Every year, the Public Relations Student Society of America hosts a national competition for PRSSA Chapters from all over the United States to apply their knowledge to create and implement a public relations campaign. Before being a part of this campaign I wasn’t sure what to expect or what I would get out of it, but I’m so glad that I did it. If you are also wondering what you would get out of this experience, here are four reasons why you should participate in Bateman!
1) You’re supporting a good cause
The Bateman Competition selects a different client every year, but it is always for a good cause with a positive message. This year’s client was With Purpose, a nonprofit organization working to fight back against inequities related to childhood cancer. I had the opportunity to hear stories from people who had been impacted by childhood cancer. I also learned more facts about the topic which significantly impacted me. I realized through this experience how much I wanted to continue to do nonprofit work and volunteer to support great causes. Regardless of where our team places in the competition this year, I will be happy that we had the opportunity to spark a conversation about childhood cancer.
2) You will learn how to work in a team setting
Remember in middle school when you had a group project and one person didn’t really do anything? Yeah, that doesn’t work in the real world. Bateman teams are made up of four to five members. In a small team with big work to be done, every person had to be held accountable. We each had a different role with specific tasks and deadlines. I felt the weight of my responsibilities because if any one of us didn’t get our work done the entire team would suffer.
3) It is a real-world professional experience
What I loved about working on the Bateman campaign was that I was learning what it is like to work in the real world. The campaign is designed to mirror how a real public relations campaign is created. The work we did was entirely real and based upon what the client needed. We had the opportunity to conduct our own research and decide as a team what the campaign’s goals and messages would be.
4) Building connections with other chapter members
With such a big campaign, there were stressful times when everyone wanted to be done. Despite those frustrations, we successfully pushed through thanks to the support system as a team. When one member would struggle, the others would help. I was not very close to all of the team members before the campaign. After sharing a mutual love/hate relationship with our campaign and work to achieve mutual goals, we all gained a new level of friendship.
Bateman taught us how to endure and to appreciate the results of our work even more. We will not know where our team placed in the competition until April 24, but I know that I am proud of the work that we achieved no matter what. Throughout this experience I was inspired, built relationships, developed my professional skills and so much more. I would highly encourage anyone in Scripps PRSSA to take on this opportunity.
Samantha Morsink is a sophomore Strategic Communication major. She is also Scripps PRSSA’s2018-19 VP of Visual Communication! Find her on Twitter @Samimor23