Last Tuesday I woke up very early caught the van up to the PRSSA’s Regional Activity “Northwest Networking: Hiking Towards PR Success.” As part of the activity, I toured Edelmen and Maxwell PR, attended a job fair, and listened to a great speaker, Kyle Warnick.

The whole trip was pretty fun, I got to hang out with a lot of people from the journalism school who I have had classes with, learned what the inside of a PR agency looks like, and talked with some people who actually work in some agencies.

I wanted to take the time to say thank you to one of the people who made the regional experience worthwhile: Taraneh Foster, general manager for Woloshin Communications. Taraneh was nice enough to spend almost an hour and half talking with Bryan Saxton and I when we were only suppose to have a half hour. She actually read our resumes and writing samples and gave good, helpful feedback. Unlike the woman who scoffed when I told her I wasn’t sure what a media list was, Taraneh seemed to be there to help future public relations students instead of simply searching for cheap labor. She gave tips on everything from what to put on our resumes, to where to get cheap business cards. She even encouraged us to send us revised copies of our resumes, so she could critique them. I really feel she went above and beyond the norm of what’s expected at a job fair, and just think that as students we should be so very grateful to have role models like her to look up to.

So here’s to you Taraneh, thanks for making the Portland Paddle a great experience, and I promise this blog post is not in lieu of a thank you card.