation explained a lot of his life achievements and obstacles he has overcome. Cory explained that he was raised in poverty and was born deaf. However, through all the obstacles he kept his ambition and knew what he wanted and created his own amazing company. He stated that his company is the only company in the Midwest of its kind that is full service. Since they own everything that they need it is cheaper to do projects; which explains why the company doubled In the past year even with this struggling economy. Cory explained his company and his passions through a PowerPoint of eye-catching pictures and videos (especially the one with the men with their shirts off!) Cory also explained that his strong love for the Milwaukee Wave soccer team; which I had season tickets for growing up! He also mentioned that he worked for Hanson Dodge, which is a company I was looking into for an internship. Cory made a point that I really liked, he explained that no one knows the process of your work, they just see the final product; and there are always going to be challenges but you just have to make it through and finish the task.

I learned so much from both of these presentations. Both explained the importance of social media and getting your name out there. Cory said something that really stuck with me, he said that your first PR job is selling yourself and you are your own client. This goes along with Melissa’s strong point of completing your LinkedIn profile to get your name out there for companies to find you for jobs and internships. I think that even though both of the jobs seem to be in very different fields, they both embrace the ideas of strong communication with clients and employees, writing skills, strong work ethic, and a passion for your job.