November off to a brilliant start

I know, I know... You haven't heard from me in a month.  I wanted to share with you why-maybe to shed some light on why I've gone missing. 

First and foremost---the "project" (AKA my dissertation) has been progressing nicely.  On Wednesday Nov. 4, I handed in the final copy to my committee. What a relief.  I have been working relentlessly on it for over a year, so when I hit the send button I didn't know whether to rejoice with gladness or puke. (I went with the former) 

The morning after, I jumped on a plane to sunny San Diego to the PRSSA/PRSA national conference.  What a great conference.  I found myself constantly running between the two hotels-yes the students were about a mile away from the professi

onals this year-to attend every session that would not only benefit my students, but also myself professionally. One of my favorite sessions at PRSSA included the faculty round tables to discuss topics including student-run firms, the Bateman competition, and fundraising ideas. At PRSA, a session called publish or perish with speakers Deborah Worley, Jeanette Drake, Suzanne Fitzgerld, Tina McCorkindale, and Terri Johnson.  These wonderful women presented an enlightening presentation about the importance of publishing and finding your niche in PR world. Another highlight of PRSA was my

 FAVORITE co-worker, mentor, teacher and friend.... Dr. Steve Iseman was awarded the PRSA Outstanding Educator of the Year. 

Because PRSSA/PRSA coincided this year with ONU's dead week, I jumped on a plane in order to take the red-eye flight back home in order to get another day with my beloved students before finals week.  I had one day to unload and re-pack for my next conference that would start one day after I landed in Ohio--National Communication Association (NCA) annual conference. 

NCA this year was held in the windy city---Chicago.  I chaired and participated in a panel this year with several of my social media buddies from around the country.  Karen Russell did a wonderful job summarizing our session, so here is a link to her blog post.  I also got to meet up with my dissertation chair at the conference where we discussed a date and time for the final defense.... After many e-mails after I returned, Friday Nov. 20 at 2:30 p.m. will be my "project" defense.  I will be sure to keep you all posted on how that fairs.

So all in all, it's been a crazy November.  Plenty of things going on and more to do before the holidays.