Prior to working at Dittoe PR, I attended the University of Notre Dame, as a marketing major. During my four years at Notre Dame I not only received a great education in the classroom, but I had numerous opportunities to gain real-life business experience that helped prepare me for my career. I learned about advertising through an internship at a large Boston-based agency which I obtained through a ND career fair. I was able to volunteer in the sports marketing department, where I learned a lot about this area of marketing and was able to gain experience working with local businesses and members of the public who attended sporting events. I also gained real-world experience by designing an advertising campaign, as part of a class, for the South Bend minor-league baseball team, the Silverhawks.

In May 2007, I graduated from Notre Dame and was fortunate enough to be offered a position at Dittoe Public Relations. After a few weeks - during which I moved from my hometown of Andover, MA to Indianapolis, IN - I began the first job of my career at Dittoe PR. Not knowing exactly what to expect at first - both from my co-workers and from working in PR - I dove into working and tried to learn as much as I could about PR, Dittoe's clients, and the various industries from which the clients come. The small office environment and willingness of my co-workers to teach me and help me adjust to working at Dittoe helped me become comfortable and confident in what I was doing.

Now, over six months after starting my job with Dittoe, I have had some wonderful opportunities to work with different clients in various industries. I look forward to the new challenges and experiences that 2008 will bring me!

The recent phenomenon and popularity of blogs, especially the extent to which they've grown in the past few years, astonishes me. The fact that something that never existed until very recently can provide a lucrative career for people now seems crazy. But that is the world we live in - where new technology is developed every day, and new developments very quickly become obsolete.

I vaguely remember becoming aware of what a blog was sometime when I was in college. A blog was then simply a means of online communication for friends, family or a group of people with similar interests. It was a simple forum for discussion, which until the past year I really had no interest in. But modern-day communication is constantly evolving, which requires everyone - businesses and individuals alike - to not only take notice of the trends but to join them. These days, you can find a blog on just about any topic you're interested in - from sports to politics, education to ice cream. Corporations and political candidates have their own blogs as do college students and retirees. Here at Dittoe PR, every account executive has her own blog for which she writes on a regular basis.

Online news sites have largely replaced print newspapers and magazines. While many people still enjoy picking up a hard copy of their favorite news source to read on a Sunday morning or when they're traveling on an airplane, it is far easier to read news on the computer - especially when so many people are in front of one all day long. Online news sites can still make money by selling advertisements on their web pages. Similarly, bloggers who are able to generate enough traffic to their sites can sell ads as a means of income - supplementary or even full time.

For example, I just read an article this morning in the New York Times on a woman, Heather Armstrong, who runs her own blog for other women - particularly mothers - called "Dooce." Her site has become so wildly popular that she's been able to sell ads to corporate giants like J.C. Penny, Crate & Barrel, Walgreens and Starwood. She's generating enough income through these ads that both she and her husband have since quit their regular jobs to focus on running the blog!

With forms of communication changing so rapidly - not to mention the other technological advancements that are constantly happening in our world - students in college today are likely to have a job in something that didn't exist when they were preparing for their careers. And for the rest of us - we'd better stay up to date with the changes, or we'll be left behind!

As someone who loves dogs, I have been thinking a lot lately about getting one of my own. My parents have had a dog for the past five years (a lively, loyal, and very friendly Wheaton Terrier named Freddie), and even though I don't live with them anymore, I still consider him part of the family and love getting to see him when I visit home. Many residents at my apartment complex have dogs, so I get to see them walking around the parking lot and courtyard on a regular basis.

Although I'm currently not in a life situation where I can get a dog (financially, time commitment, and my living situation) I'm very excited to get one in a few years. I have even looked around some at breeds that I might be interested in. I really just love dogs and whenever I see an adorable labrador puppy or a handsome German shepherd, it makes me excited to get the first dog of my own.

There have even been studies done and surveys taken about the psychological and emotional benefits of having a pet. So if you're not already a dog lover like me, you might still want to consider getting one - it will probably be a very positive addition to your life! Here are my top five reasons to have a dog:

1. It's fun! Playing with a cute, happy dog and having a constantly loyal companion is great. You know how some people say that the simple things in life are the best? I think ALL dogs would agree with that. Well, it's probably because dogs' lives are more simple than humans. But just think: a dog gets so excited and happy about the littlest things - seeing his or her owner (even if you've only left for 5 minutes), eating (even if it's dog food), going outside, hearing another dog bark, etc. Having a pet around who is constantly excited about the simplest pleasures in life can make you appreciate these things as well.

2. They're great company. You're greeted exuberantly every time you come home and worshipped like a king when the dog wants to eat. A dog can also improve your mood and overall sense of well-being. Studies have even shown that people who own pets are less likely to suffer from depression and more likely to have good emotional health.

3. They can help you stay fit. Since dogs require daily exercise (some breeds certainly need more than others), it gives the owner an excuse to take long walks or even runs. If your dog is well enough trained, you can even take him or her to a park and run around, playing fetch or another game. Since dogs generally love to run around and be active, it may inspire you to be more active as well.

4. Have something to care for. Particularly for the elderly, having a pet to care for can provide a meaningful everyday purpose to people who aren't very busy. Since dogs often demand a good amount of work - taking them on walks, cleaning up after them, grooming them, bathing them, feeding them, etc. - it can actually provide some people with a desirable degree of responsibility for someone besides just themselves.

