Written by: JD Davern

The Student Government Association voted unanimously on Sept. 30 to approve $650 in travel funding for the campus chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America to attend the national PRSSA 2016 annual conference in Indianapolis.

PRSSA is an organization that improves communication skills between faculty and students, and students and student media. Their 2016 national conference will be held Oct. 21-25 and is open to any student, regardless of major. SGA senators Mike Muller, Amelia Lord and Luke Hoelle are working to bring students along to that conference this year. SGA is allocated funds through Campus Life, which gets its budget from the Mandatory Student Fees.

When an organization like PRSSA needs funding, its members can ask a senator to write a bill, which will allocate funds to them for a specific purpose, in this case the trip to the Indianapolis conference in October, Muller said. “The PRSSA national conference allows networking opportunities, skill development programs and a career development exhibition with the world’s most influential companies. Having students participating in conferences keeps GSCU involved and well represented,” Lord said.

PRSSA’s annual national conference is the largest gathering of public relations students in the nation, according to PRSSA’s official website. “I think PRSSA is one of the most important organizations on our campus, because it can help all of us communicate with each other better and it’s a really unique opportunity for the group to expand,” Hoelle said.

The PRSSA conference is a potential big name ticket to get recognized in the networking world, something every student can benefit from. This year the SGA president, vice president and treasurer will be in attendance, and are available at their offices for more information.