PRSSA hosts rescheduled conference
Passing the test: Public Relations seniors Kara Czerniak, Reynaldo Delgado and Susan Medina hosted a rescheduled PRSSA conference. (Photo by Andrea Morales)
The UF chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) hosted a rescheduled national conference at Miami Beach’s Fontainbleau Resort in December.
Hurricane Wilma forced the organization to hold off on its original plan to host 1,200 students from 150 chapters in October.
The 250 students from 70 chapters who attended the rescheduled event found a “more intimate environment with the professionals and a lot more access for networking,” said public relations senior Kara Czerniak, head of the conference’s planning committee. “They were extremely lucky because that gave them more opportunities for internships and jobs.”
Nonetheless, after spending more than a year working on PRSSA’s biggest event, Czerniak and committee members Daniel de Paz, Reynaldo Delgado and Susan Medina felt disappointed. Having to downsize their plans proved “extremely frustrating,” Czerniak said.
The UF chapter of PRSSA also hosted the conference in 1993, in Orlando, for the organization’s 25th anniversary.
Public Relations Chair Kathleen Kelly, who served as committee adviser, and the department’s Advisory Council recently honored Czerniak, Delgado, de Paz and Medina for their efforts.
“What strikes me in this group is the level of grace and professionalism that these students possess,” said council member and Home Box Office regional Corporate Affairs Director Cheryl Procter-Rogers. “They have been through a very difficult situation that even some professionals have never experienced.”
The UF PRSSA chapter recently won the national award for outstanding chapter, which included a $500 prize. And Czerniak earned a Betsy Plank PRSSA Scholarship.
“We learned to stay limber and flexible,” de Paz said.