5. They will always love you! Dogs are so often called "man's best friend." I can't think of another creature, besides humans (and not all humans are this way), who will love you unconditionally, remain loyal to you no matter what and sometimes even risk their lives to save you. I always smile when I hear stories of dogs who selflessly put themselves in harm's way to defend their owners.

Last night, I was one of millions of Americans who I'm sure witnessed the amazing finish in the Olympic men's 400 meter freestyle relay swim race for the gold metal. The United States relay team, led by swimmer phenom Michael Phelps, was not expected to win the race. While commentators said that they had a shot if each individual swimmer put in a perfect effort, the general concession was that the French team would take the gold.

There was also mention of the French team doing some trash talking prior to the race. The Americans, however, focused only on swimming their very best in this race. As the race began, with Phelps leading off, the excitement started to build. Phelps swam his lap in record speed but was still behind the French leader. The second and third legs of the race went similarly, with the Americans remaining in first or second place throughout. Once the fourth leg of the race - swam for the U.S. by 32-year old Jason Lezak - began, the French had a considerable lead. Lezak swam hard but remained about 4 or 5 feet (I'm judging this simply by the appearance on TV; I'm no swim expert, so that might be a little off) behind Alain Bernard, the French anchor, until the final half length of the race. In what seemed like an impossible burst of speed, Lezak make up the distance, pushing just past Bernard, to win the race by a finger-tip.

The members of the U.S. team went crazy, celebrating their victory after it had seemed to have slipped from their grasp. American TV commentators roared with excitement and the crowd went wild. It was certainly a great Olympic moment for the United States. Michael Phelps was particularly excited, because winning this gold medal meant that his quest to win a record 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics was still alive.

I find it inspiring the way that Americans support their athletes at the Olympics on the world stage. I generally have no particular interest in many of the sporting events that our athletes compete in. I would usually never watch swimming, diving, fencing, or volleyball - they're just not sports I find particularly entertaining. However, when it comes to the Olympics - when U.S. athletes are competing for our country, against the greatest athletes in the world, and as part of an event where members of countries worldwide come together - I find myself drawn to watch and to cheer for the American athletes in all sports.

I also love getting to see the powerful stories behind some of the athletes competing. One example is of a gymnast on the German women's team. At 33 years old, Oksana Chusovitina is an Olympic veteran and more than twice the age of many fellow competitors. After winning team gold at the Barcelona games in 1992 with the Soviet Union, she went on to compete for Uzbekistan prior to 2006. In 2001, when her son was diagnosed with leukemia, she and her family moved to Germany to seek treatment for him. The treatments were successful, and his cancer is now in remission. Chusovitina went on to gain Germain citizenship and compete in gymnastics for the country that "saved her son." The Beijing Olympics mark her fifth time competing in the Olympic games. Despite wanting to see the U.S. do well in every sport, I think I'll be silently hoping for her to do well - after all that she's been through with her son's illness, she deserves it!

Next Monday is my younger brother Brian's sixteenth birthday. Not only is it hard to believe that he'll be able to start driving, and that he's long since outgrown me, but it makes me feel old. I'm 7 1/2 years older than him, so I can remember him growing up very easily. I can also remember being sixteen myself - even though that was seven years ago! I remember my friends and I getting our driver's permits and licenses - we thought we were so cool.

I guess the weirdest thing to me as I watch my brother get older is remembering when I was his age and thinking about how much time has passed since then. Before I know it, he'll be applying to college and moving away from home. Since I just graduated from college last May, I still feel like a recent grad, and my brother going to college seems like something very distant in the future. Maybe if I'm lucky he'll go to Notre Dame, giving me an excuse (not that I really need one) to visit him and ND more frequently!

Sadly, I'm past the age where birthdays mark anything particularly exciting, but my brother can still celebrate each birthday for a while now. So I hope he has plenty of ice cream - with his metabolism he could eat a whole gallon and not gain an ounce, enjoys driving for the first time, and has lots of fun celebrating his day at home and with his friends.

Happy birthday, Brian!

This morning, I saw a video on Inc. magazine's website talking about "How to choose a PR agency." This was interesting to me, coming from the agency side, to look at what clients must think about in deciding to work with us. So I started thinking about each of the five "tips" given in light of Dittoe PR and our clients.

1.Use references.
Talk to friends and business contacts you know and trust to see what firms they think will be a good fit for your organization. I know we've gotten several of our clients through references and word of mouth. Since we're located in Indianapolis, it's easy for companies here to see our work and for Dittoe to attract the attention of more local clients.

2. Does a PR agency know your business?
Engage the PR agency in dialogue about your industry and business challenges. Ask them how they would likely approach your account. Dittoe works with a wide variety of clients but has particular expertise in the high tech industry. However, after working with several clients in the education industry recently, we've gained a great deal of knowledge about this industry over the past year. Similarly with working with other clients, we're continually learning as much as possible about the marketplace and various industries in order to be able to serve an increasing range of clientelle.

3. Test the chemistry between your company and the agencies that you’re looking at. Who do you think you’ll get along with best and be able to work well with? With any business partnership, it's very important to understand one another and be able to communicate well. Dittoe has a wide range of clients and therefore a wide range of client relationships. Some clients like to talk on the phone with us every day, while others will go days or sometimes even weeks between emails with us. It's our responsibility to understand our clients' needs and cater specifically to them, communicating in the method they prefer.

