AdPR Faculty Spotlight: Kaye Sweetser

Kaye Sweetser

Dr. Kaye Sweetser is an associate professor of public relations in Grady College. She has served as an adviser for UGA PRSSA's Bateman Case Study Competition, and her 2010 team of students won the national championship and PRSA's Silver Anvil. In addition, she is a former Lilly Teaching Fellow and a Russell Award winner. Dr. Sweetser is also a commissioned public affairs officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

What drew you to become a professor at Grady College? The reputation of Grady College and the quality of the faculty attracted me to UGA. The bright and dedicated students here have captivated me. And the true family-like atmosphere across the entire college has made this my home.

What kinds of classes have you taught, and what have been your favorite ones to teach? Teaching research methods is my favorite class. I love sharing the topic with students and seeing that intellectual transformation that occurs as they transition into real, critically thinking scholars.

What is your research focus? (Any projects you can share with us at this time?) I look at how social media is used in various contexts, be it in a PR campaign or a political campaign. My research of late has really focused on the relationship between an organization and its publics. This election season has also brought new inspiration for my political public relations work.

What are you most looking forward to this semester? End of semester presentations are my favorite class days of the semester because you really get to sit back and marvel at not only how far the students have come, but the real quality of their work and the obvious excitement they have for their projects. I love both my own students' presentations but also enjoy dropping in on other professors' student presentations because it great to see what former students have done outside my classes. The last day of the semester is always my happiest because I end up busting at seams with pride for what the Grady student has accomplished in 16 weeks.

What do you like to do in your spare time? I am an exercise fanatic. I box several times a week at a local boxing gym, run and love trying new exercise videos like Insanity or kettlebell. I ran my first half marathon ever this semester and am looking forward to improving my time at the Vegas half marathon in December. I also love spending time sailing, as well as being with my beau & my sweet yorkie, Ali.

What do you love about UGA/Athens area? What is not to love? Athens is vibrant, and Grady College is the most stimulating intellectual home a scholar could hope for!

What advice would you give to your students? Never settle. Effort does not equal quality. Write thank you notes. Push yourself to be the best in everything. Spell check. Never check a bag.

Alumni Spotlight: Savannah Highsmith

Savannah Highsmith

Savannah Highsmith is a May 2012 graduate who majored in public relations with a New Media certificate and a communications studies minor.

What are you doing now and how did you get there? I'm an assistant account executive at Edelman in the Atlanta office, working in the consumer practice. It's only been two months since I graduated and started working there, but I've already learned so much! I interned with Edelman the summer in between my junior and senior years, which helped get my foot in the door.

What is your day-to-day like at your job? (Any interesting projects that you can share with us?) Absolutely crazy -- but in a good way! Never a dull moment, that's for sure. My biggest clients are Brawny paper towels, Quilted Northern toilet paper, Masterbuilt (cooking products like grills, fryers, steamers) and Adobe (as in Photoshop, inDesign, etc.). Speaking of interesting projects -- I'm actually on a flight as we speak to NYC for Brawny and Quilted Northern! Both brands are participating in the annual BlogHer conference, a trade show for female bloggers. So exciting!

What part of your Grady experience (classes, professors, etc.) has been helpful in your career today? I certainly wouldn't be where I am right now without Grady! I'll never forget the lessons I learned from Dr. Sallot in PR communications -- she taught us to "write tight" and that has been so helpful. And getting AP Style drilled into my brain daily by Dr. Sweetser (and many others) has actually paid off in a big way! I think the most valuable thing I took away from Grady, however, is my participation in the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Both of those organizations allowed me to explore the PR/communications industry while still in school and they both opened up so many doors for me. In fact, it was at an IABC Atlanta event my sophomore year that I met my first contact at Edelman; she has remained a close friend and mentor to this day!

Expect the unexpected. You never know where and when that opportunity of a lifetime will pop up, you just have to be ready when it does!

What is your favorite Grady memory? This is a tough question, but I think my absolute favorite memory has to be Grady graduation. It was a night I'll never forget, where we all came together to celebrate all we had accomplished and it was amazing to see how far we had all come since we had been accepted into Grady just years before. It was also so wonderful to see how close we had all become and to know that the relationships we had formed were going to enter the "real world" along with us.

