SJMC Monday Memo

“Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

— U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020)

SJMC public relations program reaccredited

Congratulations to the public relations faculty and students! The Drake PR program has been reaccredited by the Public Relations Society of America’s Certification in Education for Public Relations. The site visit occurred remotely this spring during the pandemic shutdown. The Drake PR program is one of only 40 worldwide so recognized.

The site team praised the Drake curriculum and the “significant and diverse experience and scholarship” of the public relations faculty. The program was first accredited in 2014. The mission of CEPR is “the continuing improvement of public relations education to better prepare the next generation of practicing professionals.”

Career tips from alums at top U.S. tech companies

What do Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, Amazon and Pinterest have in common? These popular companies all have an accomplished Drake alum working for them! These alums will be giving top career and job search advice live on Zoom on Monday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. Panelists include;

Lucille Carver, Social Media Manager; LinkedIn (Chicago)
Andrea Crowley, Content Strategist; Facebook (San Francisco)
Raquel Rivera, Human Resources Business Partner; Amazon (Seattle)
Brad Schmitz, Senior Client Partner; Twitter (Chicago)
Kyle Shafroth, Google Talent Partner, Google (Austin)
Kellar Sirstins, Pinterest Partner Solutions; Pinterest (Salt Lake City)

More event information and link are found on Handshake – https://drake.joinhandshake.com/events/580406.

Midwest PRSA conference free for students

Students can attend the Public Relations Society of America’s Midwest District Conference for free. The four-day conference will be held virtually each morning until noon from Oct. 5-8. Check out the line-up here: https://prsaciowa.org/OctoPRfest

Alumni news

Katie Martin, JO’10, brand director at 72andSunny, is involved in another blockbuster campaign for her client, the NFL. The league has launched a season-long brand campaign, “It Takes All of Us”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m803OTV9Rac

Read a book to the world’s children!

The SJMC and the Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake are collaborating on a service project to celebrate Character Counts week, Oct. 18-24. Character Counts, a global initiative, supports the nonpartisan Ray Center’s mission to improve civility through character development and ethical leadership. The Character Counts movement serves an estimated 8 million youth worldwide through educators, youth organization leaders and parents. Every year millions of children in dozens of countries participate in Character Counts week.

Drake student volunteers will check out children’s books from the SJMC dean’s office (Meredith Hall 118), read them aloud and video record them for a playlist on the Character Counts website. Spanish-speaking readers are especially encouraged to participate. In addition, judges will review video submissions and select three winners to receive SJMC swag!

The deadline for submission is Friday, Oct. 9. For more information on how to participate, contact SJMC administrative assistant Denise Ganpat at denise.ganpat@drake.edu.

Plenty of study spaces in Meredith Hall

There are plenty of quiet spaces in Meredith Hall during the day and evening for spreading out, studying and participating in Zoom meetings and classes. Check it out!

Meredith Hall is unlocked during the following hours when classes are in session:

Monday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (card access 4:30-11 p.m.)
Saturday: Card Access only (8 a.m.-8 p.m.)
Sunday: Card access only (8 a.m.-8 p.m.)

Students and employees can swipe into the building with a Drake ID when the building is locked from 7 a.m.-11p.m., Monday-Friday. Please do not enter the buildings outside of these hours, as that time is used to sanitize and prepare the building for the following day.

Have a news item for the Memo?

The SJMC Monday Memo (and other days of the week as needed) is a newsletter to keep members of the wider SJMC community updated on School news, achievements, events and opportunities. If you have an item for the Memo, please send it to Dean Kathleen Richardson (kathleen.richardson@drake.edu) or SJMC webmaster and multimedia professor Chris Snider (christopher.snider@drake.edu). SJMC alums and other professionals can also subscribe to the Monday Memo via email here: http://eepurl.com/bPNbxn