PRSSA Overview

Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is a club on campus that works with local businesses to help promote them to students and the greater Bloomsburg area. Celeste Flick, senior finance major and club president, says the mission of the club is to “help local brands create some connection with the college students here.”

Anyone who is interested can join the club. Flick points out that this club is not just applicable to students studying Public Relations, but also to those studying media and journalism, business, communications, and more. Flick thinks this club is beneficial as it provides and encourages a wide range of skills that are applicable to many career areas. She states, “I think the importance of this club is learning skills to take into your career. The things that I have learned from it: communication skills, learning to be confident in networking… being social and creative I think is kind of our club’s mantra.”

PRSSA is a national organization, with chapters at colleges and universities all around the nation. Therefore, being a part of this club is a big asset to your resume, as the organization is reputable and well-known. Additionally, there is an organization called Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for students to join after they graduate, which provides networking and community growth opportunities.

Meetings and Events

Club meetings are held every other Tuesday at 7pm in Bakeless room 309. Club meetings typically begin with ice breaker activities and various conversations to help members get to know one another and then the conversation moves towards brainstorming. During the first few meetings each year, they come up with possible brands to partner with and then decide which brand they will focus on. Then, they plan how they will work with the brand throughout the semester and what the promotional event will entail.

Besides weekly meetings, PRSSA has held two exciting events recently. Last spring, Bloomsburg’s chapter of PRSSA joined other chapters from nearby schools for a tour of some PR agencies in the World Trade Center. Additionally, earlier this semester, PRSSA held an event in the Student Recreation Center on campus to help promote Soulstice, a local yoga and fitness studio. This event was designed to raise awareness for Soulstice and to encourage students to attend classes there by handing out coupons.

Flick’s Experience

Flick originally became involved in PRSSA through a former member, who encouraged her that her business skills and visions would be greatly beneficial to the club at the time. “I ended up joining and loving it!” Flick is a commuter, so she enjoys that the club gives her an opportunity to interact with fellow students outside the classroom.

The club voted for new leadership at the end of last semester, and Flick was voted as the president. Flick explains that she accepted this role because “I liked everything the club had to stand for and what we are doing for the club is what I want to do for my career, marketing wise so I thought it would be good practice.”

As she enters her final semester here at Bloomsburg, Flick hopes for more members to join the club and be involved in promoting, especially people who have an interest in assisting with the creative aspects of public relations. To get join PRSSA, follow the club’s Instagram (@bloomuprssa) and join the GroupMe.