Meghan Moeller is currently a junior at The University of Missouri, pursuing a dual degree in Journalism and International Relations, as well as a minor in Spanish. She expects to graduate in the spring of 2023. Because Meghan expressed an interest in writing, she started her summer 2021 internship with PRSA Silicon Valley by listening in on the Chapter’s #FridayForums.

The weekly #FridayForum events air on Zoom at 11 a.m. Meghan was asked to write a blog summarizing the conversations of the speakers. Her content was due by Monday afternoon for posting on the Chapter’s website and publication in its weekly newsletter.

“Being able to write quickly and accurately is one of the most important skills a PR professional must master,” said PRSA-SV Board Member and Newsletter Editor Mar Junge. “What better way to start out our intern than to ask her to cover a #FridayForum featuring one of the industry’s top tech journalists.”

In Meghan’s first blog, Bloomberg Sr. Exec. Editor & Author Brad Stone’s Tips for Pitching Tech Journalists, she reported on the journalist’s advice about how to be a good storyteller, and explained how he adapted to the different tasks life threw at him.

Her next #FridayForum assignment was even more challenging. During that event, four panelists provided completely different viewpoints on what it’s like to work in the public sector. Meghan’s blog How We Got Here: Working in Public Sector Comms accurately summarized the speakers’ experience and helped our audience understand how communications and public policy intertwine.

For her final writing assignment, Megan reported on the Pride in PR #FridayForum during which panelists discussed what Pride in the PR industry looks like today, and how it has changed in over time.

“That event demonstrated to me how PRSA-SV’s #FridayForums serve as a platform for individuals to speak out on a variety of topics and express their beliefs without judgment,” Meghan said. “Listening to and blogging about these events was an excellent opportunity for me to gain knowledge on a wide range of topics.”

Developing Social Media Skills

After her blogging assignments, Meghan had the opportunity to get experience in another area she wanted to learn more about – social media. She was assigned to work with Board Member and Director of Social Mega Jewell.

“We started with an overview of social media – its various platforms and audiences. Next, we worked on copy and design. I also taught her the importance of the data component, for example, establishing a baseline, hypothesis, action items, and understanding the results from it,” Mega said.

Meghan put what she learned to work on a post she wrote about PRSA-SV’s Latinas in PR #FridayForum that scored a 20.25% engagement rate. She experimented to see what hashtags worked best, if tagging the speaker’s companies resulted in more views and the best time to post. Her researched increased the engagement rate of her next post by 4.31%.

“During my internship with PRSA Silicon Valley, I was fortunate to work with a team of strong, successful individuals. They took the time to teach me about writing, social platforms, and so much more. I’m grateful for the guidance of the many board members who worked with me,” said Meghan.