Kristen Gilmartin
Michele Papakie’s Presentation Making course has focused heavily on the Strategic Visioning Plan for Indiana University of Pennsylvania. My involvement with the project has included serving once as a facilitator of a student group and once as a facilitator of the IUP chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America. I have also served as process monitor of a student-comprised group, where I supported the group facilitator.
Personally, I feel that all three of these experiences managed to be beneficial towards my further development as a communicator. I was placed in a position where I needed to obtain answers from people and to really get them talking. It’s often difficult to persuade people to open up and share their opinions, especially students surrounded by their peers. However, through participation in IUP SVP, I broadened my socializing tactics so as to feel more at ease facilitating a group.
It’s fascinating for me to think that I may be able to directly serve and influence the future of IUP’s image. All I can hope for at this point is that my class begins a legacy at the university that continues for years to come. There are those who are saying that we are the first to do a student-run project like this. If there’s any validity to that statement, I must say that this is something this class could, and should, all be proud of.
Kristen Gilmartin
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