Every end is a new beginning.....

My internship at Momentum Forum Events is coming to a close but ended on a high note as I ran my final event, The Melbourne Cup Luncheon.  The time frame between the Pink Ribbon Ball and The Melbourne Cup Luncheon was extremely short putting pressure on the organisation to promote and sell all the tickets to the event. Unfortunately this year we experienced a lower level of ticket sales as there was a huge amount of Melbourne Cup events vying for the public's attention. While this didn't affect the standard of the event it did reduce the amount of funds that could have been raised for Radio Lollipop and The Indigenous Hygiene Initiative. This was disappointing but I still learnt a valuable PR lesson from this experience, which was PR should involve a planned, long term approach to ensure there is enough time to make improvements if a communication plan is not producing results. Completing my final event at Momentum has also caused me to to reflect back on my experiences and the lessons I learnt throughout my time at the organisation.

During my time at Momentum I worked on a number of public relations activities in the process of organising the Pink Ribbon Ball and The Melbourne Cup Luncheon. I am extremely grateful for receiving this opportunity with the not-for-profit organisation as I don't believe I would have received as much responsibility at any other organisation. At times I was overwhelmed by the amount of work to be done but it also gave me confidence in my PR skills. I am currently collating all the work I did at Momentum for my final report and I am amazed that I practiced so many public relations techniques in a 20 day period. However,  I believe the knowledge I have obtained from organising these events is invaluable and will assist me in my future career as a public relations practitioner.

Before working at Momentum I was determined that I was going to work in journalism and not public relations. But Momentum has not only made me consider a career in public relations but also consider working for a not-for-profit organisation. Therefore I can't thank Momentum enough for the amazing opportunity and helping me get my foot in the door of the PR industry.

Thank you everyone for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed their placement as much as I did.

Ashleigh
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Leaving but with Happy Memories

Leaving is always hard when your colleagues have welcomed you into their team so warmly. I fully enjoyed my time at Baptistcare and I have learned so much from all these experienced people. They were all really good at what they did and they shared that knowledge with me so generously. I could not have asked for a better placement.

I spent my last day in a tiny town Southeast of Perth - Brookton. Visiting the last aged care facility on the list and talking to the last couple of residents.

While there, I met the manager of the facility - a young man in his 20s. It was then I really started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. He is only a few years older but he's already got so much experience under his belt. Obviously I do not intend to manage an aged care facility someday because I do not think that is anything I ever want to do but he has gotten this far in just a matter of years. If I can decide on something and actually commit to it, who knows where I can go in a few years? Meeting him has definitely got me thinking and deciding. 

During my time at Baptistcare, I definitely learned the finer points of writing from my colleague who majored in PR and Journalism. I have improved my photography and definitely my videography and I learned what makes a good interview. I learned what makes for a good feature piece and what photos make for a good editorial.

While the internship involved quite a fair bit of writing, writing is an incredibly important aspect of PR. From press releases to byline articles, I got to experience it all during this internship and my portfolio is definitely not lacking now.

Thank you Baptistcare for this amazing opportunity!