So awkward...

Hey P.R. Bloggers,

After being at my placement for over three weeks, it’s officially time to stop procrastinating and actually post something up on this blog; in saying that, I swear this is most likely THE last introductory post to be up for the semester.

In this short period of time, the number of awkward moments I’ve had would most likely equal to the amount of times the world has seen Britney Spears’s happy bits. Most of us would have had that horrid experience of meeting a teacher we once had outside the classroom and we ALL know how awkward that can be. Well try being surrounded by all of them every single day.

Yes, I am currently completing the PR393 placement at an institute filled with all sorts of traumatic moments which I spent 5 years trying to get out of. Rossmoyne Senior High School is located just ten minutes south of the Perth’s CBD. Founded in 1968, this independent public school is now one of Western Australia’s leading school in academics, music and volleyball.

Rossmoyne Senior High School

Only graduating three years ago, my oversized forehead is still somewhat fresh in the memory of those teachers I’ve had. So as you can imagine, it was somewhat ‘interesting’ to constantly receive that same ‘oh my god, unless you failed your TEE, what are you doing here’ expression from them.

However, to be honest this experience hasn’t been all bad. Being in a familiar surrounding, has, I believe enhanced my experience as an intern. I discovered that if you deliver a good job to any work assigned, word does get around to teachers who once ‘hated’ you, and you’ll eventually be sipping on the same diluted coffee with them during morning tea.

The past few weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind experience for me. I started this placement not knowing what to expect; what the public relations sector at an educational institute is like; and if there is even anything relevant for me to do that relates to this unit. However in a short period of time, I had liaised with several journalists including Anne Gartner from the Canning Times, Maria D’Agostino from School Matters and Amber Gorrie who is the Media and Communications Officer of the Department of Education. In that time, I have been fortunate enough to have three stories printed by the Canning Times and made a (I like to believe) positive impression on Maria and Amber. To me, this was absolutely surreal as it’s amazing to actually apply the concepts and techniques we spent the last few years learning into a real life situation.

In addition to those little heart-skipping moments, the some other projects I worked on include writing articles for the school’s monthly newsletter (which was printed for the 1600 students at the school); organizing the seating chart for the Year 12 Valedictory at Curtin Stadium in October; updating any ‘Latest News’ on the school’s website www.rossmoyne.wa.edu.au ; along with a few side projects including assisting Year 8 students with their assignments on the promotion of their ‘product launches’.

With only a few days left and an untouched 5000 word report, I hope everyone is a tad more organized than I am and have enjoyed their time at their respective placements. I look forward to updating you with more awkward moments and trivial achievements the next few days.

-Bryan