4. Be a partner. Make sure to let the agency know all the relevant information they might need in order to best tell your story. This is very important to a PR agency. Since what we do is "tell our clients' stories" essentially, it is critical that we have all the necessary information to paint a picture for the media. Clients who withhold information from us are doing themselves a disservice.

5. Define success. Make sure you and the agency have the same goals in mind. It is important for Dittoe to know what our clients expect of us and what will make them happy. That way, we can set our expectations - and help set theirs realistically. All clients usually say they want to be on Oprah, but unfortunately that rarely happens. Landing coverage like Good Morning America, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times is incredible and we're always so excited when stories like these run for our clients. Also, knowing where a client would most like to be featured is important. Some clients would actually prefer to be included in trade publications - written specifically for people in their industry - instead of national newspapers or magazines written for the general public.

Dittoe PR is very good at what we do, and we know how to achieve media coverage successfully for our clients. Anyone looking for a PR agency who would like national exposure should give us a look!

One thing I loved about Notre Dame is that a huge percentage of the student body is comprised of athletes - which meant there was always someone to toss a football, shoot hoops or play a game of pick up soccer on the quad with. As someone who loves sports and played competitively through high school, being part of this atmosphere was a lot of fun for me. Since Notre Dame's varsity sports teams are very competitive, a lot of students who attend Notre Dame are good enough at (one or more) sports that they could have played their sport(s) at another college. I actually considered applying to several smaller, Division 3 schools so that I could keep playing soccer during college. Ultimately, I decided that I cared more about attending Notre Dame than I did about playing soccer at the college level. However, I was lucky that this didn't mean I had to give up sports all-together.

In fact, during my years at Notre Dame, I played intramural flag football, soccer, basketball, volleyball and broomball - and had an absolute blast doing it. I met some of my best friends through these teams, and my experiences playing on them remain some of my favorite memories from college. I'll never forget when my freshman year flag football team - from the smallest dorm on campus - beat the team from the largest dorm on campus in the intramural championship game. The coolest part of this, though, was that the game was held in Notre Dame stadium. For a huge ND football fan like myself, getting to step foot on (much less getting to play a game of our own on!) this field was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Another one of my favorite intramural experiences was with my broomball team. If you're not familiar with this sport, let me give a quick outline. It's played on half of an ice rink, with goals at either end. Members of each team run on the ice in shoes (not skates) and hit a ball (not a puck) with a stick that literally could be made at home with a broom handle and a wider piece of plastic at the bottom. Games are twenty minutes long, and in this league they're played at night - usually at 10pm, 11pm, or 12am. My team, which played together for three years, was called Fr. Sorin and the Funky Bunch. (Fr. Sorin was the founder of the university.) For each game, we dressed up in ridiculous non-matching outfits and had so much fun out on the ice. The best part was that despite the recreational nature of the game, we actually took it seriously and got really pumped up for each game. One night we even had a friend who was in the school's band accompany us over to the hockey rink playing music & cheering us on.

Since graduating in May of '07, I've definitely missed getting to play on all these teams with my close friends. This fall, I'm hoping to help coach a soccer team. I think it will be a lot of fun getting to be around the game again, teach it to younger girls, and see them enjoy it the way I did for so many years. Maybe I'll even get to play a little too - although my footskills have definitely gone downhill over the past few years. Oh well, I guess I'll see if a little practice can help bring them back!

This past weekend, my fiance Michael and I went to look at apartments for next summer when we get married. We had a pretty productive weekend, visiting about 8 or 9 apartment complexes around the city. Over the course of these visits, I quickly came to realize that many of the conveniences which I have taken for granted in the past are not always available in these residence communities. Amenities such as a washer and dryer set, decent appliances and clean hallways certaintly aren't standard but are nevertheless important in choosing a place to live. So I thought I'd give out ten tips that, in my opinion, should be considered prior to signing a lease for an apartment.

1. Choose a good neighborhood/part of town
Where you're located in a city can largely determine much of your experience living there. You want to make sure the area is safe and clean, that you will have easy access to a grocery store, convenience store, gas station, etc. and that your commute to work won't be terribly long.

2. Examine how well the grounds are kept
Check out the landscaping - is the grass nicely mowed? Is the parking lot clean and neatly kept? Also, make sure the entrances are clean. A couple of the places we visited this past weekend had disgusting stairwells - full of cobwebs and bugs - not someplace I'd want to come home to.

3. Pay attention to the management staff
Are they attentive, helpful and knowledgeable? If not, be wary of the apartment community. A staff that is unorganized and that isn't able to help with your problems or answer questions will make for a frustrating living experience.

4. What do the apartment's appliances look like?
Are they old and run-down or clean and new? Ask to see an actual apartment (not just the "model" they typically show you) to make sure appliances are standard throughout the complex.

5. Does the apartment have a washer/dryer in-unit or hookups?
If it has neither, I wouldn't consider it. This is one of the most important points that an apartment must have for me. Take this into account when reviewing rent cost. Apartments that include a washer and dryer should be more expensive that those that do not. If you would otherwise have to purchase or rent a washer and dryer, it may be worth the additional cost.

6. What is the layout like? Can you see your furniture filling the space?
Some apartments are planned out well, and others aren't. Make sure the dimensions of the room will accommodate the furniture you currently own and that the apartment makes good use of square footage - and doesn't waste it by putting it in an entranceway or hallway.

