PRSSA SJSU

The 2009-2010 PRSSA Pearce Davies Alpha Chapter Executive Board:

Alexander Monney, President

Alexander Monney, is a second term board executive and first time President for the Pearce Davies Chapter of PRSSA at SJSU.  Alex, originally from San Carlos, is currently an intern at Voce Communications, a PR agency in Sunnyvale.  Also, as if he wasn’t busy enough, he currently writes for two online publications, Something Punk and Total Gaming Network.

Alex plans to pursue a career in high tech or video game PR after he graduates in the Spring. One of Alex’s career goals is to become a senior level executive with Sony.

Marianna L. Moles, PRSSA VP of Professional Development

Marianna hails from Lodi, CA and is the VP of Professional Development for PRSSA.

She transferred from San Joaquin Delta College holding an Associates Degree in Social Science and Liberal Arts. At SJSU, Marianna is majoring is Public Relations with a minor in Political Science and Business.

Her PR interests are many, including entertainment, international and non-profit, but she would like to be an event planner, specifically weddings or music events.

Some words that describe Marianna are ambitious, determined, honest, leader, and passionate. When Marianna feels passionate about something, such as the environment or politics, she believes she becomes a leading advocate. Her interest in politics led to her first internship with Assemblymember Jim Beall Jr. of District 24 in San Jose–the same district SJSU is part of.

Marianna’s hobbies include singing, dancing, writing, listening to music, as well as volunteering and working with the community. She loves spending time with family and friends, playing board games, and watching action movies. She also considers herself a self-taught photographer who loves to capture photos of nature, especially flowers.

“This new year holds many new challenges for me personally, and I look forward to facing them head-on,” says Marianna.  A team member of the on-campus agency, Dwight Bentel and Hall, she is excited about what the future holds for her.  She is looking forward to meeting new people, sharpening her professional skills and learning more about what she wants to do with her degree.

Contact Marianna:

Marianna.Lynn.Moles@gmail.com

Sarah Aghazadeh, Vice President of Membership

After Sarah Abigail Aghazadeh, PRSSA’s 2009 – 2010 Vice President of Membership, started at SJSU she joined PRSSA right away because she knew it would be a good way for her to learn more about public relations. After she graduates in December 2010, she wants to attend law school, and feels that studying public relations is the perfect major to prepare her for the next chapter. She is very organized and likes to be proactive in starting projects early.

Sarah, 21, is from San Jose, and when she isn’t in class or working on PRSSA stuff, she is hanging out with friends and her boyfriend, working, and eating her favorite foods. A little unknown tidbit about Sarah you wouldn’t know from looking at her is that she earned her Jr. Black belt when she was in middle school but because of her family’s move to Southern California she had to quit the art.

In Sarah’s free time she enjoys seeing movies. “My favorite one I have seen in the last week is Funny People even though it wasn’t what I was expecting.” One of her favorite quotes comes from the film “I Love You, Man:” “Trying is having the intention to fail.”

She is looking forward to the school year ahead and meeting all of the new members, and reconnecting with the returning ones.

Contact Sarah:

s.a.aghazadeh@gmail.com

Monica Padilla, Editor-In-Chief

This year holds great potential for Monica as she continues to pursue her Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations, as well as a minor in Environmental Studies.

Although she isn’t sure how she wants to apply her degree when she graduates, she has a wide variety of interests and ideas about what she might do in the PR world.

A strong advocate for the environment and non-profit organizations, Monica believes that she would thrive pursuing a career in either of these areas, but she also believes that there are many areas left to explore.

Monica’s closest friends and family describe her as a hardworking and passionate person, both in her academics and the community.  She is a trustworthy, optimistic, energetic go-getter.  She especially shines when she’s doing what she loves the most. Monica especially loves to volunteer at organizations such as Sacred Heart Community Service, Second Harvest Food Bank, VA Hospital Palo Alto, Breathe California, Working Wardrobes and Goodwill.

If she isn’t volunteering, she can be found tailgating at a 49er’s game, listening to a wide variety of music, spending time with her family and friends, expanding her knowledge about the environment, and learning how to protect it the best way she can.

Monica’s industry-related experience includes an internship with Valencia, Maldonado, & Echeveste Public Relations, a Hispanic public relations firm formerly located in San Francisco.

Contact Monica:

monicapadilla@netzero.com

Roberto Araujo, Public Relations Director

Roberto Araujo is the 2009-2010 Director of Public Relations for the Pearce Davies Chapter of PRSSA at SJSU. After spending half of his life in Lima, Peru, Roberto came to the US with the aspirations of being an anchor man. He later become interest in public relations, specifically political, technology, or non-profit PR.

