Being the Voice of Texas State University

September 03, 2014

Hellosamazing

By Shannon Bailie. Mindy Green, a public relations alumna, interned for the Office of University Marketing at Texas State University last spring as a student social media worker. Mindy gained valuable PR experience through a variety of duties including: managing the content for Texas State’s social media sites (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), writing for the Texas State blog and editing marketing materials.“I love[d] it,” said Green. “It [was] great to kind of be the voice of a brand, essentially. I become the voice of Texas State when I’m tweeting as Texas State.”Mindy has also promoted Texas State’s KTSW radio for more than two years including running the KTSW social media sites.“Having done the social media for KTSW I knew what it was like to be the voice of another brand,” said Green. “Everything I wrote was read by thousands of people, so it helped me pay attention to detail. That really helped when they were considering me for the position of student social media worker for the Office of University Marketing.”In the spring of 2013, one of Green’s friends heard about a student social media position opening up in May.“My friend who knows my personality and skills thought of me immediately as a good candidate for this position,” said Green. “So I emailed the supervisor, and she requested my resume with two writing samples, and I got called in for an interview and found out weeks after that I got the position.”Audrey Webb, writer, editor and supervisor for the Office of University Marketing, said, “It impressed me that the stress of an interview did nothing to suppress Mindy’s personality. She projected maturity, competency and energy and did it all with a smile.“For Green, her internship was not just for school credit, it was to gain out-of-class experience that would prepare her for a PR career.“It's one thing sitting in class and talking about the professional world,” said Green. “It's another to actually be in that environment and see how things are done and how things are run more clearly.”According to Webb, an internship helps you understand that everyone you work with relies on you, and that your work is significant and meaningful to a wide range of people.“I’ve seen her confidence grow through the way she tackles unfamiliar situations,” said Webb. “She knows she can face new challenges because she’s had the opportunity to confront them during her internship.”Green’s advice for other School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) students looking for an internship is to join the media organizations provided on campus, use social media, reach out to professors and fellow students and to get involved in SJMC events and activities.“Don’t be afraid to just really put yourself out there.” Mindy said.