7. What is the population of the apartment community like?
If you're a college student, chances are you don't want to live in a community with a lot of older folks who will complain about noise all the time. However, if you're a working professional (who needs to wake up early each morning!) you likely won't want to live somewhere with a lot of loud, college students. Personally, I prefer a quieter, peaceful atmosphere to a rowdy, party-like one.

8. Is parking readily available? Does it cost extra?
Parking cost can be a significant addition to monthly rent cost, so keep this in mind.

9. Do you have a preference for top or bottom floor?
If so, definitely check the availability of this, as sometimes certain types of units are only available on the top or bottom floor.

10. Does the complex require renter's insurance?
While it's definitely smart to purchase renter's insurance (especially if you have a lot of valuable things), some apartment communities require a very high level of renter's insurance. This can get expensive as an additional monthly payment.

But overall, go with your gut. If you like the look and feel of a place, chances are it will turn out OK!

Recently, I've seen several YouTube videos of the Muppets singing various songs. On the Fourth of July, someone sent me the Muppets "singing" the Stars and Stripes Forever, and this past weekend I saw three others - the Habanera, Ode to Joy, and a classical music piece the name of which I don't know. All of these are hilarious and have made me wonder whether they might be part of some sort of viral advertising for a new Muppets movie. I definitely hope this is the case, as I love the Muppets and always enjoy their movies.

I've always found non-traditional forms of advertising to be very interesting. Viral advertising tactics such as using YouTube videos, mock websites, and other forms of social media communication are all inexpensive (or free) but can reach an amazingly wide audience. With the numbers of people using social media networking websites, thousands can come in contact with an item posted by a single person. The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell, talks about how ideas, products, messages and behaviors spread like viruses do. An example given is that of Hush Puppies shoes. At a time when this company was suffering and on the verge of going out of business, they experienced an unexpected rise in popularity and profit. A very small niche of urbanites who wore hush puppies (likely because they weren't popular) caused the popularity of these shoes to spread like wildfire. People started catching on - and once celebrities started wearing the shoes, the demand only grew more.

In my opinion, if you have a few people - who are widely respected and popular - with large social networks to help spread a message virally, you can reach a huge audience very simply. Once people start talking about something - the topic becomes part of the "buzz" - and it pops up everywhere.

In PR, having news about our clients "go viral" is exactly what we want. At Dittoe, we always hope that by generating some initial media coverage, this will stimulate discussion and that people will ultimately start talking about our clients on their own - and spreading awareness of their products and services!

Yesterday I had an experience at the mall which made me think about the fact that many of the skills necessary to be a successful retail salesperson are similar to those necessary to be successful at Dittoe PR.

As I was walking, I was approached by a salesperson with a lotion sample. Although I politely told him I wasn't interested in sampling his product, he continued to insist that I take the sample, all-the-while getting closer to me and more in my face. I decided to appease him, in the hopes of getting him to leave me alone after that. That was my first mistake. Once I took the lotion sample, he began to show me another set of products for nail care. Talking at a mile-a-minute, the salesman (who clearly cared FAR more about nail care than I, a woman, did) tried to convince me to let him demonstrate a nail smoothing product on me - "Just two minutes of your time." Yeah, right. He proceeded to smooth the top of one of my thumbnails with some sort of nail buffing product. Then, when I said "That's nice, but I really don't need the product," he went into a tirade about how my fingernails are like a business card. "Do you want your business contacts to see you with bad nails?" he asked. As I strained to keep a smile on my face and remain pleasant I thought to myself how my business contacts shouldn't care what my nails look like - they should base their opinions of me on how smart, professional and hard-working I am - and whether I get the job done well. Honestly, I don't care enough or want to spend the money to get a manicure each month - and I'd rather keep my nails cut short so I can toss a football more easily.

At this point, I started to get really annoyed and began to try harder to get away from the salesman. I hate being rude though, so I was still having a difficult time walking away. His tactics then changed to attempts to negotiate with me. He tried offering me the nail kit for half price, then offering me two nail kits for the price of one. The reality of the situation was that I wouldn't spend $5 for a nail kit - it's just not something I need, want or would even use. FINALLY I realized I would just have to be short with the man - tell him I wasn't buying anything, bottom line - and walk away.

To me, a good retail salesperson needs to resemble a good PR professional. He or she should be helpful but not pushy. Knowledge of the product, the ability to communicate and being trustworthy (which includes conveying accurate product and pricing information, especially in a negotiation-type sale) are all critical qualities to have.

At Dittoe, we pride ourselves on always being professional and pitching the media appropriately. The relationships we form with journalists and producers are largely based on their trust that we're providing them with accurate, relevant information. I know there are plenty of PR professionals who pitch using mass email lists and who don't do the necessary research prior to contacting members of the media. Going the extra mile by making ourselves familiar with new media contacts, the topics they general cover, and how they prefer to be contacted is what sets the account executives at Dittoe apart from these other PR professionals in the industry.

I always try to think about how I would react to something if I were the journalist or producer, prior to contacting him or her. By putting myself in someone else's shoes for a minute, it helps me to better understand what they want so I can get the best results for Dittoe and our clients!

