ex(PR)essed

This has been one of those weeks when I’ve been reminded why I love my job.

I work with talented, fun people, and I work for women of real integrity. And, I don’t ever dislike my job. But, yesterday, I experienced a surge of new energy and a valuable reminder of why I love Messiah College and am so grateful to work here.

Yesterday was move-in day for first-year students. Around 10:15 a.m., I scooted across campus to meet a Patriot-News photographer so that he could grab some photographs of the day. The campus center was packed with students and families checking mail, purchasing textbooks, filling out forms, grabbing cups of coffee. Plus, there was traffic everywhere! Minivans parked in every inch of space on campus. Bumper-to-bumper traffic as parents patiently waited to get within walking distance of their child’s residence. Scores of Messiah faculty, employees, and alums donned in awesome orange shirts (good job, Scott) helping families unload cars and carry belongings to rooms. It was so energizing to see the campus work together to welcome the newest members of the community to this place we each love so dearly.

I took my shift in an orange shirt at the end of the day. There wasn’t much to do by then, but I did help a few people find their way to Wal-Mart. But, even standing in the rain without much to do, I felt totally excited for the 700+ students who had taken the brave step of furthering their education at Messiah.

So, I hope they will come to love Messiah like I have. My prayer is that their faith will be stretched and shaped into something deeply meaningful and essential in their lives; that their minds will be challenged and expanded with new ideas; and that their hearts will be blessed with deep relationships and a better sense of self.

A few months ago, I took the StrengthsQuest assessment prior to attending a conference with other public relations professionals from Christian colleges. I was fascinated with my results, and I have contemplated them repeatedly the past few months. On Friday, when finally tackling the organizational disaster that is our guest room closet, I stumbled upon my Myers-Briggs results from college and a Kuder General Interest survey that I took in ninth grade. It turns out that I’m basically the same person with the same interests and talents now that I was then!

In ninth grade, I showed strength in the following areas: literary (92%!), clerical, artistic, and persuasive. I showed weakness in scientific and computational (3%!) skills. Reading the descriptive paragraph about us literary types, I learn “English is probably one of your favorite subjects, and you may enjoy…doing publicity for an organization.” Really? Enjoy doing publicity for an organization? Maybe a place like Messiah College, for example?

Then, in college when I took Myers-Briggs, I tallied as an INTJ, the rarest personality combination of them all (only 1% of the population!). This was the first time I truly identified as an introvert. The truth is…spending large amounts of time with people exhausts me. I just need to be by myself to recharge, that’s all. Myers-Briggs gave me the affirmation that I needed to justify stealing a few quiet minutes to myself regularly!

A couple of desciptors from Myers-Briggs that I find particularly telling: “INTJs are natural brainstormers…aggresively seek new ideas;” “INTJs work long and hard and are steady in their pursuit of goals;” “On the job, INTJs take the goals of an institution seriously and continually strive to respond to these goals;” “they are most independent of all types;” “the amusing and humorous is usually subtle, and, more often than not, based on a play on words;” and “INTJs seldom lose interest in owning books and knowledge.”

Independent? To a fault probably. Lover of books? Um…yes. Whew…is that me or what?

Finally, my StrengthsQuest reveals that my “signature themes” are input, empathy, individualization, responsbility, and discipline. Basically, that means that I’m an inquisitive collector who instinctively senses the emotions of those around me and is intrigued by people. My middle name is dependable, and my world needs to be predictable. No surprises there!

So, what’s the big deal about all this stuff? Honestly, I don’t really know. I just keep turning it all over in mind, and feeling reassured about the person God created me to be. Clearly he planted some talents and traits in me that people have nurtured along the way that truly define who I am (and who I’m not). And, I suspect that he’s not done with me yet! But, I’m pretty sure that another personality assessment in another 10 years will still reveal that I’m an independent girl who loves books, works hard, and likes routine!

Emma: “Me and Jeff are best friends.” Pointing at me. “You and Natalie are best friends.”

Beth: “But what if I want to be best friends with Jeff?”

Emma: “No. You’re best friends with Natalie, and I’m best friends with Jeff.”

