CCPR Semester 1: Goodwill, collaboration and opportunity

Walking the yellow brick road to graduating the Centennial College CCPR program

PRIYA KHEMCHANDRA

The Centennial College Corporate Communications and Public Relations postgraduate program doesn’t just prepare you for “real life”— you live it.

The best thing about the program, in my opinion, is that every element is an opportunity to transition from aspiring to be a PR professional to becoming a PR professional. We’re taught by industry professionals who are passionate about handing over the tools to go beyond the walls of the classroom and apply them before we even graduate. They want you to really think; not just topically but strategically, from every possible direction. And that’s what I love most.

As part of our events and project management course, for example, we were provided with the opportunity to coordinate real-life PR events. This involved approaching corporate sponsors, seeking media coverage, coming up with the theme and rollout from inception to completion — all toward a strategic goal of raising money for a charity of our choice.

That’s the other thing CCPR instills in us: the importance of goodwill. PR is often misconstrued as another advertising machine: spinning stories, pitching sales, marketing stunts. But there’s so much more to PR because when distilled down to its finer concepts, at the root is people.

And CCPR really lets us students know this. We’re thrown together in infernal group assignments, one after the other. We get to know one another very well and this constant collaborative work forces us to become more than just the individual: it asks us to reform our mindsets into thinking as part of a team. We’re all secluded in this program with the same set of people for longer than we might think is needed, but, as I recall reflecting to another classmate, “the benefit of working in such a tight-knit class that’s so contained is that we’re all just a real life experiential laboratory to develop ourselves in a non-vacuum.”

In the working world, not every client is going to perform as you wish, not even journalist is going to pick up the story you want to promote. Some will let us down, and some will go above and beyond what was expected. Learning to deal with a wide expectation spectrum helps us to be better equipped for that working world. I thought I was a patient person, but this last semester taught me levels of patience I never knew could exist, and I’m proud of that.

Coming from a science background, I have always craved an outlet that would allow me to apply my love for writing, art, critical thinking and people—all in one. One of my long-time friends commented that I should convert my creative talent into a career and go into advertising. But that idea didn’t really sit well with me. Then I stumbled on the world of public relations. No looking back.

CCPR isn’t all about the end goal. It’s not only about reaching Emerald City — it’s about the journey, the process. It asks and inspires you to be courageous, intelligent, kind and curious.

CCPR requires brain, nerve, and heart— but also needs a good dose of Dorothy’s curiosity.