As a big football fan, I get very excited every year for the football season to kick-off. I've been a Notre Dame football fan since I was born - literally. My parents have a picture of me at about 2 months old wearing a "one-sie" outfit that said "Fightin Irish" on it. I spent my childhood Saturdays during the fall watching ND games and running around singing the fight song every time they scored. I very distinctly remember 1993, when I was 8 years old, watching the glorious victory for #2-ranked ND over #1-ranked Florida State and then the following week being depressed after losing (not just the game, but our undefeated season and national championship hopes) to Boston College.

As a student at Notre Dame, my love for the school and football team only grew. I saw many great games in Notre Dame stadium as well as on the road. After a (very) disappointing season last year, I am hopeful that the Irish can improve their game this year.

While my greatest football love is Notre Dame, I also just really enjoy the game. I can watch two college or professional teams play regardless of whether I have any real reason to route for one or the other. Each year around this time, when the teams are getting ready to start their summer practices, I get antsy for the season to begin - and love that there will be three straight months of college football (and five months of professional football) to watch.

I can't wait to go up to Notre Dame this fall for a couple of games. There is absolutely nothing quite like a football Saturday at Notre Dame. It's hard to describe it to someone who has never been there, but the way I feel about the first home game of each year is probably similar to how young children feel on Christmas day. I still get goosebumps every time I go back.

Only 44 days to go!

Last week, Dittoe's insurance company sent out a representative to our office to perform an annual "health screening" of all the employees ensured. We were informed that we would each have a finger pricked to draw blood for analysis and that we needed to complete surveys about our nutrition, lifestyles, etc.

During this process, I started thinking about how healthy I really am. While I feel like I've always been a pretty healthy eater and have always been involved in playing sports, I think I definitely owe it to myself to re-evaluate how healthy I currently am and to make necessary changes to my diet and excercise plan if necessary.

When I look at my diet, I know one thing I could stand to improve is eating more fruits and vegetables. I like the way I feel when I'm eating healthy, and I like most fruits and veggies. The difficulty lies in actually working these foods into my diet. I often seem to buy too many fruits or veggies which I'm not able to eat by myself, and they go bad. Or I won't feel like taking the time to cook or prepare veggies with dinner so I'll go without eating any. In taking a step back, though, I realize there are plenty of ways to work fruits and veggies into my diet fairly easily.

For the past week, I've tried to make a conscious effort to do so, and I've been happy surprised by how well it's gone. I bought cans of V-8 juice that I can drink with lunch at work - that give me a serving or two of veggies in each can. I bought and made an effort to eat green pepper and carrots with several dinners. And when buying fruit, I doled out portions that I knew I could eat before it went bad. (For example, I separated a smaller amount of grapes to buy from the huge, family-sized bags they're generally sold in.) The best part of my efforts to eat more fruits and veggies though, was that I allowed myself to buy berries. I generally don't buy raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries at the grocery store because of how expensive they are - even though I LOVE them. But this week I decided I was going to buy them anyway - because they're healthy and provide a nice break from eating an apple with every lunch. Yum :)

The second part of my self-imposed health evaluation was my exercise schedule. Growing up I played sports year-round and never had to worry about getting enough excercise. In college, 90% of the people I knew were extremely sports-oriented. I participated in intramural sports, ran with friends, and played pick-up sports all the time. A group of us even had a routine abs class - which one of my friends, who we affectionately dubbed the "Minister of Pain" led - that we held 2-3 times each week. Now that I'm living on my own, though, the responsibility to excercise falls solely on me, and without sports to play or a running partner it's much less fun, and it's more difficult to motivate myself to exercise.

This past May I ran the Mini Marathon in Indianapolis, which was a great excuse to get myself on a strict training schedule. For twelve weeks leading up to the race I ran at least three days a week, cross-trained on the non-running days, did a core/abs workout twice a week, and lifted twice a week. I was in the best shape I had been in for years! Unfortunately, once the race was over I reverted to my typical routine of just running when I felt like it and when the weather was ideal and not lifting weights at all.

So this week I decided I need to make a concerted effort to keep a stricter exercise schedule - where I make working out a priority. Even though I really dislike running on a treadmill, when it's 90 degrees outside that is the only option I have. So I've been doing that for several days over the past week, in addition to lifting some light weights. I'm also trying to attend the spinning class taught by my co-worker Christy Oberley at least once each week. It's a GREAT workout and is a lot of fun - and I know Christy will give me a hard time if I don't work hard!

It feels good to be healthy, and I know I'm doing a good thing for my body by remaining conscious of my health. Eating well and exercising gives me an increased energy level, puts me in a better mood, and gives me concrete goals to work toward with regard to my health. So thanks, insurance company, for coming to Dittoe PR and getting me thinking about healthy living!

Last night, along with several of my co-workers from Dittoe PR, I attended a dinner with the Two Million Minutes team and some special guests. This client account of mine is unique in that we get to meet people involved in the film from all over the world. This week, the two Chinese students from 2MM, Xiaoyuan and Ruizhang, are visiting Indianapolis as part of their first-ever trip to the United States.

Since Xiaoyuan sat at my table, I got to talk to her about her education, extra-curricular activities and the comparisons between China and the United States. I was very impressed with her English, as I had shown up to the dinner expecting our entire conversation to be translated by a Chinese/English interpreter. We were, however, able to talk freely, and she understood many topics that were brought up.

We talked about all the media attention Two Million Minutes has received here and how our national PR campaign has brought a lot of excitement to Dittoe. I asked about what she was studying in college and learned that she is a business major but also likes the arts. As a violinist and ballerina, she certainly has artistic talent.  

