Tarleton State University is unique in many ways, but there is one way that has affected me the most in the past three years and that is the PREM program. The PREM program is a division with in the Communications Department and stands for Public Relations and Event Management.

I have never seen a four-year university that offers this sort of program for those that want to be event planners. It is completely unique to Tarleton and one of the many reasons that I love my school.

Being a PREM student is unique and allows Communications majors to be creative and focus more on the specific career field they want to go in. From the experience I gained in the classroom to the real life work experience I gained working weddings in and around Stephenville.

I have always loved to plan things and have always been involved in some sort of Public Relations, even before I was in high school. I was a PR officer in every club I was in and loved planning anything that I could get my hands on. I have only recently realized that I want to plan weddings.

There is just something about planning someone’s happiest day that fills me with joy and gratitude that those people would allow me the pleasure of doing something that I love. From the flower arrangements to the linens, I have always seen setting up and planning or a wedding more fun than actually attending one as a guest.

I have always been more interested in weddings than other events and would love a job where I can plan weddings and social events rather than corporate meetings. I love seeing people happy at these events and making them happy, it fills me with a sense of accomplishment and pride. I would love to stay in Stephenville for a while after college too, if I can.

The PREM community at Tarleton is kind of like a small family. We all have the same classes together, work on weddings and events together, and even study together. I am friends with everyone in the PREM program and know that if I need something they will be there to help. There is just a sense of companionship and community within the program that you can’t find everywhere else.

After Dr. Wakefield passed, she was our main professor; I was uncertain of the future of PREM here, but as a whole we pulled together and stayed strong. The future is still uncertain for those of us in the PREM program but, I know that everything will be OK in the end. Your professors look out for your best interest and won’t teach you just for the material, they will teach you for the real world and for your future in the professional world. I never would have imagined being an event planner without half of my professors and classmates to back my dream.

I can’t wait to walk across the stage with them and gain my degree to plane vents and Public Relations from the best-kept secret in Texas!