A Small Village With Big Aspirations

Ohio Northern University Public Relations and their accredited on-campus firm, True North PR takes on several clients a semester to provide its students with relevant real-life job experience.

This semester, we are working with the businesses and village administration in Edon Ohio.  Edon is a small town up near the border of Ohio and Michigan that has under 1000 residents. Together, over 25 businesses are participating in the campaign along with the village administration.

The team that is working with the village of Edon has come up with a baseline of deliverables for the village businesses and the administration.  Here are a few of those deliverables:

What do You See in the Mirror

When you stand in front of a mirror, can you honestly say that you have tried your hardest? (photo/JHDT productions)

Two balls, two strikes, the bottom of the ninth inning, your team is down by one with a runner on second, and you are up to bat. The pitcher throws you a nasty curveball on the outside half of the plate, you swing and miss.

Often, life throws a curveball when we are down in the count. Most of the time, we strike out, we fail. 

Failure is a fact of life; it happens to all of us at one point or another. We lose a job; we get cut from a team, we fail the exam that we have been preparing weeks for.

I recently went through a particularly taxing failure. I thought that the aspect of life that I had failed at defined me, for many years of my life, it did define me. I devoted countless hours a week on this aspect of my life and cared more deeply for this part of myself than any other. Just the other day, it was ripped from under my feet.

I had failed.

Some people say that a failure should not define a person; however, the way we react and learn from these failures does. I have often been told that in life if you can look in the mirror and honestly say that you worked the hardest that you could and learned something along the way, there is nothing to be ashamed of after you fail.

I realize now that I worked as hard as I could at my recent failure. I devoted all of my life to it and learned a great deal from it. Sometimes, you can do all of this and still fail, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Often these failures open new doors in our lives that would not have been possible before.

Failure is a necessary fact of life, it may be confusing and painful at first, but in the end, it teaches us to work hard and strive for greatness.

Five Essential Truths College Has Taught Me About Life So Far

Textbooks, lectures, final exams, these, are just a few tools many people think of when describing how college prepares students for their jobs after school. However, college is much more than just course-work, it is a time for developing who we are as people and the ideals we will carry for the rest of our lives. We come in as naive 18-year-olds, and over the years we hopefully discover who we are.

With the middle of the semester coming up, I have been reflecting on the lessons that I have learned so far at ONU.

 I realized that college has provided me the opportunity to set the standards for my own life, leading to outline five essential truths to my life so far.

1. Being excessively-organized is critical to success in school as well as life.

My calendars, planners, note-taking systems and even organizing my apartment have become a part of my daily life management routine. I would not survive without excessively organizing my life; it keeps me on task and goal oriented.

2. Treat every day like it is a day job

A while back, I had read a bulletin board in my apartment hallway, (sometimes they have great information) and read an interesting piece on how to stay productive during the day. The section on the board said to treat every day of classes as a day of work. Meaning that if you go to class in the morning at 9 and then have a 3-hour break, under no circumstance should you go back to your room and watch TV! 

Instead, go to the library or an empty classroom on campus and get some work done, read the news, or a book, anything that could help you work toward a goal that you have set.

When I go back to my room, I know that I neglect the work that I need to get done. Taking that break in the day sets my mind to its lazy setting when it needs to be in productive mode. I make it a priority to have that "work day" feel until have accomplished the day's goals.

3. Being happy with your department/workplace is more important than the status/money you think you need.

My first semester of college was a miserable experience. I was struggling in every aspect of my life; school, personal, emotional and physical.  I was having a hard time fitting in with the professors that I had, the friends that I had made and the student organizations that I chose to participate in.

Thankfully, one professor in the Communications and Media Studies department helped me realize something vital; if you are struggling with an aspect of your life, you should examine the people that you are around first.

In my case, I did not fit into the department. I made the change, and now I love going to class, I love the work that I am doing and love the people that I interact with on a daily basis.

You can not put a price on being in the right place at the right time.

4. There are times for buckling down and having self-control, and there are times for letting loose and falling off the face of the earth.

Often, as college students, we tend to get into a mindset that we need to be productive all the time, 24/7. I know people who get up in the morning, start doing work, go to meetings, go to practice, go to work, come back and do more homework.

Working that hard all the time leaves no room for reflection or mental decompression.

I make a point to take a step back from my work every once in a while. When that time comes, I forget everything I have to do; it goes on the back burner. Taking time to "fall off the face of the earth" is sometimes healthy. Get lost in a good book, go for a long walk or just sit and think, whatever allows you clear your mind and relax.

5. Let your confidence show and step out of your comfort zone.

Confidence is the most powerful aspect that a person can have. It amplifies our attributes and shows other people that we can handle ourselves. If we spend all of our lives putting up boundaries around the things we think cannot be handled, then our full potential will never be reached.

Go and join that club you once thought you might want to or take that class you never thought you could handle, run for a president of an organization. You never know if you will succeed at something if you never try.

I am in no way the most confident person in the world, nor do I always step out of my comfort zone. However, I try to walk into new situations with the confidence that I will succeed. I will always be the loudest person in the room, not always vocally but confidently.

