ICYMI: Check out The PRSSA and Finn Partners Program Experience – Part 1 I was first introduced to public relations in one of my news writing classes at the University of North Texas. As a broadcast journalism major, our assignment was to write a press release. It didn’t mean much then, but when I began taking higher-level broadcast courses I […]
Last year, I wrote an article about how unpaid internships perpetuate the racial wealth gap inequity and therefore prevent the PR industry from becoming more diverse. To address this issue, PRSSA teamed up with Finn Partners to launch a two-day mentorship program for diverse members, called “Partners for Diversity: The Internship Preview.” The program aimed to expose students to various […]
Hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have increased exponentially over the course of the pandemic due to racially charged and xenophobic rhetoric expressed by people such as former President Donald Trump, who has publicly referred to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus”. Comments such as those referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus” are very damaging to the AAPI […]
Editor’s note: The following article contains graphic content. This is what we’ve heard hundreds of times on March 8 in Argentina. Women are asking not to get told, “Happy Women’s Day,” nor to receive flowers. Instead, they say, “We will be happy the day that no one is missing.” To understand the reason for this statement (that I know for […]
Black Lives Matter. This should be obvious, yet last spring led to these three words screaming loudly in the consciousness of the United States of America. The country (and the world) was facing a surging coronavirus pandemic, yet we were in the midst of what some called a “second pandemic” — one of racism and the unjust treatment of people […]
Adapted Diversity Fund Graphic courtesy of Chelsea Akpan, a UTA alumna. The events from the last few years that have caused outrage and called for social justice serve as a wakeup call to everyone. This past summer when the entire country witnessed the unjust killing of George Floyd and social movements took center stage, the University of Texas at Arlington’s […]
Have you ever felt entitled to something because of your race? Do you feel that you deserve a seat in a top company because you are Black? Perhaps, Black History Month might be a rare occasion to reflect on our rightful place as “Black people”. This year’s theme on “The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity”, definitely presents an impetus […]
This article is part of our National Committee Spotlight series. This series features our current National Committee reflecting on their experience and offering insights into their respective roles as we approach our National Elections and Leadership Assembly. To learn more about running for National Committee, click here. Haniya Shariff – Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion What is your role? […]
This time last year, if someone told me I would be the director of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) for Temple University’s Chapter of PRSSA, I would’ve thought they were crazy. Our mentorship program put me in the pathway of Cindy Chen, who was the Chapter’s treasurer at the time. Even though I had little to no PR experience, since I […]
I came out at 15. When I came out, I was attending a high school in a progressive neighborhood that had an openly gay principal, and I had multiple gay teachers. I never felt scared to show up as myself. Now, I attend the University of Florida, a southern school with a primarily white, cisgender and heterosexual population. I’m studying […]
