In college, it’s easy to get hung up on gen-eds and graduation requirements that you tend to solely focus on major classes in order to get the degree. But, college is the prime time to experiment in other areas of interest and possibly find more industries that speak to you. Whether it’s a class in another major that you think could supplement your learning even further, or even just an elective class that sounds fun to you, the possibilities are endless. These are the top classes the Philly PR Girl team wishes they took while in college:
Public Speaking & Team Building
Public Speaking is definitely not an easy class for most, but it is a great communication tool that can benefit you outside of the classroom and open up many doors of opportunity for you. Team Building is also a great tool that goes hand in hand with public speaking and can help make networking a lot easier!
- “A lot of people have a fear of public speaking and speaking skills are necessary for a huge variety of career paths. If I had forced myself to take this class earlier on I would’ve had an easier time. Still would take it now to improve on skills and delivery” –Hailey
- “Team Building was SUPER beneficial in my opinion. Whether you’re a PR major or not, I think everyone should acquire insight on how to take charge and interact with others effectively!” –Caroline
Crisis PR
With how fast-paced the media industry is and with the rise of social tensions, companies and people can easily wreck their image at any moment. It is a great tool to know how to help clients respond tastefully, timely, effectively and how to handle the aftermath moving forward.
- “I think it’s become so important for business & celebrities, especially in recent years. It would be cool to know more about how agencies handle crises and how they help their clients recover/restore their image” –Katerina
Digital Creation
Digital Design classes are incredibly important for fields in the Advertising and PR industry, but they’re also just fun classes to take to really dive into your aesthetics. Adobe Creative Cloud is also great to learn in general for personal projects even if you don’t consider yourself a Graphic Designer or Photographer!
- “I wish I took a video editing class or more graphic design classes. It is so useful in today’s world to be good at Adobe creative cloud and other software for graphic design and video.” –Jaime
- “Photography!!! Fun class and I feel like it’s good to know how to actually use a camera for more than just taking a simple picture especially in this type of job!” –Nicole
Science-Based
- “I wish I would’ve taken Forensics or Astronomy. Neither class counted towards my degree but I am so intrigued by forensic science and astronomy.” –Andrianna
College is the time to take classes that can add value to your life, even if it won’t necessarily project your career further, if it is something that intrigues or excites you, take it! Whether it’s a Digital Design or Marketing class that can help you land a job outside of college or even if it’s a Science or History class that just sounds cool to you, now is the time to dabble in it!
