Five Simple Steps to Stay Afloat. 
1. Be courteous.
You wouldn’t show up to a party 25 minutes late with food in your hair and coffee on your shirt, would you? Tim’s 8am class is that party. Just as you’d text your bestie to let them know you’ll be bringing dessert because you’re running late to dinner, you’ll email Tim to let him know traffic is awful coming from Burlington or, you know, that you overslept trying to finish the four assignments due that day… Just kidding about that last part.

2. Keep calm.
In PR at Mohawk, as in life, there will be challenges that a simple email or 3am Twitter rant won’t resolve. Out with the flu for a week? Hate your group members? Not understanding the course content? E-learn got you down? Speak up. The support and professionalism of your peers and your superiors will astonish you, if you let them. This program will test your stress threshold and organizational abilities like nothing you’ve ever experienced, so be open to criticism and advice anywhere you can get it.

3. Facebook is your friend.
In fact, Facebook is 40 of them. If you’re a Facebook recluse, destined to despise all things navy blue and white, you might want to consider getting over it. Or, make nice with a Social Media happy classmate and piggy back on all their interactions. I owe probably 70% of my success in this program to the Mohawk PR 2014 Facebook Group, and 100% of my sleeping in opportunities (blended online learning: when you show up to 8am class half an hour early, only to check Facebook and realize the rest of the class is sleeping like babies ‘til 10am).

4. Procrastination is not.
You know how in your undergrad it was really easy to bust out an essay due at midnight, beer in hand, only having started it at 6pm? PR at Mohawk will have NONE OF THAT. The program is created to reflect the industry, and APPARENTLY, in the industry you have to use every waking moment throwing your soul into releases, letters, brochures, ethical discussions, and keeping up to date on current events. Any other time you manage to pencil in some relaxation will be time well spent on panic attacks.


5. Be appreciative.
Yes, this program pushes you. This program might bring you to your knees. This program might force you to ask yourself why you chose it in the first place. This program will confuse you, frustrate you, and intimidate you. So, why put yourself through something that sounds more like a bad episode of The Apprentice? Because PR at Mohawk will show you what you’re made of. You know those moments when you’re laying on the couch, elbows deep in a bag of Cheetos and you say out loud to the Kardashian on the TV screen, “Why do you do nothing and end up with everything, and I do nothing and end up with cheesy dust on my favourite scarf?” This program is the clouds parting, telling you there is so much more to life than snacks and Netflix. Become that ambitious mom-ager you admire on TLC. Morph into something you never expected. You may not remember who Kim was married to last summer, but you will never forget those moments when you wanted to give up, but your passion for this industry pushed you to become something amazing. 


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