Reflections on the First Semester of the PR Graduate Certificate Program

As the first semester of our Public Relations graduate certificate program winds down, I have found myself trying to wrap my head around everything that has occurred in the past three months. In some ways it feels like just yesterday that we were introducing ourselves in our first class, and in other ways it feels like an eternity ago. One thing is for sure- these last few months have been a whirlwind, so I thought it would be beneficial to reflect on this experience before we get started on another busy semester in January. Here are my top five reflections on the first semester:

1. We have learned a lot… like A LOT a lot.

When I first registered for this program and saw that we would be taking seven courses per semester, I thought to myself, “Hmm, that seems like a lot, but its probably not THAT much”. Boy was I wrong; but in the best way possible. We have learned so much since day one and covered so many important and diverse topics of PR. From the elements of R.A.C.E, to social media planning, to corporate social responsibly, to ethics, and even graphic design and video editing, we have really developed a solid foundational knowledge of the PR industry.

2. Zoom classes aren't so bad after all.

When I applied to the PR program back in February, I had already been working exclusively from home for almost a year, so the thought of being able to go to class and see people in person made me really excited. Then you-know-what hit in March and my dreams of actually attending in-person classes disappeared. However, after now having a full semester of Zoom classes behind me, I can say that the Zoom delivery has been far better than expected. We have not had any major technical issues and the professors have done an amazing job at adapting to the online format. It really feels like we are all in class together… and being able to roll out of bed at 7:50am for an 8am class is just the cherry on top!

3. College learning > University learning.

One of the reasons I think we have learned so much is because of the style teaching and learning that we have experienced. Coming from a university background, I was used to writing 2 or 3 papers for a class and maybe a final exam- that’s it. But in this college program we are doing closer to 10 assignments per class with smaller quizzes peppered throughout each course. I find this much better for retaining information, since we are getting hands on experience working on the topics we are covering in class. I feel like we are actually learning how to do things in this program, whereas in university we only learned about broad themes and theory of our courses, without learning the practical skills. Overall, I think this is a much better way to learn, and I am so happy I chose this college course instead of a university program.

4. Its been fun!

One of the things that has stricken me most about this program is that I have had a lot of fun so far! I think we have a great group of professors and students, and I have really enjoyed the discussions we have had in class and the assignments we have done. One of my favourite projects so far was the “brandstorming” session when we were put into breakout rooms and had to come up with an idea for a new product and a name for that product. I love brainstorming and coming up with ideas so I hope we get to do more things like that next semester. Speaking of which, this leads me to my final reflection…

5. I can’t wait for second semester!

While I am definitely looking forward to a break over the holidays, I am very excited to start the second semester again in January. I am looking forward to continuing with the second part of classes like PR writing, graphic design, and media relations, as well as jumping into new courses like crisis communications, and special events planning and management. Having said that, I am probably most excited about our portfolio and career development class and starting my internship at Enterprise Canada, since I believe these experiences will perfectly compliment all of the other learning we have done so far and prepare me for a job when I graduate.

In conclusion, this has been an amazing semester that has been jam packed with a ton of learning and fun assignments. I know semester two will pick up right where we left off, so I can’t wait to get started after some much-needed R&R over the holidays!