Everywhere I go there seems to be this huge misconception about public relations. Every person who asks “what are you taking?” has had the same response when I reply with public relations. They always tell me it suits me since I am great with talking to people. What they don’t seem to realize is public relations is so much more than just talking to people. There is an aspect of pitching ideas where presentation skills come into play. There is more writing than one could possibly imagine, with news releases and the development of media kits. It’s about event planning, campaign organization and communication at so many levels. It’s about branding. And that’s only a drop in the bucket. The second semester of school is all about running a campaign for an organization, from scratch. This is where everything we are learning becomes reality. This is when things get exciting. I began the semester with an extra spark, a little more bounce in my step. Set aside my own personal goal of achieving honours status, it was my previous involvement with fundraising that steered me towards this program in the first place. I have this burning desire to be involved and help. I love fundraising. I love making a difference. I love doing positive things. I am very passionate about it and addicted to the feeling it gives…a sense of purpose and accomplishment. In my realm and submerged within my comfort zone, this semester was going to be a game changer. It would be my time to shine.
0 Comments
By the end of the first semester I was in desperate need of a break. Attending classes during the day, working the closing shift a couple nights a weeks and trying to keep up with all the house work was taking its toll. I could sure use the gift of time for Christmas. Or a cleaning lady… I was behind in laundry, cleaning, and my wallet was getting a little thin. I was happy I had budgeted myself accordingly. Christmas was covered, all my bills were paid and when I deferred my tuition until the next chunk of OSAP arrived, I put down a few hundred. That made my next semester’s tuition a little less. The extra cash would come in handy by spring. Things felt stable (for the time being). So, up next on the agenda was to finally purchase a big girl bed for my daughter. I couldn’t really afford one until now and I wasn’t sure when the opportunity would arise again. I’m not sure I should be admitting that I used a small portion of my financial aid to buy a new bed for my little girl, but that’s what I did. And I don’t regret it at all. It was a pretty big deal for her. And me. I feel like it was one of those milestones in life, you know? Moving up from a toddler bed to a twin mattress was a sure sign my little baby was becoming a big kid. And there would be no turning back now. She was a proud peach the day her new bed arrived. All smiles from ear to ear and chalk full of excitement. And that made me feel great too. Nothing really compares to the feeling you get when you know you’ve made your kids day. Knowing in that moment, you are responsible for their complete and utter happiness is one of the best privileges of parenting and is something to appreciate and bask in for sure. But right now, we have some inaugural jumping on the bed to do. The next thing you know, it’s the end of the semester and time for final exams. Where does the time go? I’ll admit I was a little nervous, even though we didn’t have formal exams, in a large room with a bunch of people. Instead, we just had end of term tests in class. But that doesn’t make it less important, stressful or nerve racking. The results of these tests would determine whether or not I achieve my goal of making it on the Dean’s Honour’s list. It’s the only list in my entire educational career that I would be proud to be on. The only other list I ever made it on was the detention list in high school (but don’t tell my classmates, they think I’m some nerd mom). I wanted on that Dean’s list so bad. I wanted to make my parents proud (at last!) of my accomplishment in school. I wanted to prove to myself that I was smart enough and that hard work really does pay off in the end. I had applied myself and now it was time to enjoy the fruits of my labour. I had done well this semester. I looked over my final grades and attempted to tabulate my unofficial GPA (using only the letter grades provided on the Algonquin website). It seems I had just made the cut. By my calculations, I had a GPA of 3.6 which is the minimum needed to get on the Dean’s Honour’s list. Right on! I felt great. This would be a Merry Christmas after all. And then official grades were released. As it turns out, certain classes hold more weight in your final overall mark. This was something I was unaware of and had not accounted for. Although my grades were the best I had ever earned in my life (true story), it seems they just weren’t enough to land me on that coveted list. Instead of the 3.6 that I needed, I had achieved a 3.53, falling short by just .07. And I won’t pretend that didn’t sting a little. It left a bad taste in my mouth and I felt my sails start to deflate. Then that fire inside started to burn a little brighter; a little higher. Darn you Dean’s list! I’ve got you in my sights now and come hell or high water I would get my name added. Nothing is going to stop me. Not. One. Friggin. Thing. Before long, the leaves had fallen and the weather grew cold, bringing with it snow and the first “snow day” for my daughter. We were lucky enough to qualify for subsidised childcare, which is fantastic. The downfall to this is they don’t account for snow days in the budget. With my daughter in full day kindergarten, we receive four hours of childcare per weekday. Should we go over this allotted time, we are subject to pay a premium, which I cannot afford. Long story short, I don’t have affordable childcare for “snow days”. Great. Unfortunately, colleges don’t cancel classes due to inclement weather. And since my husband had already left for work I was running low on options. I could stay home and miss class, but I worried I might fall behind. I was paying good money to get this education. But then again, so was everyone else. After a long debate in my head and a quick email to the professor, I decided to bring her with me. I packed her school bag with her lunch and a few things to keep her occupied. On the way there, I thought, what the heck am I doing? Who brings their four-year-old to college? Well, I suppose I do. I felt a slight panic as I second guessed my decision to bring her to class. As we walked through the halls of Algonquin, she looked around curiously, eyes wide with intrigue. I watched the faces passing by in the halls, smiling at her. She didn’t notice them because she was so enthralled by college atmosphere. As we entered the classroom, I immediately apologized to pretty much everyone. We were greeted with smiles and told not to worry about it. The professor explained that she herself had brought her own kids with her on occasion. It happens. Phew. And my little girl was golden. She sat quietly and practiced printing her letters while the professor was speaking. I hadn’t realized how much she was paying attention though, until she whispered to me that she had something to add to the class discussion. I told her she could raise a quiet hand if she had something to say. So she did. And she waited patiently. And when she began to speak, the entire class (smiling from ear to ear) listened. Her comment was relevant and she had just contributed to a college level class discussion. How proud was I?! As I surveyed the faces of the class, I saw everyone smiling at her. And that’s when it hit me. She alone had just brightened up the day of 56 people. And I was the luckiest mom in the world that day. |
Shauna QuinnNo stranger to taking the road less travelled, I must admit those not so great choices made me who I am and led me to where I am right now, which happens to be exactly where I am supposed to be. Archives
July 2018
Categories |