Overall, it was great!

By Star Jones

We came, we saw, and we networked. We started our journey at 9 a.m. every day and finished at that lovely traffic time, 5 p.m. Sounds like a job, doesn’t it? The Atlanta field experience offered the opportunity to go behind the scenes of those dream jobs. We left with an understanding of what it takes to run a company such as CNN, Coca-Cola and others.

“I once heard someone say that your college experience is half inside the classroom and half outside the classroom. The Atlanta field experience is a perfect example of that; I will appreciate everything I have learned and the connections I made forever,” said recent SJMC graduate Derrick Sprankle, who accompanied us on the trip.

At some of our stops, we were greeted by SJMC alumni. This offered the opportunity for us to see where our education gained at USC can lead us. Starting with Manning, Selvage & Lee we met with our fellow Gamecock Stephen Brown, who is Senior Vice President there. Alison Carnes showed us around Turner Studios, where she works as Edit Operations Supervisor.

“I had a blast getting an inside look at Atlanta’s best corporations and agencies. I learned so much and I am very excited about entering the public relations field. One of the best parts of the trip was the time spent with my classmates,” said Lauren Fabian

One thing we all can say at the end of this trip is that we left with more knowledge of how the field of public relations works. There are endless possibilities of what we can do, whether we are allowing fish lovers to swim with sharks at the Georgia Aquarium, or we are flying overseas to China to launch a new Coke.

Last but not least is the bonding. We left as 24 strangers and came back as 24 close friends. We the Maymester Atlanta 2008 class would like to thank all of you who made a wonderful trip possible, with special thanks to Lisa Sisk, who taught the class and arranged the trip, Beverly Dominick, the SJMC internship coordinator who came along as a chaperone, and Dr. John Besley, who joined us for four days of the tour.