What advice do you have for current AdPR students? Get out of the classroom. Get out of your comfort zone. Explore and discover as much as you can about the industry. Go to networking events, not just on campus, but in Atlanta, New York -- wherever -- and learn as much as you can. Network as  much as possible, but don't just do it to get a job or internship, do it to forge meaningful relationships that will be mutually beneficial all throughout your career. And lastly -- expect the unexpected. You never know where and when that opportunity of a lifetime will pop up, you just have to be ready when it does!

AdPR Alumni Spotlight: Kristin Ballard

Kristin Ballard (ABJ '10) was a public relations major. 

Kristin Ballard

What are you doing now and how did you get there? I am an Account Executive at Brandware Public Relations in Atlanta. I came to Brandware in summer 2010 after completing an internship on the consumer brands team at Fleishman Hillard Atlanta.

Brandware PR is a boutique agency that specializes in media relations and marketing communications for enthusiast brands. Since I started at Brandware, my focus has always been on our consumer accounts (Vespa, Piaggio, Porsche Cars North America, Penguin Brand Dry Ice, etc.).

However, since September 2011, I’ve been an “embedded employee” at Porsche, where I work on internal communications and media relations projects. Although I’m still a Brandware employee, I now spend all of my time on the Porsche account.

What is your day-to-day like at your job? (Any interesting projects that you can share with us?)

The best (and sometimes worst) thing about PR is that you never know what your day will be like. At Porsche, I help with everything from running our corporate intranet to pitching news stories to creating executive presentations and speeches.

On a typical day, I can be doing anything from brainstorming and writing content for our employee communications channels to planning one of our VIP events in Birmingham (we have a driving school at Barber Motorsports Park) or scheduling press loans of our vehicles. My days are just like my classes were -- full of the entire range of public relations while focusing on how to use tactics to enable our communication strategy. It’s exciting and definitely keeps me on my toes!

One cool project my team is working on right now: the media launch of the brand new Porsche Cayenne Diesel —in Alaska! We’re inviting three waves of 20 journalists to come experience the first Diesel offered by Porsche in the U.S. From a strategic standpoint, this sneak peek will offer journalists the opportunity to understand the car and the clean Diesel technology before the model goes to market. It will set the stage for a successful launch at the dealer level.

What part of your Grady experience (classes, professors, etc.) has been helpful in your career today?

Everything! No, seriously. I was fortunate to be selected as a member of the 2010 Bateman Case Study Competition Team, led under the direction of Dr. Kaye Sweetser, which was the paramount experience in my college career. Writing projects take on a whole new meaning when you have a REAL client (and that client is the U.S. government, no less!). That’s why Grady students should take their Campaigns class very seriously. You never know who might be hiring down the road (I guarantee the client will remember those stand-out students!).

Also, Dr. Karen Russell, Dr. Tom Reichert and Ms. Kristen Smith were all a great resource during my years in Grady. They were so helpful when we were preparing our presentation for the Bateman Finals, and taught me a lot about professionalism and public speaking. The Grady classes were meaningful, of course, but I believe it’s the professors who make a world of difference in their students’ lives.

Make friends with your professors. Enjoy your classes. Take any experience you can get — paid or unpaid ... Be persistent, but not pushy. Always keep learning!

What is your favorite Grady memory?

Without a doubt-- representing Grady at the Bateman Case Study Competition and subsequently winning a PRSA Silver Anvil Award for our campaign. All along the way, we met so many students, government officials and PR professionals from all over the country, and to represent UGA was a true honor.

The opportunity to test the mettle of our entire PR education up to that point was a fantastic boost in confidence, but to then have that campaign win on the national level and be recognized among professionals for its excellence made all the hard work worth it.

What advice do you have for current AdPR students?

Make friends with your professors. Enjoy your classes. Take any experience you can get — paid or unpaid. Don’t be afraid to admit when you don’t know something. Keep in touch with everyone with whom you’ve ever worked; don’t burn bridges. Always send hand-written thank you notes after an interview. Be persistent, but not pushy. Always keep learning!