The University of North Georgia (UNG) has launched Student Public Relations at UNG (SPRUNG). This student-run public relations (PR) firm works with real clients, businesses and nonprofit agencies who need help raising awareness and improving their marketing and PR strategies.
SPRUNG’s first client is Dr. Todd Holubitsky, chiropractor and director at Dahlonega Chiropractic Life Center. The students are creating some social media content and a commercial that can be played at Lumpkin County High School football games.
“It was such a fabulous experience. The students were so professional in the way they worked with me and their professor in creating the commercial,” Holubitsky said. “They came up with the final product within a few days, and we are talking about potential future projects. I was honored to be their first client.”
Faculty members Dr. Toluwani Oloke and Dr. Caitlin Wills serve as advisers for SPRUNG. Wills said the group is based on a Public Relations Society of America model.
Oloke, an associate professor of communication, appreciates how the firm builds experience for students and allows UNG to give back to the community.
“It gives students the opportunity to graduate with a complete professional portfolio,” Oloke said. “These experiences put them over and above someone who just has an internship.”
The group started with three students and is already up to eight.
“It’s exciting that there’s so much interest from the students,” Wills, an associate professor of communication, said.