Bethany Parry, a senior in the communication department studying public relations, published an article in the Fall 2011 issue of FORUM, the national newspaper of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Her article, “Recent PRSSA graduate overcomes obstacles with man’s best friend,” describes the successes of Tony Selvaggio, a recent graduate of Southeast Missouri State University who lost his eyesight due to an autoimmune disease. With help from his service dog, Marvel, Selvaggio pursued a degree in communication studies and graduated in May 2011. Parry learned about Selvaggio’s story after communicating with FORUM’s editor via Twitter and email. “I noticed Tony and Marvel were from Southeast Missouri State, which is in my hometown, so I felt compelled to write the story as a fellow Missourian,” Parry says.

 

 

 

 

Parry is Vice President of the Missouri State University chapter of the PRSSA and is in charge of the chapter’s blog and social media. The organization consists of over 300 chapters in the United States and is dedicated to students interested in careers in public relations and communication. She is also the event coordinator for the University’s chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, a national communication honor society. Parry was inspired by her aunt, a public relations professor, to seek a career in public relations and discovered that the field ties together all of her passions and interests. “I can write, speak, create, plan events, and essentially be an advocate for my company I am representing,” she says.