There are a lot of steps to becoming a public relations major and doing public relations work. When I first came back to college in 2022, I was a year out from my Army training and doing my work in the Washington National Guard. I originally was looking into strategic communications as a degree and ended up falling into public relations when I transferred to Central Washington. I did not know what to expect for my schooling but as someone who left college initially to enlist in the army, I was a bit apprehensive. Thankfully, my second time here in college has been filled with many pleasant surprises.
One thing that I noticed right away was the class size difference. Something that is very similar to the way that the army teaches job skills, is the class sizes compared to the number of instructors. In the army, when I was training to become an analyst, the class size was roughly six soldiers to one non-commissioned officer who was our instructor. Although many of the classes you can take as your pre-requisites have a substantially larger class size, most of the classes I have taken through the public relations course have been fairly small. Colleges now can be very high in student population, with a low population of instructors, and that by itself can be an irritating and often lonely experience. Having that student to professor relationship makes for better grades especially when you consider how much help you can get on specific projects.
Another thing that I appreciate about being a public relations major here is the level of expertise inside of the public relations bubble. In the army, soldiers are expected to be subject matter experts in their chosen jobs, and many of them go to additional schooling to increase their level of expertise. The professors here at CWU provide that same level of first hand experience that you would expect from someone who might be your boss in your field.
How has this affected my stance in the Army?
After being in the public relations classes for a little over two years now, I have a newfound appreciation for what public relations brings. In fact, public relations fits right in line with being a Public Affairs Officer in the military. There are outlets that the Army uses to recruit, retain, and bolster its brand name that are the same as every other corporation in the United States of America. From trending topics, to public relations strategies and advertisement, the United States Army does a lot of things similar to what you might expect from another name brand company. Being from an intelligence analyst profession, I utilize all kinds of tools to help me identify the best route that a corporation or client might take. With the army, that remains the same.
As you might expect, the army sometimes struggles with its public relations and image. Problems with recruitment and retention are also prominent in the last few years. Because of this, being a subject matter expert in public relations is also an increasingly valuable position. Also, because of what is currently happening around the world, when conflict arises is when public relations matters the most. Knowing this, I plan on continuing my education and one day hope to join the Public Affairs Officer corps through the army, and will continue to become a subject matter expert to improve the army, and bridge the gap between the army and the American public.
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