OXFORD, Miss. – A record-breaking nine University of Mississippi journalism students and their instructor recently received honors from the state’s public relations association. Three of those students won top awards.
Presented annually by the Public Relations Association of Mississippi, Prism Awards honor and recognize outstanding work in the field of public relations by both professionals and students. Three Ole Miss students – seniors Andrew Scott of Brookhaven and Erin Pollock of Washington, Ga., along with 2009 graduate Kristen Robinson of Brandon – received 2009 Prism Awards for public service campaigns, PRAM’s highest honor. Six other students and their instructor were honored by PRAM with Awards of Excellence and Certificates of Achievement.
“Having a total of 10 winners from Ole Miss shatters all previous records,” said Robin Street, UM journalism lecturer. “The nine students entered their final project from my advanced PR class. It was a full public relations campaign designed for an organization the student interned with for the class.”
Students receiving Awards of Excellence were seniors Ainsley Rogers of Pontotoc and Alex Cox of Olive Branch, and 2009 graduate Nicole Spinuzzi of Alpharetta, Ga. Street also won an Award of Excellence. Students who received Certificates of Achievement were 2009 graduates Robert Casner of Dallas and Kathryn Ruleman of Brandon, and 2007 graduate Marcus Thompson of Sardis, who returned to school this semester to take Street’s class.
“The work of the students from the University of Mississippi was judged alongside professional public relations practitioners, and the judges were very impressed by the quality of their entries,” said Caron Blanton, PRAM president and Mississippi Department of Education legislative services director. “It is obvious that they are being well-prepared to enter the field.”
PRAM is a network of 11 chapters throughout the state, consisting of nearly 600 members. The association includes memberships for students majoring in public relations and professionals who hold positions in a variety of fields, including corporations, industries, government entities, not-for-profits and agencies. PRAM members are concurrent members of SPRF, a network of more than 1,300 public relations professionals in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.
For more information on journalism programs at UM, go to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/