PRSSA Students Attend Virtual International Conference

By Emma Hummer

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic prevented members of Old Dominion University's public relations student organization, ODU PRSSA, from enjoying the atmosphere in the nation's country music capital, Nashville. The annual conference was held in a virtual format from Oct. 26-29.

However, eight ODU PRSSA students made the most of their virtual conference, making connections and learning from leading professionals.

Junior Brittney Crosby attended several sessions during the conference. But the moment she felt left the most significant impact on her was when she attended the 'Champions for PRSSA Chat.'

"I was able to speak one-on-one for over an hour with a PR professional who's seen it all," Crosby said, "That quality time while we video chatted was definitely a perk of the virtual conference format."

Those opportunities for connection that might have been more challenging at a crowded live conference were among the unexpected benefits of attending the conference virtually, said ODU PRSSA faculty adviser Brendan O'Hallarn. "Of course, the students who attended would love to have experienced Nashville in person. But the virtual format meant that more students could attend the conference. And students really made the most of the experience."

A total of eight students attended the virtual conference: Matty Madden, Emma Hummer, Diana Muia, Katie Maguire, Brittney Crosby, Alyssa Goden, Tiara Batchelor and Jahan Cannon.

Madden, a senior and this year's ODU PRSSA president, felt he gained a lot of valuable information from the speakers he had the opportunity to listen to. The session that was most significant to Madden was, "Lend me your ears, leap to your feet," by Eric Schnure. "Seeing Eric Schnure, who wrote some of former Vice President Al Gore's speeches, was really interesting for me. I'm not particularly skilled in speechwriting, so it gave me some very useful insight into how to make my speeches more engaging."

Madden raved about how seamlessly the event transitioned to a virtual format. "The online event hall they (PRSSA) built for the event was amazing, I was stunned at the quality of everything and how well it all worked."

Despite the very obvious change to this year's format brought about by COVID-19, the four-day conference left members of the ODU delegation inspired and energized.

"This experience taught me a lot about the industry, making connections and making adjustments for any situation," said junior Alyssa Goden, "I appreciate PRSA for continuing its event despite the pandemic and allowing us all to enjoy it."