When he isn’t working or going to school, Roberto volunteers his time at Big Brother Big Sister of the Bay Area. He spends time with his “little brother” once or twice a month. He also enjoys staying informed on current political affairs, this way he could share them on his blog (BuzzUp in the News).

Roberto just finished an internship with the Gavin Newsom for CA campaign. In the future, he hopes to find a job in the political arena.

Roberto will be graduating in May 2010 with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Business Marketing.

Contact Roberto:

rcaroman@gmail.com

Meghann Wistrich, Director of Finances

This year’s Director of Finances, Meghann Wistrich, is about to embark on her seventh and final year of higher education.

She is 24-years-old and will turn 25 in October. Although born and raised in the Bay Area, she spent a few years studying in San Diego and eventually found true love in Public Relations.

In San Diego, Meghann worked for Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) in elementary schools. Meghann will start her first internship with Dwight Bentel  and Hall Communications this upcoming semester and is extremely excited.

Some short term goals Meghann has include sky diving, moving out of her family home, and acquiring a canine companion. She currently works at Starbuck’s and one day hopes to have a career in marketing but is also interested in tech PR, entertainment PR and event planning .

Meghann has many hobbies like shopping, going out to eat, hanging out with her friends, and meeting new people.

Her favorite colors are red, orange and pink. Most important to know about Meghann is that she would love to see the day when a woman becomes president of the United States.

Favorite quote: “Stop searching forever, happiness is just next to you”- fortune cookie

Contact Meghann:

meghann.wistrich@gmail.com,

Nick Dovedot, Director of Community Relations

Nick is a bold, fresh-faced young man with a desire to change the world. He is an accomplished student, going for a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations at San Jose State University, with an eventual goal of law school for his post-graduate life.  Since beginning at SJSU his freshman year, Nick has become friends with all sorts of people and has been involved in numerous groups, including the group of JMC students who went to President Obama’s inauguration, led by Dr. Cheers.  In addition, Nick was elected to the 2009-2010 Executive Board of the SJSU Public Relations Student Society of America as Director of Community Relations.

In July 2009, Nick began a prestigious internship with Gutenberg Communications in which he has garnered skills to help him with a career and help others that will follow a similar path for a career.

As our Director of Community Relations, Nick will be able to showcase his people skills, which include a personality what will make you feel like you’ve talked to him about something, somewhere before.

Nick is passionate about helping people and making his mark in the world and so far, he has done a good job at getting his name out there. On top of being ambitious, he is a caring and loyal friend who always has time to lend an ear or hand. He is an avid sports fan with a loyalty to the Bay Area teams that is tough to match. In addition, he loves being at the beach as soon as the weather turns warm and the snow as soon as it hits a slight chill. When he’s not at school this snow season, he’ll be on the slopes.

Someday, we’ll all know the name “Dovedot” because, who are we kidding, that’s just not a name you easily forget. He will be a force to reckon with in due time.

nickdovedot@yahoo.com

Alessandra Bifulco, Director of Records

Alessandra is a young and fiery woman who is out to prove to the world that small hands and feet won’t stop her from achieving all of her goals.  She is an accomplished student, aiming for her degree in Public Relations at San Jose State University.  After earning her Associate’s Degree in General Studies at Moorpark Community College, she transferred to SJSU, and within less than a year of being at here, she has garnered many friends and colleagues.  Plus, to boast, she was elected to the Executive Board of Public Relations Student Society of America as the Director of Records.

Over the 2009 summer, she interned with the San Francisco Bay Area’s Senior Games to utilize and hone her public relations skills as their Community Outreach and Media Relations intern to help bring together the Summer National Senior Games 2009 that were held at Stanford University. This has inspired her to reach for a career goal; to work as a public relations professional with the Olympics.

On top of all of this, she needs to make an honest buck and she does this by serving at Outback Steakhouse.  She fills her time with spontaneity, friends, and family while enjoying any music that can make her move and groove, and of course the beach. Ironically, her body is anti-warmth for she gets cold standing in the sun. She was born in New York and eventually grew up in southern California for the remainder of her life until she made the move to northern California to attend SJSU.

Alessandra continues to make splashes in the world and eventually will cause her own tidal wave and make people want her expertise and knowledge as a vital resource in the worlds’ markets.

a.bifulco4@yahoo.com