he emergence of the International Association of Business Communicators Elizabethtown Student Chapter introduced many opportunities for students at their “Mocktail Hour” kick-off event on April 17 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Hoover 110. The new club introduced students to everything the association has to offer, from networking and making connections with professionals to personal benefits for the future. Juniors Dina Dispensiere and Jessica Sassani and senior Ameeda Lor worked very hard to bring an IABC Student Chapter to the College. Dispensiere shared the inspiration behind the new club. “I was excited for the opportunity to bring this club to Etown and hope that students become involved and see the opportunities that IABC has to offer them,” she said.
The coordinators hoped for a successful turnout. “I would like about an even number of business and communications students to come since they are our target audience. I am also hoping that the students will stay throughout the event and that most of the attendees become more involved with the club,” Dispensiere said. The mocktail event is only the beginning. “We hope to get at least 20 students to come to the mocktail event and 15 to join the club,” Sassani said. “I hope the weather is nice and hot on the day of our event, so that can initiate students to come out and grab cool ‘mocktail.’ Who would not want to be part of something so life-changing?” Lor said.
The three upperclassmen realized in their Advanced Public Relations class how instrumental and important IABC is and decided to bring back the once-popular club. “IABC Student Chapter Elizabethtown College began a long time ago but due to failed attempts to re-vamp the student chapter on campus, the club has died off,” Lor said. The group’s determined efforts are clear in the many outlets they have utilized to spread the word about Etown’s IABC Student Chapter.
The Communications and Business skills they have acquired over the years have led up to this project, and the event is representative of their readiness for the future. Through marketing outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn, the group names the three main reasons to join IABC. Students will be able to connect and network with professionals, enhance their knowledge and skills and access a hidden global job market.
“We had some difficulties, or some bumps on the way of making this event possible, but I am working with an awesome group and they are on top of everything and doing the best they can,” Lor said. The workload was tough, but rewarding at the same time. “It has been very educational and challenging. I have had to schedule, plan and create materials for this event. This is getting my team and I getting some real world experience with event planning, public relations and advertising,” Dispensiere said. The group ultimately enjoyed the experience, but was very anxious about the turnout. “I enjoyed the process and am hopeful that the event will be a success and students will want to join the club,” Sassani said.
The club has two advisors whose help the students appreciate very much. Much of the success can also be attributed to Dr. Kelly Poniatowski, their Advanced Public Relations professor, and Dr. Tamara Gillis who has been involved in IABC for a long time and supports the club’s future goals. “We first want the College to recognize our club. After that, we want to inspire students to join. In the future, we have not discussed our goals specifically but we do have amazing and creative ideas,” Lor said.
