Even though she is just beginning her second year at Virginia Tech, Cat Goergen has already built the resume of a senior Hokie. Throughout her freshman year, Cat was eager to become involved in all that Virginia Tech has to offer. Now, Cat is actively involved in three major organizations. I sat down with Cat to ask her some questions about the range of clubs she’s involved in.
Her Campus Virginia Tech: What are you involved in?
Cat Goergen: My biggest commitment is my job working for Virginia Tech Athletics. I am an officer of PRSSA, which stands for Public Relations Student Society of America, and I am in a co-ed service fraternity called Epsilon Sigma Alpha.
HCVT: How did you get involved in those organizations?
CG: To work for Tech Athletics, I had to go through a couple of rounds of interviews. I heard about it because my boss was specifically looking for Communication majors and he came into one of my classes with applications. I pretty much just signed myself up for PRSSA. I got an e-mail saying, “Interested in PR?” I went to the first meeting and that was that. A number of my friends from high school knew about ESA through older siblings, and we all decided to join together.
HCVT: What is your favorite part about those organizations?
Video: Definitely being on the field for football practices. I love watching our team practice. I have yet to travel to a Bowl game, but I hear that that will become my favorite part.
PRSSA: This is hard because I love everything I do for PRSSA. Last year I did PR for FMDS’s fashion show, which was really fun. I also blog for our PR firm called Ut Prosim PR which is a blast.
ESA: My favorite part of ESA is the amazing people in it. I love going to ESA socials, but my absolute favorite thing we do is dog walking. Every Saturday we visit the Montgomery animal shelter and walk dogs.
HCVT: What do you do for/with those organizations?
CG: I am a videographer for Tech Athletics which means I shoot practices, games and scrimmages for lots of different sports, make videos to play at games, and work in the video studio during scrimmages or games to play videos on the jumbo screen. For PRSSA, we do a number of things. We have a lot of speakers come in who used to be students at Tech. They tell amazing success stories. It is great to hear what they are doing now that they have graduated. We also have a PR firm. We have a number of clients who we represent. For ESA, we do community service since it is a service frat. We participate in Relay, Big Event, Winterfest, March of Dimes, and we always hold socials to raise money for our charity, St. Jude’s.
HCVT: What have you learned?
CG: Wow, a lot. I’ve learned that Coach Beamer is not the only football coach. Tech has like 10 football coaches! Before working for athletics, I always thought it was just Beamerball. I’ve learned that if you are late, just say sorry. Don’t make excuses. PR professionals are now writing about 60% of news, which is a really good sign for me. I’ve learned that it is important to do what makes me happy. In this economy, people in communication are the first to be let go, but I could not imagine myself being in any other field. And a lot of other stuff that I won’t bore you with.
HCVT: What are you studying at Tech and what do you want to do after you graduate?
CG: I am a Communication major with a focus in Public relations and a Psychology minor. I love discovering new music, and my dream profession is to do PR for a record company.
HCVT: What else do you do in your free time?
CG: I love to work out. I particularly enjoy Pilates and yoga. I play guitar and write songs. I love spending time with family and friends. And anytime I find a dog, I will play with it forever. In fact, if you have a dog, I may try to steal it from you.
HCVT: Do you have any advice for people looking to get involved at Tech?
CG: Try a lot of things in the beginning. I tried EVERYTHING and I am still trying to figure things out. If you don’t enjoy something or you feel it’s not worthwhile, don’t be afraid to politely quit the organization. I had to do that many times. Once you find what you like, narrow it down to only a few organizations so that you can really focus on becoming an officer and getting involved. Make sure the people in the organization are people you want to hang out with on the weekend too because, ideally, if you are involved enough, you will become very close with those people. Most importantly, do not be afraid to speak your mind and give your ideas. I was intimidated by the girls in PRSSA at first, but I was confident in myself. They let me have my own blog and have a job in the firm, and now I am close with them. As cheesy as it sounds, you just have to believe in yourself, keep an open mind, and always stay optimistic!