By Norm Miller, Louisiana College communications PINEVILLE (LCNews) -“School up.” Those two words of advice from Susan Broussard to a roomful of students summarize the Cleco exec’s hour-long chat in a public relations class at Louisiana College. The 1992 LC alumna -- a journalism/public relations double major -- oversees human resources and public relations for Cleco, a privately owned electric utility company headquartered in Pineville. “You must be able to communicate by the written word and verbally,” she said. “If you can’t execute an email without grammatical errors, or if you can’t express your thoughts and ideas, people will judge you on that. In many careers, if you can’t write you’re done for. You’ve go to be able to write.” Broussard advised students to leverage every opportunity to build a portfolio whether through volunteer or paid positions, and to not rely solely on classroom education. “A degree is just not enough any more,” she said. “It’s just not.” “You can get that piece of paper; but if you’re going to apply for a job with me, I want to see what you can do. I want to see what you’re made of. You must demonstrate your ability.” Broussard said her student portfolio helped launch her … [Read more...]