Salt Lake City (Nov. 10) Hello from Salt Lake City, where I have come to ‘Make the Ascent.’ I and two other members of the PRSSA Chapter at the University of Texas at San Antonio have come to the 2006 PRSSA National Conference. I planned for months for this trip, thinking how great it would be to mingle with other members of PRSSA and PR professionals from across the nation. I also thought how great it would if it snowed while I was here, being from San Antonio the only snow I ever see are those flurries that melt before they hit the ground.
I arrived in Salt Lake City at 11:30 a.m. today and will be staying for the entire conference, which ends on Tue. November 14. I chose the title of this posting because of an interesting thing that keeps occurring. I have mentioned in a previous posting that I am a non-traditional student who is 40 years young. I obviously do not look like I am in my twenties. While on my way to the Sheraton City Centre, one of my fellow conference attendees asked me, “Are you the Faculty Advisor for your Chapter?” I did not know whether to take that as a compliment or be sad that my age shows so much. I responded, “No, I am actually the President of the PRSSA Chapter at the University of Texas at San Antonio.” I thought, okay that is over with. Not by a long shot, I counted at least 15 other individuals today that asked me that question. I have embraced this question as a compliment, because with age that shows come wisdom that is demonstrated through actions of leadership.
Continue to look for additional postings throughout the rest of the weekend.
1 comment:
Gregory-
I apologize for responding so late with a comment for this post. I read this post with great interest and something resonated with me. I too am a "non-traditional" PR student as I am also in my early 40's. I would really appreciate your feedback. Do you think your age has affected your confidence level when competing with those young enough to be your kids?! I think this is the only thing holding me back in applying for an internship at an agency.
This is always sticking in the back of my mind and I feel I have so much to catch up with in the field of PR. This is a career change for me (I already have a BA in Communications-I just never did anything with it)but have been in the corporate (financial) field for 20 years. I am also looking into running for an executive post on my university's PRSSA board in the spring of 2007 so I can't wait to attend the PRSSA conference in Philadelphia. Do you ever feel the same trepidation sometimes? I would be interested in your thoughts!
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