Last Monday, WCA UT hosted our first speaker meeting of 2016. Clarisa Ramirez, founder of Small Coffee, spoke to us about the power of a positive attitude and hard work. She recalled her personal experiences and told us about the steps she took as a college student to reach her career goals.
It is now my fourth year of being in college, the second of which I have been at UT. I have decided that there are so many benefits to being a communications major, and I feel very lucky. I chose this major on whim, because it seemed like a good idea at the time, but I could not be any happier with my decision.
One of the most important things I learned in college is that networking is very important and helpful towards getting the job you really want. Therefore, it is important to know how to put yourselves in positions that open new doors and allow you to meet new people. That opportunity may come in the form of joining an organization.
This semester for the first time WCA UT hosted a tour of the Facebook Office located in downtown Austin. On November 20th, 20 WCA students and friends visited the office to learn more about, not only what it is like to work at Facebook, but also what opportunities are available
Every semester the WCA hosts a Speed Mentoring event where students are able to come face-to-face with communication professionals, and this year the event came early! Only five days after the WCA’s first meeting of the semester, women students showed up to the event eager to network and to learn. I think it is safe to say that it was a Saturday morning well spent.
Each spring, our organization’s Newsletter Committee releases its annual newsletter with pieces written by the committee’s members. Each piece highlights topics regarding internships, advice, and personal accounts relating to the communication field. Hope you enjoy!
Interested in becoming more involved in WCA? Are you a leader who likes to give back? If so, you should consider running for the 2015-2016 executive board. The positions require dedication and can be challenging. However being a leader for an organization like WCA is so rewarding and allows you to make some great friends along the way.
Elections will be held at meeting on Monday, May 4. Candidates will be given three minutes to stand up and give a short speech that includes their name, grade, why they’re running, etc. Votes will be tallied after each round and if a candidate loses, she may drop down to a second position of her choice. Officer descriptions and drop-down details are below.
If you close your eyes and dig deep into your grade school memories (sorry about that) you probably remember Career Day. Once a year doctors, police officers, fire fighters, and lawyers would head over to local schools to tell kids all about the possible jobs awaiting them in grown-up land. For most people in communications related majors Career Day was always fun, but you knew that performing surgery and extinguishing fires was not in your future. Those types of events only gave us the most basic picture book of professions, but communications majors are not interested in taking the road most traveled on. We want careers with freedom, creativity, and constant engagement. WCA speed mentoring is not like Career Day.
“I look forward to showing you how my determination to excel will allow me to effectively pitch ideas and uphold the correspondent role to the best of my ability.” –words from my internship cover letter
May is approaching and so is the end of my first year of college. When I look back to my summer before college, I knew I wanted to get involved in some sort of media organization. I didn’t know which one exactly, but one thing is for sure: I was not expecting to write for USA Today College. I’m here toshare my personal account with this internship and two lessons I’ve learned.
“Every business is a business,” Kate Purcell reminded the room full of communications students. No matter where the job, having knowledge of how a business operates can come in handy. Kate currently works with the Forté Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to launching women into fulfilling and significant careers. They encourage women to see themselves as leaders by helping them acquire business skills through access to their online resources, seminars, and MBA assistance. Did I mention that membership is free?
Women Communicators of Austin 