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Razhell Foster

[Link]

Expo Comp

25 October 2024

“Don’t just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead

or the unborn couldn’t do it any better.” This is a statement of encouragement for anyone that

does any sort of job to work towards being the best they can at their job. In my life, I’ve always

told myself that second place is no place, even when there was no competition to be held. Due to

this mindset, there were times when I didn’t react well to loss since I’ve always been a “winner”,

but as a highschool senior about to move forward in life, I know it’s crucial to remind myself that

life isn’t always about being the best in the room. It’s about trying your best. It’s about working

for yourself so that you can have the best life that you’ve envisioned. So, after careful

consideration, I feel that going to a 4-year university and majoring in communications will best

prepare me to work in the field of public relations.

My career goals are to be a public relations manager for a large company as well as a

digital marketer. From a very young age I’ve always liked connecting with people and being

creative, whether it was making fake youtube videos when I was a kid vlogging my life or

making a fake ad for my own burger restaurant when I was 4 years old, my passion for creating

things for other people inspired my career goals. I’ve always been interested in pieces of media

and how they have the ability to connect with people so strongly, whether it’s a content creator

connecting with their fans or movies connecting with audiences, I’ve always been interested in
these things. I would always pretend like I was giving my parents and siblings random

interviews, or just genuinely trying to get the people around me to communicate information

about themselves to me so I could connect to them better. While researching this field, I

discovered that public relations managers are responsible for connecting the public to the

corporation, because they do things like “review press releases and sponsor corporate events to

help maintain and improve the image of their organization or client.” (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

After being such a media-focused, communicative person my whole life, this career fits in

perfectly with my talents and interests. This shows that I would be perfect for a position as a

public relations manager. It is clear to me now that the best professional path for me would be

public relations.

I intend to major in communications to achieve my short term goals of getting a media-related

job at a corporation in order to begin moving up to higher positions. Communications will help

me reach my short-term goal by giving me the training and media knowledge necessary to obtain

this job. There are a couple courses I need to take to make this possible. The media literacy

course focuses on the basics of media, how media algorithms work, how to make that work for

you, etc. The mixed media course explores all types of media, from paintings to podcasts and

teaches about their influence over society. The digital art and new media course discusses new

media concepts, content strategies, and frameworks that bridge theory and practice. There are

also some skills I need to obtain in order to reach this goal. To reach my short-term goal and to

be successful in my course study, I have to have the skill of media literacy as well as a good

understanding of the public’s perception of all forms of media. After obtaining these skills and

my short-term goal, my short term goals can help me achieve my long-term goal of becoming a
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public relations manager/digital marketer for a large corporation by allowing me to get the

practical training I need in the field so that as I improve and get more experienced, I can move to

higher positions. This is why my short-term goal of getting an entry-level media-related job at a

corporation is dependent on me succeeding as a communications major.

In terms of my long-term goals, I hope to become a successful digital marketer/public

relations manager to make at least 120k+ per year so I can live comfortably enough to provide

for a family and include luxuries. According to my research, in The Occupational Outlook

Handbook, a career in public relations is in high demand and has an expected growth rate of 6%.

While the entry level salary is $70,000 per year, the potential high-level salary is $126,000+ per

year. As a new employee, I can expect to earn the entry level salary, my lifestyle might be less

luxurious as a result. However, as I continue to get to higher positions, I will be making my

intended amount. As with all careers, there are pros and cons. The pros of working as a public

relations specialist include flexibility, creativity, and relationship-building. Some cons, however,

are no direct control, lack of guaranteed results, and a difficulty in evaluating effectiveness. Even

though as I progress, this career will allow me to live a comfortable lifestyle, it isn’t all about me.

I hope to use my career in public relations in order to strengthen movements like BLM that rely

on communication. This is why my long-term goal is to make at least 120k+ per year as a

successful digital marketer/public relations manager.

It’s been quite a journey, but as of now I feel that a career as a public relations specialist

is my goal and the school that offers the best program is Howard University, as it is inline with
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both my talents and interests. Howard, though not as close to home as I would prefer, offers the

opportunity to study in a predominantly black space. In the short term, I will focus on taking

classes that improve my media literacy and my understanding of public perception of the media.

It’s only through completing my bachelor’s degree that I will be able to reach my long term goal

of being a digital marketer and being able to financially support a family. I look forward to the

college experience and everything there still is to learn about life and my preferred career choice

by going to college. [Link] once said “You have a responsibility to seek to make life better for

everybody” (“What is Your Life’s Blueprint?”) This is so important because it puts emphasis on

the fact that the best way to make life better for yourself is to make life better for others. It shows

that living your life doing good just for the sake of doing good is the best thing for you as well as

everyone else. This is something I struggled to learn on my journey, but after learning it I

realized just how right he was.