by Elizabeth Snyder, junior ADPR and Spanish student
Baby it’s cold outside, but the Public Relations Student Society of America turned on the heat at its end-of-the-year holiday party and award ceremony.
PRSSA has been preparing all semester for the event. The meeting kicked off with a fierce gingerbread house decorating competition. While many approaches were taken, in the end, the most livable house with a car parked outside took the win. Following the friendly competition, members enjoyed hors d’oeuvres while they settled into their seats for the first annual chapter award ceremony.
PRSSA created six awards to recognize outstanding work by its members, mentors and alumni. The categories included; Newcomer of the Year, Outstanding Mentor, Rising Star Alum, Chapter MVP and two special awards.
The first special award was created for and named after long-time mentor Tom White. This year, the Tom White Dedication Award was presented to White who has worked with the chapter and served as a mentor for PRSSA for over 10 years.
“I very much appreciate this dedication and award,” White said. “I am truly flabbergasted. I’m not doing anything different than any other mentor…Thank you very much.”
A Special Achievement Award was also presented to Meg Lauerman. Lauerman founded UNL’s chapter of PRSSA in 1998 and has served as its professional advisor for many years. She recently retired from her UNL position of Director of University Communication.
2016 Award Recipients
Newcomer of the Year: Azlin Armstrong, Ankeny, IA
Outstanding Mentor: Jen Rae Wang, Deputy Chief of Staff to Congressman-elect Don Bacon
Rising Star Alumni: Ben Preston, Global Communications Associate, Publicis Health
Chapter MVP: Megan Simonsen, Sutton, NE
Tom White Dedication Award: Tom White, former editor of the Lincoln Journal Star
Special Achievement Award: Meg Lauerman, former Director of University Communications at UNL
The award ceremony also featured student-produced videos highlighting each of the winners.
Wang, winner of the Outstanding Mentor award, encouraged students to continue their development at professionals.
“As a PR professional who had many individuals invest into my education and my career, it is incredibly fulfilling to help the next generation of PR professionals reach their goals and find their voice within PR,” Wang said. “The students and faculty involved in the UNL PRSSA program are among the best and brightest of our industry. I appreciate the award, but my true hope is that others will continue to step up, lead and pay it forward.”