Why Ohio Northern Should Improve the Department of Communications and Media Studies

The Freed Center for performing arts at the Ohio Northern University which is home to the Communication and Media Studies department (photo/onu.edu)

The Ohio Northern University has completed several renovations over the past few years. Most recently, they remodeled the McIntosh Center which included new seating in the public areas, polar expresso, dining hall, and the complete remodel and addition of the Wow Wingery. The university just recently announced the building of a state of the art engineering building worth millions of dollars.

With all of these renovations to campus, many departments are stating their case as to why they should have the next large scale renovation. I believe that the Communication and Media Studies department should be the one to receive the next improvement on campus.

The Why and How for Maintaining Strong Family Relationships Through College

Everyone goes through struggles in life at one point or another. When we are experiencing the pressures that school, work, and life have on us, we often rely on the people who are closest to us. For myself, I fall back on my greatest support group, my home, and my family.

My home and my family are two things that I miss while being away at college.

My outlet for all of my pressures in life is my family. If I am having a bad day and need to talk to someone, I call my parents and brother.  They always guide me to the right decisions when I am struggling with school, life or relationships. They always have my back when I have had a rough day of classes or life is getting me down. The ultimate stress reliever when I am away at college is my family.

Having a close relationship with my family is something that I make sure I maintain throughout my time away at college. Here are my key points to consider for keeping close relationships with family when away at school:

    1. I make sure to call family at least twice a week to update them on how classes, life, and relationships are going.

    2. When I am not calling family, I make sure to send texts periodically throughout the day, especially goodnight and that I love them. (this goes a long way)

    3. I try to make time for two visits home a semester, not including scheduled university breaks.

Remembering to accomplish these three easy points has provided me with strong relationships with my family. Although I do not see them as much as I used to, they are always there for me when I need them. They are my greatest support system, and I could not imagine completing college without their guidance.

Organizing the Life of a Student Athlete

Being a student athlete in college is one of the greatest privileges that someone can have. For myself, I am able to continue playing the game that I love along with getting a top-notch education. However, keeping everything organized while playing sports and going to school can be challenging. At the Division III level, I think athletes are expected to do more, not only to prepare for their sport, but also to prepare for their school work. Being organized is absolutely essential to being productive.

As a Division III student athlete, I know all too well how demanding it is to balance school work and athletics. My daily schedule is always planned out to the T.

My daily schedule right now looks a little like this:

    - Wake up at 7:30 a.m.

    - Workout from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m.

    - Class from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

    - Homework from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

    - Workout and Baseball Training from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

This is just an offseason daily schedule right now. During the baseball season I will add practice from 3:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. on normal days. Meaning that I will need to push back all of my school work until after. Not to mention all of the extracurricular activities that I am involved in.

Right now we are in fall baseball mode which means that we practice 4 days a week and play all day on Saturday and Sunday. For example this past weekend I was at the baseball field from 9:00 a.m. getting extra work in before practice until 5:00 p.m. when we stopped playing games.

As you can imagine being organized and planning out every second of the day is the only way to make sure I am getting everything I need to get done, done.

One thing I do to make everything work is schedule blocking. Schedule blocking is when you piece out an hour or two of your schedule to focus on only one thing. Whether it be school work or athletic training each block only gets that one task. This helps me keep all of my work organized and keeps me on task while working. Below I have put a screenshot of my personal schedule for reference on how to schedule block.

Life can be stressful as a student athlete, especially when dealing with the high academic demands of a Division III program. If you are a student athlete and need help keeping organized, ask your academic advisor for help. I found it helpful as well to ask your coach for help, they want you to succeed in the classroom as much as they want you to succeed on the field.

ONU: INTRODUCTION

First I would like to say thank you for taking the time to read my blog. This is going to be a long process and I appreciate the time taken to read what I have to say. I hope you will enjoy it and give me some feedback.

My name is Joe Dunay and I will be the man behind the words that you will be reading this blog. I want to tell you a little about myself in this post and let you know what my intentions will be with this section of my blog.

I am a student at the Ohio Northern University located in Ada, Ohio. I am majoring in communications and public relations with a minor in social media. I am involved in a few things here on campus including the varsity baseball team, Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and the Student Planning Committee (SPC), I will as well be associated with the television station here on campus (ONU3-TV) and the radio station (WONB 94.9 FM).

I have many interests in life with many of them aligning with the activities that I partake in here on ONU's campus. I have always been interested in baseball from a young age. Playing the sport in college has fulfilled a long term goal for me. I as well have been interested in the media and its role in influencing how we view issues and how we go about our everyday lives. Along with the media interest that I have, I enjoy writing, blogging, making my own videos, photography, and reading. I will never pass up a good book. I enjoy spending time with my family and the close friends that I have made throughout life and especially here at ONU. All of these interests in my life keep me well rounded and focused on what I find important in life. I am lucky to have another interest to keep everything else in line, I strive to be organized in every aspect of my life (sometimes compulsively).

One Day I would like to work for a professional baseball organization as the stadium event's coordinator or social media coordinator. I find it very interesting how any kind of sport brings a community together and unites the citizens in a common passion, watching their team win. I want to have the opportunity to give back to communities that take part in the events of their local sports teams.

Now that I have told you a little about who I am, I hope you will appreciate this section of my blog a little more. I will be talking mainly about who I am, how ONU and the activities that I am involved with are progressing throughout the year, as well as how they affect the community of students here at ONU.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave comments below!