My favorite part of the night was when Xiaoyuan was asked to play her violin for the group. She had been asked to bring it with her from China and was happy to play a couple of songs for everyone. Now, let me preface this by saying that she had told me she'd been playing since she was four years old (she's now nineteen). Despite hearing this I didn't realize just how good she would be. The first piece she played was a fun, Irish dance song which made me want to go dance a jig at an Irish pub. I love Irish music, so I really enjoyed this one - and everyone clapped along as she played. The second piece seemed to be much more difficult and involved. It was a classical piece, and I was just amazed by how fast her fingers moved and the wide range of notes she was able to play.

It was pretty eye-opening to hear about China directly from Xiaoyuan as well. She mentioned the "one-child policy" which dictates that families residing in urban areas may only give birth to a single child, in order to curb the population growth. She also talked about how much more crowded it was in Shanghai than in Indianapolis.

Despite living across the world in a very different place, she also mentioned being familiar with American television shows such as Friends and CSI as well as some of the same athletes from around the world whom Americans watch. She mentioned that she loved to watch Rafael Nadal play tennis, her favorite sport.

It was definitely an interesting experience having dinner with these visitors from China. I learned a lot, and I hope the other Dittoe girls and I helped make their first dinner in America an enjoyable one!

With tomorrow being the Fourth of July, it makes me think about past celebrations for the Fourth and summer activities that I associate with this holiday.

When I was growing up, my town always had a Fourth of July parade that anyone could participate in - called the "Horribles Parade." People dressed up in costumes, built props, and sometimes even constructed their own floats for the parade. I remember one year (I think I was around ten) when the summer Olympics were happening. My family and some of our family friends dressed up as Olympic athletes. My sister was a track star, and my parents held a bamboo "hurdle" about two feet off the ground that she jumped over. I was a soccer player, and practiced juggling as I walked down Main Street in the parade.

As I got older, cookouts and fireworks started to be the theme for the Fourth. I always enjoyed eating hot dogs, hamburgers, and watermelon and then walking to the fireworks display at dusk. One year, I remember going up to Maine with my family and watching Fourth of July fireworks on the beach. That was pretty sweet.

Last year, my first Fourth of July since I moved to Indiana, was also my first experience with people shooting off their own fireworks. Since it's illegal in Massachusetts, we had always just had sparklers at our house and then watched the town's big fireworks show. So families actually buying and shooting off their own fireworks was new to me. When I visited the store to look at the wide variety of fireworks available, I was amazed. I just didn't know so many brands and types existed! The night of the Fourth, when it came time to shoot off the fireworks, I was somewhat wary of how safe this actually was, especially since there were a lot of small children around. I was assured by everyone that "we do this all the time - it's completely safe." OK... Everything was fine until one of the kids got too close and did actually get hit by an out of control firework! Luckily, only his hand was burned and he didn't suffer any permanent damage, but the poor kid was scared to death! So, the one experience I've had with shooting off fireworks in a backyard ended with someone getting burned. I think I'll stick to watching fireworks shot off far away from now on.

Although I have many memories of past Fourths of July - and it's always fun to enjoy these summer cookouts and celebrations - I think I too frequently lose sight of what we're actually celebrating on this day - our nation's freedom. Initially, when the Declaration of Indepence was signed on this day in 1776, declaring independence from Britain - and beginning the Revolutionary War - our forefathers fought against oppression, unfair taxation, and rights for Americans. This was the first time we thought of ourselves as a separate group of people - Americans. Over the past 232 years since then, many have had to defend our country and our people in various wars, struggles, etc. Even today, thousands are overseas serving the United States - risking their lives and being apart from family and friends for long periods of time.

So when I'm enjoying a hamburger and watermelon at a cookout tomorrow, I'll have to step back for a moment and realize how lucky and grateful I am for all these men and women thoughout history who have defended our country and worked to maintain our freedom. God bless America!

When I take a look at today's date - June 13th (Friday the 13th!) - I realize how quickly the spring has gone by and that the official beginning of summer will occur next week. Even more amazing to me is the fact that next week will also mark one year of working at Dittoe PR for me.

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since I moved to Indianapolis from Boston and joined the working world. Just over a year ago I graduated from Notre Dame and my friends spread out around the country (and outside the country!) to places like New York, Chicago, LA, Minneapolis, Dallas, and even Japan! The friends I had done everything with for the past four years - living together, going to countless meals, studying, playing sports, going on vacations, and enjoying many nights out - were going our separate ways to pursue careers in many different fields. I have friends who are now in medical school, law school, working in finance, accounting, consulting, teaching, psychology counseling, film production, engineering, and several friends in the navy and air force. It's pretty neat how wide a variety of interests and career pursuits have come out of a group of people who seem so similar in many ways and spent so much time together during college.

Although we're so spread out now and only get together several times a year (for those who are lucky and relatively close to each other), each time we do see one another it really feels like a continuation of our time at Notre Dame. It's like no time at all has passed - for the way it feels, we may as well have been hanging out at one of our senior year houses in South Bend the day before. That's what is so great about having such great, close friends - even though we're not together all the time like we used to be, we can still talk and hang out as though nothing has changed. I know I'll stay in touch with a lot of these friends for the rest of my life - and that we'll still be meeting up at ND football games when we're 50.

