Top Dog Communication was first introduced to me when creating my schedule for the
second semester of my freshman year here at the University of Indianapolis. I began my college
journey as a Communication major who had yet to choose an emphasis until a few weeks before
the closing of my first semester. After much deliberation and FaceTime chitchats with my Mom,
I finally declared Public Relations as my emphasis and was immersed into Applied PR only a
few weeks later. After the first class period I felt overwhelmed to say the least, but equally as
excited to build upon my skills and get my first taste of what working in PR is actually like. As
the weeks went on I was creating more and more tactics for our client and began feeling
comfortable and enthusiastic about what was being assigned to me. The feedback I was receiving
and the expectations I set for myself kept me focused on what I was trying to achieve throughout
the course.
Fast forward to the night of March 6 th , almost two months into the semester. I was sitting
in class just as I do every week, but this time something special and out of the ordinary
happened. Our firm director, Reagan, stood in the front of the classroom and started introducing
the student who was chosen to be Associate of the Month for February. She explained the
reasoning behind the selection also and what was said by their account executive in regards to
this student’s work ethic. Keep in mind, up until this point I had never turned something in that I
was not 100% satisfied with, but in no way did I think my efforts would be recognized in front of
the entire class. The students in Top Dog Communication are incredibly talented and I was
somewhat insecure about my lack of experience in comparison to them. However, Reagan began
dropping hints that it was in fact me who earned this award and I could feel myself about to burst
with excitement. When she said my name, I tried to play it cool and graciously accept the award
without completely going crazy. Don’t worry though, I called my Mom immediately after class
ended and celebrated.
Fast forwarding again to present day, two weeks before I will be leaving campus for the
summer. I am reflecting on my first semester in Applied PR and can without a doubt say that
being Associate of the Month was the highlight. It gave me the confidence I needed to think
outside of the box and push myself even farther than I knew I could. It has motivated me to keep
improving and producing the best work possible because I don’t want to disappoint myself or
those who believe in me. This course has had an incredibly positive impact on my life thus far
and I am beyond excited to continue challenging myself and learning new things through it.
Discovering your strengths and putting them towards a career you are passionate about is advice
everyone has probably heard, but I feel incredibly lucky to be putting those words into action
because of Top Dog Communication.

With only 19 days remaining until graduation I can’t help but think about what is
going to happen next. For the past 22 years of my life I have had structure and knew
what I needed to achieve and how to go about doing so. I would go to school, work,
and work over summer until school started again. But this is all about to change in a
short 19 days…
After graduation I am moving to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the role of being an
account executive in a social media management company. I have had a couple
social media internships throughout college and thoroughly enjoyed my time during
them. I am excited for the journey but a little nervous due to the fact that I only
know one person there.
Nashville is known for the entertainment scene, particularly in regards to country
music. This provides the perfect opportunity as a public relations professional to
dive into the entertainment industry. In the next two years I see myself beginning
my career in social media management and then transitioning into an entertainment
PR firm in downtown Nashville and furthering my freelance logo and web design
side gig.
While I am nervous that I am going to lose my sense of structure and security of
knowing what I should be doing, I am so excited to begin my career in public
relations. I love what I am doing in the classroom and am eager to take that
knowledge and watch it flourish in the real world. The knowledge and experience
we gain through Top Dog Communication is so prestige and known by professionals.
When you say you are in Top Dog people know the work we do and the skills we
have. I fully believe that our experience and knowledge from Top Dog
Communication puts us ahead of other applicants due to the quality of work we
produce and the expectations and standards we are held to.

In the future, I see myself working in corporate PR. I want to be in entertainment public
relations, focusing on the music industry. I think that corporate PR offers a more focused
concentration in a field that I am passionate about. Whereas with agency PR I feel that there
could be a lot of different clients that I wouldn’t really care about. I also don’t like the fast pace
of agency PR, and the multitasking for different clients. I would much rather work on one project
at my own pace than be rushed to meet deadlines for multiple different clients.
When I work in corporate PR in the entertainment industry I would like to work with
either a large venue (Grand Ole Opry) or for a corporate music company (Live Nation). Lucky
for me, I have already secured positions within both of my dream organizations. I couldn’t have
done what I have without the help of Top Dog Communication. As an Account Executive I have
learned far more than I ever could in a traditional classroom setting. Top Dog, I think, has
prepared me more for the corporate type of PR. Not that I couldn’t learn and adjust to agency
work, but I enjoyed working on the one client for the duration of the semester.