By BRENDA BARERRA & AMANDA DESIMOWICH
We Boilermakers couldn’t be luckier to know Sonja Popp-Stahly. Since 2009 Sonja has mentored PRSSA members at Purdue University as our Professional Advisor. She helps us work through problems our chapter is facing as well as providing future employment opportunities for members post-graduation and a slew of other tasks. She graduated from Ball State University in 1993. During her time there she was a PRSSA National Committee member (92-93), PRSSA chapter officer, committee chair, team member in a Bateman Case Study, staff member at a student-run PR firm for three years, recipient of the PRSSA Betsy Plank national scholarship, and a recipient of the PRSA Joanne Dring scholarship. Quite a list of accomplishments there, proving that she is a wonderful person for our chapter to emulate. Once out of college and in the workforce Sonja did not wait for things to just happen— she made them happen. Sonja has worked for Sara Lee Hosiery, Hetrick Communications, and currently works Eli Lilly and Company as the head of Global Employee Communications. Sonja has also served as a National Professional Advisor for PRSSA, became a judge for the Teahan Awards, Bateman Competition and the PRSSA Scholarship , and was a National Professional Advisor from 2010-2012 and served on the National Board of Directors for PRSA from 2013-2016. For her accomplishments in her career and outside for her profession, she was inducted into the PRSSA National Hall of Fame in 2002. Over the course of her career Sonja has touched many lives. One of those lives is our very own Meagan Finucane, the sitting president of Purdue PRSSA. Sonja has connected Meagan with a large assortment of people in agency, corporate and nonprofit PR organizations. She has repeatedly taken time to speak over the phone or meet in person to strategize resources to grow our PRSSA chapter. In one of Sonja’s most memorable conversations with Meagan, she shared her experiences at Eli Lilly and the BSU PRSSA. In Meagan’s words “ Sonja is a go-getter in anything she does and truly shines amongst all the rest; she is gifted in her ability to work, be a mom, and devote her time to serving others.” Meagan’s top take-aways from Sonja: - Foster strong relationships with people you aspire to become more like - Join PRSA post graduation and remain close to it post graduation - Work hard and never give up - Always keep learning and take the time to find a mentor to keep you on track What can we say, Sonja is an incredibly inspiring woman. Her path to her success has given us tons of insight into the life of a professional and will continue to enrich our chapter’s overall persecutive of public relations. With her advice, wisdom and resources our chapter will utilize our connection with her to better our own chapter and expand our knowledge post-graduation. “Sonja has empowered me to go beyond my set goals and to work diligently to achieve them. Her hand is always reached out to help, being the first one to jump on the phone whenever there is a need. I am grateful for our relationship. Thank you, Sonja!”-Meagan Finucane If you haven’t had a chance to meet our own Professional Advisor stop by our meeting on November 13th to have an opportunity to hear from her and ask her any questions you might have about the industry. Hope to see you there!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorsBrenda Barerra Archives
May 2018
Categories |