Letter from Kenrick Mark (17th Edition)
Letter from Kenrick Mark
Dear Esteemed Readers,
I think that Wednesday class was the most difficult because it involved many of the building blocks of the Public Relations discipline. Professor Mark and Professor Roger were always the duo who helped us understood the relevance of what and who exactly is affected by this discipline. I might have not grasped the concepts at first opportunity, so I definitely revised the PowerPoint presentations which had a magnitude/ wealth of important details in Public Relations, the required books and academic journals for our perusal, links to select websites and web pages, videos, models and graphics. For both this class, and last week, we discussed history of the discipline, and the struggles and wins. We also did group work on a specific area and did a presentation using examples of issues in Europe. The communication theory and its influence on Public Relations was emphasized. We learnt about sender characteristics, receiver personality, and message content. It was also our first time hearing about Systems Theory and Grunig and Hunt’s 4 part model of communications and later on, Excellence Theory.
Most of these sessions in the first two weeks, I had difficultly answering questions posed by the Professors. As I grew into the program and tenure, I became more engaged though. The secret is to read and understand, and read some more — papers, journals, everything, go beyond, beyond. After class, I went home, had some juice and crisps I bought from the Nepal guy’s store a week ago. As I mentioned, I didn’t know how to use the train, and I was worried. Andrea was coming on Friday to show me (but only to Lewisham, no connecting trains demo). So, I decided to book a cab to travel to the Excel Centre in London. I think it was Greenwich Cabs. I paid 44 pounds sterling. I booked the taxi to pick me up at the corner of M& S at 5am (I am a ‘bush’ guy from Belize, always ensuring I reached before an event started), and 6pm to pick me up from the Excel Center when the Ceremony is over. I was definitely going to get lost if I tried using the train. I spent the afternoon in my room, working on some features for my charity, Teens Belize Organization. I fell asleep early, after taking a bath.
The next morning, I woke up, had breakfast (some chocolate muffins and coffee), and went to library, to do my readings. I observed many students working on group projects and helping each other with school work. Thursday was Planning & Communication class with Professor Christian. Of note, some of our classes during the year featured Guest Lecturers — former MAPR students, Celebrities, PR specialists, et al. The general topic for this class was Public Relations strategy and overview of the planning process with focus on the aspect of research. The strategic management process was carefully taught as well corporate strategy and communication strategy. We were also introduced to Anne Gregory’s 10 step planning model. Later on in the year, we had a huge research task, based on this model. I excelled at it. Professor Christian explained quite well, but I still reviewed my presentations and papers. Actually, this was the class where we had one session in King William and another in Stephen Lawrence. We enjoyed the mid-session walk over, and crunching on a snack of chips or cookies or chocolates. The evening was very active, with cool breeze, and people walking from work and some taking their babies for a walk. During class, I usually glanced at the back and the side to see what the others were doing. Sometimes I caught them eating chips, typing on their computer/phone, or simply ‘gazing’ too. I cherished these moments. I knew it was only a year living my childhood dream. Sometimes, I would think of what my comrades were doing in Belize, or my family. I also tried to think post Chevening London, where I would be, and what ‘big’ positions I might have in Belize or Europe.
We left class half hour later. I walked out the Stephen Lawrence building thinking about food. The lights were shining yellow in color. There was a big Red Double Decker bus parked outside at a bus stop. Many people (elder ladies, students, children) were boarding the bus. There was a little green convenience store (directly in front of the bus stop) that was buzzing with customers. I decided to check it out! I walked in and saw two Indians at the counter. They looked at me and smiled, saying ‘good evening sir’. It was a very diverse store selling tons of liquor, food, London souvenirs, snacks, and loads more. I was just peeping. As I walked around the store, looking for a few things I can purchase, one of the guys spoke to me. He said, ‘Are you Indian?’ I told him yes. He also asked if I’m going to University of Greenwich. I said ‘yes’. I think they were cousins. We started talking about life and London for a few minutes. I bought some crisps and chocolates (I didn’t want to walk out with a bare hand). The two Indians made my night. I enjoyed meeting fellow Indians, and sharing a little wisdom about our lives and aspirations. I actually went back to that store the next day.
I skipped library. I went home. I walked straight down (across the streets at the Greenwich Market) and headed to Cutty Sark Halls. I fried eggs and made toast with butter. That was a wholesome meal! I went online and talked to a few of my comrades, including my comrade from Belize City.
I’m quite exhausted from tonight. I will continue my journey in a next edition of Letter from Kenrick Mark.
Sincerely yours,
Kenrick Mark
