District Conference Preview: PRogress Report (DePaul University 2022)
This article is part of our 2022 District Conference coverage series. For more information on PRSSA District Conferences, click here.
The Midwest District Conference is fast approaching. DePaul University’s PRSSA Chapter invites all Chapters from the Midwest and beyond to join us virtually Thursday, Feb. 24 through Friday, Feb. 25 for our District Conference, PRogress Report.
DePaul chose PRogress Report — emphasis on the PR — as our Conference theme because we wanted to check in with major PR industries to see how they have pivoted during the pandemic. We are also checking in with you, the new generation of public relations, by covering what to expect when entering the PR field. PRogress Report will focus on how we can be the most successful in our job search and early career.
DePaul is in the heart of Chicago, a city that is a hub for healthcare, food, technology and entertainment. During PRogress Report, we will connect with leading PR agencies and speakers from a wide variety of industries to learn the importance of flexibility in public relations.
Conference attendees can expect to hear from top PR agencies in Chicago, including Weber Shandwick, Golin, Ogilvy, Walker Sands and more. Representatives from McDonald’s headquarters will give insight into corporate communications and how public relations functions within a major global brand.
Some of the highlights from our Conference schedule are a personal branding workshop, individualized networking opportunities, virtual visits with PR agencies and a speech about leadership in PR from our keynote speaker, David Albritton. Albritton is a veteran in the public relations field who has worked for Amazon Web Services and General Motors. He recently pivoted, becoming the founder and CEO of the consulting company Nineteen88 Strategies.
All of our sessions will be hosted on Zoom. Conference attendees will have plenty of opportunities for networking and connection-building through the messaging platform Slack.
I am excited about PRogress Report because I know how meaningful virtual visits can truly be. Throughout the pandemic, DePaul PRSSA hosted industry professionals at our Zoom meetings. Having attended both in-person and virtual PRSSA meetings, I found that the virtual format broke down some of the barriers of in-person visits. On Zoom, the industry professionals could easily see students’ names and faces, and students had more opportunities to ask questions and network.
Aside from the virtual agency visits, I am looking forward to Nina Abnee’s personal branding workshop. Professor Abnee is a professional in residence in DePaul’s PR and Advertising Program. She is the founder of Eyes Forward Coaching and has a wealth of knowledge of account planning and building client relationships from her time as chief client officer at Leo Burnett. I am excited to learn more from her about standing out from the crowd and building my personal brand.
DePaul PRSSA is looking forward to an insightful, educational and safe District Conference. Tickets are available to purchase using this link.
For more updates and information, be sure to follow @PRogressReport2022 on Instagram. You can also email makingprogresswithdepaul@gmail.com with any questions you may have.
See you Feb. 24–25!
Lily Lowndes is an endlessly curious student of life. She is a junior studying public relations & advertising and journalism at DePaul University, which means she loves to connect with people through writing. Lily is on the promotions team for the 2022 Midwest District Conference. Outside of PRSSA, she is the social media editor for her school newspaper, the DePaulia. You can find her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
