The Inside Scoop on the PRSSA Executive Board
by Charlotte Madden
The following interview is with Riley Mason and Lydia Coffman, two current PRSSA executive board members. Lydia Coffman is a graduating senior and serves as the Director of Public Relations. Riley Mason is a junior and serves as the Director of Content.
Coffman discusses her favorite PRSSA memories, her current role on the executive board and what she has learned through PRSSA in the following interview.
Lydia Coffman, director of PR
Q: How long have you been a member of PRSSA?
A: I have been a member of PRSSA for 3 years and will graduate this summer!
Q: How do you feel PRSSA executive tasks have prepared you for the real world?
A: PRSSA has given me the opportunity to create deliverables that I can utilize in job interviews. Also, having the opportunity to lead a team has been very influential in my interview processes for jobs post-grad.
Q: What is your favorite memory from PRSSA?
A: I enjoyed the El Barrio social night we had last week. It was so fun to see how I once started at PRSSA with no one to sit with and now know so many friends and familiar faces within Grady. Even if I didn’t check the class lists for classes, I would always see a familiar face, and that was possible because of PRSSA.
Q: What is a task you have completed or struggled with while in your position?
A: I have been encouraging our team to be more creative with what they submit to me, and I have been working closely with the Social Media Chair and Director of Social Media to change the layout of our Instagram. We want our printed graphics and the ones on our Instagram to match in terms of branding, and this has posed a challenge.
Q: What is the best advice for members who want to get involved with the executive board of PRSSA?
A: Attending meetings is the best way to show interest. Also, throughout the interview process, articulating the experience you have and being able to write well are super important. Even if you don’t have the most experience, being able to pull from class work you have done is relevant and shows how those skills are transferable to PRSSA.
In the following interview, Riley Mason speaks about her time on the executive board and what it meant to her.
Riley Mason, director of content
Q: How long have you been a member of PRSSA?
A: I have been a part of PRSSA for 2 years and joined the content committee in my sophomore year. I then applied to be the Director of Content, going into my junior year, which is my current position.
Q: How has your time on the board been, and how do you feel it has helped you grow as a leader?
A: My time on exec has been so fun. Being able to serve such a large community and members who are so dedicated to PRSSA and Grady in general has been so amazing. Through this role, I have learned to lead with kindness and be approachable. I found that when I was kind and approachable, it fostered mutual respect and created a safe space where members feel they can explore what they want to do. It has been challenging at times because you can get thrown into things on the fly and have to learn to think on your feet. Overall, the experience has been so valuable, and I believe the skills I have learned will be very applicable to my future.
Q: What is your favorite memory from PRSSA?
A: Our winter social, which we named “The Snowcial Network”, was so fun for me. It was such a good networking opportunity where members could connect with other club members in fun Christmas pajamas. I also nominated a freshman for most accomplished freshman of the year who was also my mentee. She won the award and seeing her be recognized was really awesome after I had been mentoring her.
Q: What is the best advice for members who want to get involved with the executive board of PRSSA?
A: I would encourage members to apply themselves, which can look like being a part of a committee or applying to be a committee head. This lets others know you are present, excited, and want to go the extra mile. For example, when I was on the content committee my sophomore year, I offered to do some meeting recaps. This task wasn’t under my role in the committee, but I wanted to do it anyway. I wanted the committee head to see that I can put in the extra work, and I believe this paid off for me in my interview for Director of Content.
