Bob Peterson-ONU Alum, Pixar Genius, Fellow Greek

This evening as required by two of my classes this quarter, I attended a speaker. I went into the lecture thinking I would likely be bored. I mean come on, this guy graduated from ONU as an engineering major! How entertaining could he be? No offense, engineering majors. Anyway, Bob Peterson was actually a very funny and engaging speaker, doing voices of some characters he has played for Pixar and showing a few clips. Peterson was actually the voice of "Dug" the talking dog in Pixar's latest success, Up.

I found the entire lecture to be in the very least, entertaining. I learned that Peterson was a Phi Kappa Theta here at ONU, a fraternity that unfortunately no longer exists here and more unfortunately, neither does their house. From what I have heard from some older Alpha Xi Delta (my sorority) Alumae, our girls were pretty good friends with the Phi Kaps.

Currently my chapter of Alpha Xi Delta has been struggling in more ways than one to remain competitive on campus. I'm not afraid to say so because many people already know this about the chapter. However, what I'm saying is that I can relate with what may have happened to Phi Kappa Theta at the beginning of the end, so I was feeling a little sensitive. Also, today was the day that Alpha Xi handed out invitations to membership and seeing my chapter move forward, even just a little bit, I am so thankful.

As soon as Peterson received his brick (that was created into a plaque of sorts) I could see the mixed emotions on his face. Even from 20 plus rows back, I could see the flood of happy memories, the pride behind his letters and the regret that his beloved chapter could no longer carry on. Through a weakened tone, much less sure of himself than before, he explained his feelings of regret, but that if Phi Kappa Theta comes back, he will be there to place that brick back in the wall of a new house.

At first, I thought to myself, "I hope that never happens to me and my Alpha Xi Delta." While I still sincerely hope that my sorority is never put through such a hardship, I realized something. I realized that as bad as I may think things are going, I still have my sisters, and for now, I still have the ability to share my chapter with new bright young women. If someday Gamma Tau chapter of Alpha Xi Delta ceases to exist, I hope to be strong enough to still have hope that Alpha Xi can return, and I will do whatever I can to be sure that it happens.

Back to Ada... Almost.

Here I am, 37,000feet in the air over Arkansas, writing a blog post. Technology is so cool. I am headed home from PRSSA National Conference in San Diego. I loved Conference and I fell in love with the city of San Diego too. Conference is now among my top greatest experiences. I learned so much more about the profession of public relations, and along the way, I met some great professionals and students. Oh, and the city of San Diego was pretty cool too. My group made sure to go sightseeing a bit in between our sessions and such. I am so excited to go to conference again next year in D.C.

I am really proud of the fact that the ONU PRSSA took 10 students, at least a third of our chapter, and that everyone attended all of the sessions. My fellow members of Ohio Northern University's PRSSA are an amazing group of students, and I am happy to be one of them. I am so impressed that PRSSA chapters from across the nation gathered over 1,000 students in San Diego. The talent of some of these aspiring professionals is baffling. The public relations profession is without doubt going to benefit and continue to grow in the hands of this generation of students.

Through PRSSA National Conference, I gained the experience of a lifetime. I took my first trip on an airplane, my farthest trip from home, I gained many new friends and contacts in PRSSA from across the country, I created contacts with professionals, and I absorbed information about the PR profession like a sponge. Students of ONU PRSSA and of PRSSA from all over the nation, listen to me when I say, GO TO CONFERENCE. I have earned so many benefits from my experience, I will definitely be going back next year. I hope to see you there!