UM Students Dominate State Public Relations Association Awards

Meek School of Journalism and New Media wins all three top awards and 10 of 11 awards overall

University of Mississippi public relations students in the Meek School of Journalism and New Media won the three top awards in the Public Relations Association of Mississippi student competition and 10 out of all 11 awards presented. Pictured from left to right, are (front row) Bridget Quinn, a journalism major from Alpharetta, Ga. and Sofia Hellberg-Jonsen, a marketing communications major from Stockholm, Sweden; and (back row) Lauren McMillin, a journalism major  from Madison, Miss.; Caty Cambron, a journalism and Spanish major from Rome, Ga.; Wil Yerger, a marketing communications major from Jackson, Miss.; Olivia Rearick, a journalism major from Glen Ellyn, Ill.; Robin Street, lecturer in journalism and public relations; Katie Davenport, an integrated marketing communications major from Wiggins, Miss.; Madison Hill, a journalism major from Auburn, Ala.; and  Emily Crawford, a journalism major from Horn Lake, Miss. Not pictured: Laura Gaziano, an integrated communications major from Atlanta, Ga. Photo by Stan O'Dell.

UM public relations students in the Meek School of Journalism and New Media won the three top awards in the Public Relations Association of Mississippi student competition and 10 of 11 awards presented. Pictured from left to right, are (front row) Bridget Quinn, of Alpharetta, Georgia; and Sofia Hellberg-Jonsen, of Stockholm; and (back row) Lauren McMillin, of Madison; Caty Cambron, of Rome, Georgia; Wil Yerger, of Jackson; Olivia Rearick, of  Glen Ellyn, Illinois; Robin Street, lecturer in journalism and public relations; Katie Davenport, of Wiggins; Madison Hill, of Auburn, Alabama; and Emily Crawford, of Horn Lake. Photo by Stan O’Dell.

OXFORD, Miss. – Public relations students in the University of Mississippi’s Meek School of Journalism and New Media won the three top awards in the Public Relations Association of Mississippi student competition and 10 of 11 awards presented overall.

Journalism major Olivia Rearick of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, won both Student Best of Show for the best entry in the entire competition and the top award in her category, called a PRism. Marketing communications major Wil Yerger, of Jackson, also won a PRism. Those students won the only PRisms presented.

In addition, eight other students and their instructor, Robin Street, all won awards, which were presented April 25 at the PRAM state conference in Hattiesburg. In each category, the award a step below the PRism is the Award of Excellence, followed by the Award of Merit.

“Having 10 of our students get awards sets a record for us,” said Street, a lecturer in journalism and public relations. “It was overwhelming that the judges only chose 11 students’ work from all over the state, and 10 of those were ours.

“Our students demonstrated that they excel in the diverse set of skills needed to succeed in PR such as producing quality journalism, planning strategy and conducting research. That is a real tribute to the preparation they received from all the faculty members at the Meek School.”

Winning Awards of Excellence were Lauren McMillin, a journalism major from Madison; Madison Hill, a journalism major from Auburn, Alabama; Caty Cambron, a journalism and Spanish major from Rome, Georgia; and Street.

Awards of Merit were presented to Katie Davenport, an integrated marketing communications major from Wiggins; Sofia Hellberg-Jonsen, a marketing communications major from Stockholm; Bridget Quinn, a journalism major from Alpharetta, Georgia; Emily Crawford, a journalism major from Horn Lake; and Laura Gaziano, an IMC major from Atlanta.

The students entered public relations campaigns they produced as final projects in an advanced public relations class taught by Street. Each campaign required multimedia journalism skills, including writing news releases and feature stories, as well as creating video, photos, blogs and social media.

For more information on the Meek School of Journalism and New Media, visit http://meek.olemiss.edu or email MeekSchool@olemiss.edu.