LEE BUSHStudent-managed public relations agencies, existing in some universities, can be an effective means of applying classroom learning to real client situations. Yet, little, i f any, published academic research exists on student agencies. This qualitative study looks at student agencies in relation to the profession's pedagogical needs, and identifies where student agencies might supplement orfill a void in the public relations curriculum. Student agencies fulfill two critical student-learning needs: process-oriented experiential learning and acquisition of professional skills. Based on these benefits, the study offers a "best practice" model for minimizing risk and maximizing pedagogical outcomes. 27

No abstract

While several studies have examined the learning outcomes of student-run communications agencies, these studies have mostly been from the perspective of faculty advisors. Through in-depth interviews with student agency graduates, this study examined how current industry professionals perceive the benefits of their student agency experiences and how they applied those experiences to their professional careers. Graduates placed a high value on the real-world experience gained from student agencies, learning how a professional agency functions, and working with a diverse set of clients and people in team-based settings. Graduates also reported that their student agency involvement set them apart in job interviews and made them better prepared than their peers for entry-level positions.

Student-run communications agencies on university campuses provide the opportunity for communications students to apply classroom learning to real client projects with actual budgets. Students have direct contact with marketing and communication professionals who hold the students accountable for their work and results. This research looks at the level of understanding and perceived value of these student-run agencies among hiring decision makers at professional communications firms. The research shows these decision makers value the experience students gain from this kind of agency work, including understanding agency operations and culture, interacting with clients, producing actual creative work, and being held accountable for results. Further, students experience the challenges associated with driving projects from start to completion while working with people of different backgrounds and skill sets. Overall, student agency experience provides students with valuable professional skills and a meaningful point of difference versus other candidates when competing for jobs.

Women’s participation in surfing has grown significantly in the past decade, yet few surfing studies include women’s perspectives. Using the communication theory of identity (CTI), I examine how surfing women in one community develop, enact, and negotiate their identities in this traditionally male lifestyle sport. Findings show that surfing women bring a more social, complementary style to the surfing lineup, while also identifying as serious surfers who are manifesting their own athletic abilities and relationships with the waves. Through participant observation and interviewing, I discuss how women create spaces in which to enact their gendered identities, how relationships with other surfing women strengthen these identities, and the strategies women enact to reduce discrepancies between erroneous portrayals and their own self-concepts. While CTI has mainly been used to study cross-cultural identities, this study expands its use to a sporting subculture while also adding to a body of surfing research that has largely excluded women.