In today’s increasingly competitive professional landscape, networking and mentorship are more crucial than ever. For students in public relations, connecting with experienced alumni can open doors, offer invaluable guidance, and pave the way for future opportunities. This was precisely the challenge faced by the Roger Williams University PRSSA chapter, with its 148 highly involved alumni who lacked a centralized, organized database to facilitate easy connections.
What Problem Did We Solve?
The primary challenge was a lack of a single, accessible hub where current RWU PRSSA students and recent graduates could easily find and connect with alumni for mentorship and professional networking . This meant missed opportunities for students to leverage our rich alumni network.
Key Features and Functionality:
My solution, integrated directly into our website, allows students to search for alumni based on critical information:
• Name, Graduation Year, and PRSSA Leadership Role(s)
• Current City and State
• Current Job Title and Place of Work
The search functionality is particularly robust, allowing users to filter by location (state) or by specific PR specialties such as Advertising, Education, Event Planning, Healthcare, Non-profit, Sports, and Tech – categories derived from Dr. Shelton’s own textbook for a consistent framework .
Innovation in Action: AI-Driven Development
What makes this project truly stand out is its development approach:
• AI-Driven Development: I leveraged artificial intelligence to bring this vision to life. GitHub Copilot assisted with writing the HTML and JavaScript code, while ChatGPT was instrumental in CSS styling and debugging .
• Database-Free Structure: Due to limitations with our website host, Wix, supporting large traditional databases, the search engine was ingeniously structured entirely through dynamic HTML, JavaScript, and CSS code . This makes it scalable and remarkably easy to maintain .
• Non-Coder Accessibility: A key design consideration was future-proofing. I developed the system so that anyone with limited coding experience can add new alumni profiles with minimal training, using simple AI prompts . This ensures the tool remains updated and valuable long-term .
• Rapid Development: A fully functioning, professional-looking search engine was built in less than a month and a half .
Impact and Future Vision:
This Alumni Search Engine is a powerful tool that will help current and future RWU PRSSA students build stronger professional networks by easily finding alumni mentors based on their location or specific PR interests . It directly supports RWU PRSSA’s broader initiative to strengthen our alumni network .
Moving forward, the plan is to continuously add new alumni as they graduate and to train incoming PRSSA members on how to use the AI prompts to keep the search engine updated efficiently over time .
This project not only showcased my skills in web development and strategic communication but also demonstrated my ability to embrace cutting-edge technology to create practical, impactful solutions for organizational needs. It’s a testament to how innovation can truly connect communities.
As the chapter’s Web Manager, with a strong interest in web development and artificial intelligence, I took on the exciting task of addressing this need. Under the guidance of our advisor, Dr. Amiee Shelton, I conceptualized and developed the Alumni Profile Finder – an innovative, AI-assisted alumni search engine designed to bridge this gap .