Fisher Students Win Big during PR Awards Ceremony

Students in the Department of Media and Communication at St. John Fisher College won three of the six awards given to students during the Rochester Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) annual PRism Awards.

The winners were formally announced during a ceremony on Thursday, June 16. PRisms recognize complete public relations programs and tactical elements incorporating sound research, planning, execution, and evaluation. This is the first year student entries have been included in the awards program.

Fisher undergraduates swept the Student Integrated Communications program category, winning a PRism Award for “Play With Purpose: 2018 Bateman Case Study Competition.” They also won the Award of Excellence for “Lights. Camera. Improv. The Fifth Annual Gilda’s Cup Collegiate Comedy Improv Competition.”

In the research/evaluation element category, Fisher won the Student PRism Award for “Play With Purpose: 2018 Bateman Case Study Competition Research Analysis.”

The awards highlight the work of Fisher students in both the Tom Proietti chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America and The PRIMA Group, Fisher’s student-run integrated public relations agency. Students involved include Ava Brugger, Faye Conley, Lindsey Garrant, Kaitlin Hawkins-Rusch, Taylor Ketchum, Colleen Senglaub, and Alyssa Whitley. Garrant, Senglaub, and Whitley prepared the PRism award submissions and attended the ceremony to accept the awards.

Fisher’s 2018 Bateman Case Study, which was part of a competition organized by PRSSA national, also earned national accolades when it was one of 20 teams to receive an honorable mention out of 84 entries.

“Our students benefit greatly from the opportunities provided by PRSA Rochester, and the newly created PRism student award category speaks volumes about PRSA Rochester’s investment in the next generation of public relations practitioners,” said Arien Rozelle, assistant professor in the Department of Media and Communication, and advisor to both student groups. “It’s an honor that they chose to recognize the ambition, professionalism, and public relations skills of students in Rochester, particularly students from both of our public relations student organizations, PRSSA and The PRIMA Group.”

For Rozelle, to have her students recognized multiple times in a room filled with Rochester’s best public relations practitioners speaks to the professional quality work executed by Fisher students. “I’m so impressed by the smart and strategic PR work our students are creating, and I’m proud to serve as the advisor to multiple award-winning students and student groups,” she said.