UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 19, Page 9
February 11, 1993
PRSSA offers members practical, real-life experiences 

     All University of Delaware students are invited to attend an open
house, sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA)
at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 16, in the Ewing Room of the Perkins Student
Center.
     Public relations skills-such as communication, writing and
marketing- are important in all careers, no matter a student's major or
interests. PRSSA offers may opportunities to hone those skills and gain
hands-on experience through internships, special projects and a mentoring
program, according to Tricia Teti, chapter president.
     An enthusiastic promoter of PRSSA, Teti, a junior majoring in English
with an emphasis on business and technical writing, spent last semester as
a PRSSA intern, for credit, with a small public relations firm in
Wilmington.
     "I did everything," she recalled. "I wrote press releases, did
marketing research, wrote reports, did editing and proofreading and
attended client meetings. Putting what I learned theoretically in the
classroom into practice was a terrific learning experience."
     PRSSA is active with its parent organization, the Public Relations
Society of America, and student members are invited to its monthly
luncheons. Through this network, Teti was assigned a mentor in public
relations, Lori Fenimore, who works in external affairs at the Du Pont
Co.'s  Chambers Works.
     Teti also has served as president of PROUD (Public Relations of the
University of Delaware), the chapter's student-run public relations firm.
PROUD contracts with different companies to assist with business projects.
Currently, it is working on a project for Goodwill Industries of Delaware
and Delaware County, Pa., conducting a telephone marketing survey of
potential customers for a proposed new Goodwill Store in Delaware County.
Students met with Goodwill representatives, drew up survey questions, and
after the survey, will analyze the results.  A follow-up survey will be
conducted in the fall.
     A past project involved a survey of college students' food preferences
for Hunter MacKenzie, a public relations firm in New York.
     The proceeds from these projects are used to send student members to
conferences and seminars held by the national organization. Teti, for
example, attended a national conference last year in Kansas City, and she
and other active members plan to travel to the national assembly in San
Francisco in March. Teti said the workshops and interacting with
professionals in the industry provided a rewarding experience.
     For information, call Teti at 737-5271. The faculty adviser for PRSSA
is Sheila Crifasi, instructor in communication. General meetings of PRSSA
are held at 5:30 p.m. in Newark Hall every other Monday (beginning Feb. 22).
                                        -Sue Swyers Moncure