I'm taking a trip up to Notre Dame in a week, and I couldn't be more excited. Every time I return to campus, I feel like I am welcomed back home. I still get goosebumps sometimes when I drive up Notre Dame Avenue and see the Golden Dome shining in the sun. Not only is Notre Dame itself very special, but I'm always able to see some of my friends who are there for one reason or another. Each fall now, when a new freshman class begins their time at Notre Dame, I'm sure I'll continue to feel slightly jealous that they still have that time ahead of them. But I also know I will always be a part of the "Notre Dame family" and when I meet fellow alumni, we can talk about familiar experiences even if we never met while in school there.

Next summer, I'm getting married in the Basilica at Notre Dame. Since my fiance and I met while at school there, we both love Notre Dame and could think of no better place to get married. It will also be wonderful to gather many of our close friends together back at ND - and will probably be the first time we'll all be back on campus together since graduation.

Just over a year after graduation, it's strange to realize I've been away from Notre Dame for an entire academic year. In many ways, it feels like a lot has happened since graduation. But at the same time, it seems like just yesterday I was in the midst of college and called Notre Dame "home." I think I will always feel at home when I visit for years to come. In the words of the Alma Mater, "Golden is thy fame, and our hears forever Love Thee Notre Dame!"

With Memorial Day last weekend having signalled the unofficial start of summer, it's had me thinking about how much I want to go to the beach. Growing up in Andover, MA I could drive to the beach from my house in twenty minutes if I wanted to. Typically, though, I would drive a little farther (about an hour) to my favorite beach at Drakes Island in Maine. This was always one of my favorite places to visit during the summer.

My family often rented a cottage right on the beach, where we could wake up hearing the waves and smelling the salt air. I'd get up in the morning for breakfast and read a book on the porch for a bit before heading down to the beach for the day. I usually avoided swimming in the 50-some degree water, although my younger brother would run straight in, despite his skin turning blue and his limbs going numb.

My family would usually play football, soccer, or wiffle ball on the beach, and there would ALWAYS be an annual sprinting competition. We would count out a distance for the race (usually about 50 yards) and my mom would be the official race judge. The races usually included my dad, sister, and myself when we were young (and my brother was too short to keep up). But as we got older, my brother started to catch up to the rest of us. Now that he's almost 16 and the tallest one in the family, I'm sad to admit that he beats us all pretty easily. My competitive nature just hates to admit defeat, even when I'm competing against someone obviously more athletic than myself.

Unfortunately it's been a couple years since I've been to Maine - the last beach I was at was in Puerto Rico on spring break during my senior year of college. Living in Indiana now, it's just not quite as easy to zip off to the beach on a whim. I was somewhat tempted last weekend to just pick up and drive the 900 miles to the ocean; alas the $3.98/gallon gas prices put a damper on that idea.

I guess for now, I'll just enjoy some of my other favorite summer activities - grilling out, eating ice cream, driving with the windows down, and enjoying spending time outside. Not a bad set of alternatives!

This past Saturday, I ran the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. I had been training for 12 weeks, and I was so excited to be finished. Prior to starting my training, the furthest I had ever run at once was about six miles. So the prospect of running 13.1 miles wasn't exactly exciting to me. But I started a training program that forced me to build up my running endurance, gradually increasing the distance. There were several times during my training when I doubted whether I could run 13 miles - and that I contemplated quitting. But I stuck with it and managed to feel pretty well-prepared when race day rolled around.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 5am and was downtown, lined up for the race by 6:40. By the time it was 7:30, the race began, and 35,000 people started running together. It was such a neat feeling, being surrounded by so many other people running the race. The course also had musicians lined up along it for most of the route, providing entertainment for all the runners. Spectators lined up at different points along the course, cheering us on.

We ran from downtown, out to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, took a 2.5 mile lap around the track, then returned downtown for the finish of the race. When I reached the Speedway - about 6.5 miles and just over an hour into the race - the winners were just crossing the finish line. Kenyans Lamech Mokono and Valentine Orare tied for first place with a time of 1:02.53. That's an average of 4.77 minutes/mile! (For comparison's sake, I ran the race at a pace of 9.11 minutes/mile.)


After we had turned in our timer chips and chugged a bottle of water, volunteers handed out fruit, gatorade, and other snacks. Photographers took pictures of runners who had finished, and metals were handed out. The whole experience was really neat, besides being a great excuse to get in shape! I'll definitely consider running the Mini again next year. And I'm so used to running all the time now, that after two days of rest since the race, I'm already itching to run again. I don't think I'll run 13 miles on a whim, but 5 or 6 sounds pretty good.

This week, I had the privilege of spending time with two Indian students who were featured in the documentary Two Million Minutes. Apoorva and Rohit are both 18 years old and in their first year of university in Bangalore, India. They came over to the states for a ten-day visit, which has involved sightseeing, several discussion groups and screenings of Two Million Minutes, and the opportunity to see the U.S. for the first time. While here, they've traveled around Indianapolis as well as to Chicago and Washington, D.C. They seem to be having a great time so far and have been taking lots of pictures to help them remember their trip.

Since I work on the PR for the film, I always felt like I "knew" Apoorva and Rohit to some extent - having seen them (albeit on camera) in their homes, in school, and hanging out with their friends. Every day at work, I communicate with editors and other people about the film and these students, so they are a large part of my daily activities. This made it very exciting when they arrived in the states a week ago. Last Friday, my co-workers and I got to spend a good portion of the day with them, taking them bowling and to lunch to experience some American culture (although I'm not sure how much bowling embodies American culture).

