SIU PRSSA Southern Illinois University Public Relations Student Society of America
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Southern Illinois University Carbondale has hundreds of graduates each year, this past May 2020, Savannah Coady graduated with her bachelor’s degree in communication studies with a minor in journalism. Since Savannah was the president of Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) before she graduated, I was excited to catch up with her.
Savannah is currently working as a full-time Marketing Specialist at Town and Country Bank in Springfield, Illinois. There she works on internal communication and community involvement tracking. Along with the bank’s twelve branches on internal communication, including the monthly newsletter, updated policies, corporate and community events, and more. Savannah mentions, “I write and proofread blog posts and press releases for the organization. As the only member on the marketing team with a background in Public Relations, my team members send me a lot of documents to proofread!” It is so great to hear SIUC alum Savannah is doing so great in her field.
While being an undergrad Savannah was a part of PRSSA, the Communication Career Council (C3), and the Movie Camera Movement (MCM). Being a part of those registered student organizations (RSOs) helped her grow as a professional, I asked if she could give an insight on how they helped. Savannah stated “I’m the only member on my team with a background in Public Relations, and my writing skills are often used. In my three years in PRSSA, I wrote many press releases that honed my skills and have helped make me a reliable team member.”
Being the Chief Marketing Officer for C3, Savannah learned additional skills that she’s able to use today, during her time in C3, Savannah earned certifications from HubSpot and from HootSuite that was the deciding factor for her to be hired. Savannah also adds “Even though I wasn’t a cinema major, I joined MCM because I enjoy making short films. I learned the arts of storyboarding and scriptwriting and I’ve used both of those skills in various videos and interviews I’ve done with the bank.”
It sounds like being in RSOs came in handy when really being out in the field working day to day, hearing about Savannah’s success made me wonder what she’d wish she knew since the beginning, some advice to communication majors. Savannah stated “I switched my major from photojournalism to communication studies in the second semester of my sophomore year. In the beginning, I chose communication studies because I wasn’t sure what else I wanted to do. I took an intercultural communication class, and my interest was piqued. I started off like a robot; I went to class and did my assignments like I was told. It wasn’t until I got involved in RSOs when I really started to love my major.”
Savannah’s time here at SIUC helped her realize she was an excellent fit for public relations. Stating “my college career took off after that. I wish I would’ve known how fun, challenging, and helpful being involved is. It made my time at SIU unforgettable and gave me a fantastic edge after graduation.”
We are so proud of Savannah, congratulations on your job and we wish you all the best from here at SIUC!
