The College Student’s Alternative to the Lottery

Today I sent in my application for another scholarship.  It sounded like something I qualified for, but I’m sure there are plenty of other great PR students applying for it as well.

But I started thinking: Applying for internships and scholarships is a good alternative to lotteries and casinos. At least they are judged on some sort of merit rather than random chance.

Even though I live near a casino, there’s a better chance of me getting this scholarship than winning the jackpot or a Harley Davidson. That’s why I invest the time and the postage costs into applying for internships, scholarships and awards.

I know I’ve spent more than $50 in the past few months on priority mail alone. Fifty bucks doesn’t sound like much…unless you’re a college student and advertising account executive working on commission.

It’s also tough to apply for scholarships because more often than not, you will not get them. Some people won’t bother to write the essay, gather the letters of recommendation and fill out the application unless it’s a sure shot.

So far, I’ve done pretty well “winning the lottery.” But, it really wasn’t luck. I’ve worked pretty hard to get where I am today. I know I wouldn’t have gotten any awards if I wouldn’t have had the guts to apply for them in the first place despite past failures. Sometimes, you need to take action over uncertainty.

For example, I applied for the Edelman Award and the Deveney Communication Summer Scholar Program. I may have lost, but I applied for the next great internship program I heard about, which was the Founder’s Award. I was amazed when I got it (even though I wanted it more than anything and I’m sure it showed in my application). At my own university, I also was given the Allan Schoenberg Award.

Every student has self-doubt. In an old post on Penelope Trunk’s blog, she suggests just pushing through it (with a box of Oreos if you need them).

So if you’re a college student, try the gambling alternative: Apply for scholarships, internships and awards. If you’ve worked hard, you might just hit the jackpot.

Tags: applications, awards, Internships, PR, PRSSA, Public Relations, scholarships

Fahlgren Mortine Award: 5 Things I Realized When Applying

I recently applied for Fahlgren Mortine’s Founder’s Award, which provides a paid summer internship and a $1,500 scholarship to a sophomore or junior. I had to submit a cover letter, resume, application form, two letters of recommendation, two writing samples and several completed assignments.

First of all, this was the most intensive internship application I have ever seen. To be totally honest, it was more work than some classes I have taken.

But, believe it or not, I had fun working on the assignments. The assignments enabled me to show the professionals at Fahlgren Mortine how I used my research, writing and PR skills.

Here are five things I realized (or was reassured about) when applying for this award:

1. Tweet to connect. Through Twitter, I found a news anchor who worked for the channel I wanted to pitch to. When researching, I was having trouble figuring out who exactly I would pitch to. I explained what type of client I was working for and what the pitch was about and she gave me several ideas of who I would contact, if this were a real pitch. Twitter once again is proved as a useful tool for communicators.

2. Brainstorm for ideas. One assignment was to create an event agenda.  I think I could have written a conference agenda with my page-long list. But, by brainstorming a lot of ideas, I was able to pick out the ones I thought worked best.

3. Crazy creative. I can’t completely suggest to be crazy creative, I guess, because I haven’t heard back about the internship. But, I created a logo for the client. The assignment didn’t say I needed to, but I felt the project would look better if it had one. Hopefully they don’t think I’m crazy for putting in the extra work.

4. Research, research, research. When creating the event agenda, I didn’t just choose speakers and activities that I thought would be good. I also researched venues in the city.  I was even able to choose which rooms I wanted to use for my event.

5. Paper matters. Maybe it doesn’t matter, but I felt better putting my materials on nice, thick paper. It looked professional and clean. It might cost more money, but isn’t your career worth it?

Challenges inspire me. I’m not sure if it is because I like hard work, or if I just want to prove something, but I love a good challenge. The Fahlgren Mortine application was challenging, but I saw it as an opportunity to improve my skills. And, maybe I’ll even get an internship out of the deal! It was a great learning experience.

Tags: agency, applications, Fahlgren Mortine, internship, PR, Public Relations, scholarship