NDSU student public relations team wins national recognition
NDSU students have received an honorable mention in a national public relations campaign with a project designed to prepare middle school students for college.
NDSU was one of 15 institutions to receive honorable mention in the national Bateman competition sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America. The finalists were Loyola University New Orleans, Michigan State University and University of Maryland. There were 77 entries.
“This is the first year NDSU has had a team compete and to receive a top 15 finish against schools with such reputable communication programs is a huge honor,” said team member Kodee Gartner, a senior marketing major from Killdeer, N.D. More importantly, it gave us the opportunity to apply classroom skills to plan and implement a campaign that benefited Fargo's youth.”
Students were challenged to create and launch a grassroots public relations campaign to a designated target audience. This year, the campaign was focused on educating middle school students about the costs and planning associated with college.
The NDSU “Where are YOU going?” campaign was implemented throughout the community. It included an interactive game to play with the students, a public service announcement, a scavenger hunt set up as an Internet research project, and a middle school night at a Fargo Force game that was held Feb. 21.
Team members included Gartner; Heather Athey, a senior studying public relations and advertising from Mankato, Minn.; Kelsey Miller, a junior public relations and advertising major from Champlin, Minn. and Andrea Kopischke, a freshman studying public relations and advertising from Morgan, Minn. Amy O'Connor, assistant professor of communication, was the team’s adviser.