Yep…the Sampson-Myers-Bertram-Lorow weekend escapade to Lancaster County was a huge success! As anticipated there was much giggling, eating, antiquing, and just general getting caught up with each other.

This weekend’s gathering is thanks to a little place called Lock Haven University, and two girls who both happened to live on the first floor in Russell Hall. When I met Jamie 13 years ago, I’m not sure that I would have thought that we would one day spend a weekend together with our husbands and our parents! But, God has blessed us both with wonderful families, and I love that when we’re all together it feels less like two separate families and more like one big happy one!

My cute Jamie is adorably pregnant. And, I mean adorable. So adorable that I was too distracted to take a single picture of her cute self. But trust me, she’s even cuter than usual.

I found myself wanting to photograph all the elements of Lancaster County that make it such an interesting place:

Don’t you love that stack of rolling pins? I couldn’t walk from that antique booth without taking a picture! And, jugs of homemade rootbeer? Delicious! Jeff and I definitely splurged on homemade rootbeer and sauerkraut while we were in Amish country. (He also splurged on a whoopie pie! Lucky duck!)

Everybody needs a Jeff, Dave, Linda, Jamie, Brad, Karen, and Jerry in their life!

Yesterday was a double whammy confirmation of a dawning realization that I have feared for quite some time: I am being left behind in the dust of technology.

A few of us participated in a webinar yesterday about how podcasting can help build your corporate reputation. The webinar began with a very interesting conversation about how social media is changing corporate communication, a trend we are certainly seeing at Messiah: Prospective students now place more value and trust in student blogs and informal conversations about Messiah on Facebook than they do on officials admissions and promotional materials from the College. As a matter of fact, many consumers in general are skeptical of official spokespersons and professional communications, both of which consumer perceive as sanitized in a day and age when they can shape their media choices based on their very specific preferences.

Obviously, these types of consumer perceptions are having profound effects on the public relations world. Even doing PR for a small-ish organization in central Pennsylvania, I understand that while communicating clearly will certainly remain the core of my job, I must think creatively about which outlets I will use to most effectively communicate to Messiah’s various audiences. I can no longer simply rely on this blog as my big foray into Web 2.0!

Last night, my 20-year-old friend Brenda came to our house to mooch off our neighbor’s wireless internet connection. Brenda attends college in northern California, and at 8 p.m. (EST) she was auditioning for a part in a California community theater’s musical production of “The Secret Garden.” She was auditioning for a part more than 3,000 miles away from our loft! Using her Mac’s video chat capabilities, Brenda sang for and talked with the play’s director while Jeff and I tidied up around the house. She performed acapella, but not without once again using a feature on her Mac to “find her first note.” Amazing.

What’s great is that I don’t necessarily feel overwhelmed by the advancing technology…I feel excited about the potential and possibilities! I feel challenged to think creatively, to think beyond my blog or my Facebook page and start exploring the myriad opportunities out there!

What a fun weekend! But, boy am I exhausted. Like really tired. It’s possible I might have even prayed for a minor ailment that would keep from having to come to work today. I feel like I need about an additional 10 hours of sleep.

I got to spend time with some of my favorite girls this past weekend: Allyson, Natalie, Emma, Anita, Rachel, Amanda, Mandi, Ruth, Nancy, Brenda…it was fabulous! (I’ll see the rest of my favorite girls next weekend…that means you, Linda, Jamie, and Karen!)

On Saturday, Rachel, the Amandas, and I went to King of Prussia for the Creating Keepsakes Convention. Imagine: an entire convention center full of scrapbooking supplies and giddy scrapbookers. It was awesome!

I felt so inspired being in that space with all those happy, creative women! We took a quick break around lunchtime to set-up an Amish picnic on a tiny little sliver of green grass in the middle of the convention center parking lot. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, trailmix, and York Peppermint Patties for everyone!

Yesterday, cute Brenda and her family hosted us for a picnic so we could see Bren’s boy, Ryan, again. The Patton girls were there, and I had lots of snuggle time with Emma. We finished off the day with an exhausting game of Ultimate Frisbee with the youth group. I took a dive, scraped up my legs, and missed the frisbee. Bitter disappointment!

And, now it’s Monday, and I’m tired. Really, really tired. But also really, really grateful for a great weekend!