Apoorva and Rohit were both so friendly and interesting to talk to. Despite being in a foreign country exploring unfamiliar places, being exposed to new foods and activities, and being around lots of new people, they adapted amazingly well and smoothly. Both students seemed very comfortable meeting and talking to new people and were able to socialize remarkably well for being in unfamiliar territory. Rohit even knew the names of some American music artists better than I did!

It's been very enjoyable spending time with both these students - getting to know them and being able to help show them around Indianapolis. Yesterday morning, I took them to the Indiana State Capitol Building for a tour. It was a neat experience for me too, as I had never been inside. We got to see the Supreme Court chamber, the Governor's office, and another room where legislative decisions are made. My favorite part was seeing Apoorva and Rohit take pictures of themselves standing at the podium at the front of the room where the Speaker of the House usually stands.

Overall, it's been an exciting week for me, and I know that Apoorva and Rohit have been involved in some exciting and interesting things as well. I hope they've had a good experience on their first visit to the U.S. and that they'll want to come back and visit again!

In any consumer business where there is contact between customers and employees, there is both an opportunity to impress the customer and a risk of losing the customer's business. From restaurants to retail stores, selling in-person to customer service over the phone, businesses must consider their relationships with customers an important piece of equity.

Regardless of the products or services a company provides, it is extremely important to be conscientious of customer expectations and needs. Retail stores should be sure to have sales clerks readily available to answer questions and help customers locate products. I hate shopping at most department stores because of the lack of salespeople around to provide help (along with the sheer overwhelming size of some of these stores. This problem could be minimized, however, by employing enough people to help direct customers who can't find certain departments or items.)

Another critical thing for retail stores is having employees who (at least appear to) genuinely care about helping out customers and making them feel comfortable in the store's environment. A real-life example of how a lack of customer service can reflect negatively on a store is the FedEx Kinkos near my office. I spend a good deal of time shipping packages for my clients from FedEx each week, so I've had plenty of time to observe the lack of dedication the employees at FedEx Kinkos have to customer service. I continually observe their overall apathy for their jobs; most of the time they don't bother to greet customers or ask if they need help. If the employees are working on something behind the counter when a customer enters the store and approaches them, they don't stop what they're doing or even tell the customer "I'll be with you in just a minute," as I would think is the very minimal courtesy required in such a circumstance. Instead they IGNORE the customer - avoiding all eye contact - until they've finished whatever else they're doing. I find this unacceptable and often wonder if the store loses customers because of this lack of customer service.

Another example of the role customer service can play in a business is of a restaurant where I was a waitress one summer during college. The restaurant - a popular East Coast Italian chain - was generally regarded fairly highly as having good food and as being a pleasant place to enjoy a meal. Until I worked there, I had always enjoyed eating there for both those reasons. After becoming an employee and witnessing all the behind-the-scenes work and management of the restaurant, I quickly became appalled by the poor management, lazy wait staff, and the inefficient nature of the business. I realized that the reason patrons of the restaurant weren't aware of these things was because of the attention that was given to customer service by the wait staff. Even those waiters and waitresses who were lazy behind the scenes and made no efforts to prepare food correctly or do their assigned "side work" to help each other out behaved quite differently while in front of the customers. The incentive for this? TIPS! Of course workers are willing to pay attention to customer service when they're receiving the vast majority of their payment directly from the customers and not from the restaurant. It frustrated me to no end that ultimately I received similar tips to those members of the wait staff who took no pride in doing their jobs right but instead focused only on being friendly and helpful to customers, insuring that they still received good tips. However, it did show me that even in a poorly-run business that doesn't always do quality work, the IMPRESSIONS the customer receives about the business can be the most important thing, which leads right back to the importance of customer service.

Every day at Dittoe PR, we act as representatives of the companies we work with. This makes it very important that we project a positive image for our clients, to ensure that the public sees them in a positive light!

Growing up outside of Boston, I was never really exposed to Nascar or anything to do with car racing. So I never thought I would ever find myself at a race car track. But that's just where I was this morning - at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It wasn't, however, for a car race - it was for a university business plan competition put on by Ball State University.

The competition, in its second year, is called the Nascent 500 Business Plan Challenge. Twelve teams of college students from across North America are selected to come to Indianapolis to compete against each other for the best entrepreneurial venture business plan. Each team presents its plan to a team of judges - all experienced entrepreneurs - in the back of a limo while traveling around the Speedway. It was really neat to be out at the track seeing all these college students so excited about their venture ideas. I could tell they had all worked hard leading up to the competition - I could see them rehearsing their presentations, going over important points with each other, and opening up data-filled spreadsheets on their laptops. They seemed overall slightly nervous but mostly excited to be participating.

I could also see the hard work and preparation that the Ball State Entrepreneurship Center had put into the event - they stuck to a tight schedule - and even utilized portable radios to coordinate activities among themselves! All participants in the competition were treated very well - on top of having the opportunity to compete for a $10,000 grand prize and a fast lap around the track!

Dittoe PR's contribution to the Nascent 500 was in bringing some media out to cover the event this morning. Specifically, some local TV stations came out and filmed the action, interviewed the organizers and students, and got to take in the excitement of the competition for themselves.

I was definitely glad to be able to make it out to the track to see such a unique and exciting competition. Who would have thought that I'd visit a race car track with one of my clients?