I have finished my first week as part of my Plank Fellowship here in Detroit at General Motors. The past week has been a fabulous yet very busy whirlwind of meetings, informative sessions, events, and tours of great programs and initiatives associated with the various GM brands and GM overall. There have been already a lot of takeaways I have been able to see from both a personal and professional standpoint as a professor.
There are a lot of great lessons I will be able to bring back to my students in the classroom – from both the corporate standpoint as well as the agency side of things. However, there are some things I will be more than happy to talk about, but due to the nature of my fellowship, there are some things I cannot talk about.
What were some of the main things I noticed in my first week at GM for my fellowship? Here are some of the takeaways I would like to share with you all:
- GM has many parts and components that tie into PR: I was very impressed with the level of integration across corporate and agency circles for the different brands as well as GM corporate. I had a chance to meet some great professionals who were working on various accounts and campaigns for GM.
- GM is doing exceptionally well with their social media activities: One of the big highlights for me was the fact I was able to spend a lot of time with different departments and teams. I was very impressed with the creative and strategic implementation everyone had when it came to social media.
- Opportunity to chat about my research and classes: It was great to have the opportunity to talk with GM about what I am doing for each of my classes in terms of what assignments I am giving, what are the topics I cover, and what are some of the opportunities my students have gotten after they graduate from college. Not only that, I was able to share with several GM professionals some of the research I have done and what applied strategies and findings that could potentially be used with them. This for me is one of the many reasons why I love having an applied perspective. I do appreciate theories and having a strong theoretical foundation, however, I am a big believer in being able to apply findings into strategies and helping practitioners and businesses.
- Online teaching and programs has a strong presence at GM: This was one thing I really was amazed with – there were a lot of professionals I met who had either gotten their degree, or are currently working on their degree, online. One of my former students at WVU IMC is working with the social media team (Whitney Drake) and I was very impressed to see not only what she does on a day-to-day basis, but I realized she was also going to school and taking two online classes (full time is one). Truly inspiring and amazing to see the dedication and work ethic of these great professionals! Plus, as a professor, it was awesome to do a site visit essentially to see Whitney not only in person (she’s amazing), but also recognize the great work she is doing and applying from classes. #VeryProudProf
- Prominence and Importance of Internships: This was very informative for me. I had a chance to meet with current interns this week and had a chance to learn about how they came about in being part of their internship program at GM, what are the main classes they felt were beneficial, and what are some of the trends and key takeaways they have had since being at GM. I was very impressed with the professionalism, motivation, work ethic, and dedication each intern had and was a part of. The hands on approach each intern gets from GM is huge – I was very impressed and I hope to share what I have learned on this account with my students when I get back to Louisville.
Overall, this experience has been probably one of the best decisions I have ever been a part of professionally as well as personally. I have already gained so much from one week working for a great brand like General Motors. It speaks volumes to me as a professor to see a brand like GM spend the time with an educator, share insights and listen to what we do and see in the field and among our students, and have the opportunity to work together.
Major thanks again to the Plank Center for providing this amazing and life changing program for educators. I cannot thank you all enough for the experience and really integrating myself into the culture, environment, and strong community within and outside of GM. Thank you!
Hope you all are having a great day!
