Amanda Champion

Just want to clear up something about the last post, and in it I did claim I didn’t mean to offend anyone - which I completely didn’t. 

I am all up for enjoying the first year of University and the partying aspect and I am all up for having a good time when I return, however in my opinion I could never put that before my work, but that is just me. I do wish sometimes I could let go a bit more but I have always been like this and nothing will ever change that, and if I have offended people or sounded stuck up then I apologise and that was not my intentions at all, it is just my opinion that people should put effort into the degrees that we pay a lot of money for! 

First of all, this is not in any shape or form meant to present me in an arrogant of obnoxious manor, I am merely presenting a view that I have had for some time relating to people who do not try in education. 

I believed that after leaving sixth form and starting University life that I would be surrounded by like minded people who would have the same desire and drive to work and to gain a good degree as myself. I thought that this would be the case because many people choose to stay on at sixth form or college because it is free and they have nothing better to do with their lives at the present moment. What I didn’t prepare for was that people would carry that same mentality with them to University. 

It really does annoy me when people say that they have had no luck finding experience within the PR industry, because I for one feel that I have not broken my back in order to find various placements, I have merely put the same amount of effort into it as I do with everything else and I feel that I have come out pretty well from it. Therefore, people who repeatedly say that they cannot find PR experience are in my opinion not trying hard enough. I understand that it is merely first year and experience is not as vital as it is in other years, yet why not take every available opportunity to gain experience in as many different places as possible? 

Yes, admittedly it may take more effort than a simple email, yet even a phone call and then an email will often suffice, and some employers (as I have found out through personal experience) are happy to take on students from things such as hand written letters, which, let’s face it, do not take hours on end to write. 

Okay, rant over.  

As the nights grow colder and lectures start to die down, it could only mean one thing… Christmas! And also the fact that I have now nearly finished a whole semester at Leeds Metropolitan University. Looking back on the past 12 weeks it has been a complete roller coaster ride of emotions. 

From making some amazing new friends, to missing home greatly I do not feel that anyone could have prepared me for this experience, but I also feel that no-one could have predicted how at home I feel on my course and as part of my University. 

Considering I have only been here for a short period of time I feel that I have really found my feet both in PR, and in Leeds itself. I came to University with a very basic knowledge of public relations and what it entailed, but from both work experience and lectures I can safely say that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, and I could not be on a better course. 

The support given by the course leaders and teaching staff has been great, and helpful considering the switch between sixth form and University. These members of staff have helped to support, guide and motivate us all in the right direction for our ‘next step’ in life if you like. 

Things that I am extremely proud of from this semester include: gaining my weekly placement, having my first ever article published in the SU magazine and now being a regular writer for them, and getting a first in my first ever essay! (Which was also a business essay! - I have never done business in my life.) 

Even though it has been a tough few weeks I can completely see the benefits that Leeds Metropolitan University will provide me with, and I have already established some industry contacts, and am even being followed on Twitter by BBC and ITV employees! Leeds Met have become, and always will be my motivation to do well in my degree, and the help and support that they have given both directly and indirectly are outstanding. 

“University is probably the most life changing experience ever.” 

That phrase seemed to spill out of the mouths of anyone whom I mentioned my intentions to go into higher education to. “It will make or break you” was another one. Truth be told, I do not feel that different after starting my new life in Leeds. 

I feel almost as in this huge hype created about moving out was ten times worse, and a million times more exaggerated than the actual process. I have loved my time here, but still miss home, yet I can see the long term benefits it will have on my career. 

I do, however, wish that I knew that it wouldn’t be that different from home life. This could possibly be down to the fact that I wasn’t babied at home. I knew how to cook, clean and iron before I arrived here, and although these are essential skills to possess, it still amazes me how some lack in these qualities. 

It has been amazing living in a new city with thousands of others like me, yet the feeling of living in a massive student residence has rubbed off. I almost feel as if I am ready to move out into the big wide world, which is strange, as I am already in it. 

I wish I hadn’t been so worried about coming to University in the first place, because truth be told, not a lot has changed, apart from the fact that I have made some amazing new friends and realised that I am genuinely on the right course, something which is perfect for me and which I intend on doing for the rest of my working life. 

Today was my third week at my work placement. Although I have not been there long, and it has been a very turbulent experience, I finally feel I am getting somewhere! I have written my first official press release which is for a real client! YAY! I finally feel like my career in PR has begun, and even though it is a small and somewhat not that important fact in my life, it is the start of the beginning of my life in my opinion. Obviously this is what I want to do in the future, and everyone has to start somewhere. Also it gives me my first item for my portfolio, so I am one happy bunny! 

In my mind, the recent death or Muammar Gaddafi has sparked a whole new level of public interest in government of security. Walking into my local supermarket today I was faced by a sea of newspapers covered in grotesque images of the actual death, some even the bullet wound. But is this really necessary to show to the public? 

The death of Bin Laden sparked outrage due to the privacy of the American government, and their reluctance to release any full proof of the assassination, for example a picture. The White House continued to confirm that he is actually dead, but the worldwide public were quite rightly particularly skeptical due to the fact that no actual proof had been issued. 

Compare this to the death of Gaddafi and we see a great development in the amount of information which the press are willing to release, and print in the newspapers. I understand that with the use of Web 2.0 that if any member of the public indeed had a picture of the moment in which Gaddafi died it would circulate around the world in seconds, however the fact that the newspapers and online sources such as bbc were willing to print the picture shows that times are changing, and the newspapers feel that they have a duty to the public to provide them with proof. 

Is this really for our own good? Or will we eventually get to the stage where nothing is hidden from the public? Would the newspapers print a picture of a soldier for example, and will we ever get to that stage? Or is this just a one off because he was such a high profile character? 

We will not be able to answer that for a while, but I hope for the sake of the media and the public that this is in fact an exception. 

(Source: http)

Well well well…. My first post! 

As advised by my tutor I decided to start a blog, and it has also been something that I have been interested in for a while, just to have a little bit of me shared with the rest of the world. It is an exciting prospect! Well my first post will be short and sweet as I am still getting to grips with how this works!