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Ben Siegel
The Schoonover Center
Ohio University’s Hugh M. Culbertson Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has recently been awarded the 2020 Star Chapter Award again, for the seventh time since 2014.
PRSSA describes a Star Chapter as “the gold standard for Chapters trying to achieve excellence,” and encourages chapters and their members to engage in programming and relationship building.
“This recognition is well-deserved. Our PRSSA chapter consistently shows talent, skill and determination. We’re so proud of their continued accomplishments and can’t wait to see what they do next,” said Scripps College of Communication Dean Dr. Scott Titsworth.
Recently celebrating 50 years , the Scripps PRSSA chapter is no stranger to winning awards.
“OHIO's PRSSA chapter is outstanding. They have won national awards and continue to win a variety of awards annually. It feels like every time I turn around a member, or the chapter, is getting an award,” said Dr. Victoria LaPoe, an associate professor in E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and faculty advisor of the chapter. “As jobs evolve, strategic communication like PR, which includes crisis communication, seems to be holding. I believe [having] students involved in OHIO’s PRSSA ensures they are working toward a successful and sustainable future.”
Scripps PRSSA was named the nation’s Outstanding Chapter by the group’s national organization in 2018, has nabbed awards for its work in the Bateman Case Study Competition and has been named a Star Chapter for seven years in a row.
While it might not be a huge surprise to Scripps PRSSA members that they were named a Star Chapter yet again, the award felt extra special for the organization, given the challenges the students faced this year.
“Receiving it again this year seems more special. To be abruptly removed from campus following spring break and have to immediately come up with a plan to host virtual executive board elections, transition to virtual meetings and find ways to keep our members engaged is really impressive,” said Vivian Moussa, 2020-21 chapter president of Scripps PRSSA.
In order to be named a Star Chapter, groups needed to demonstrate they had achieved eight of 11 requirements. Moussa said that despite the challenges of creating programming during a pandemic, Scripps PRSSA was able to meet its goals and prepare for the coming school year.
“In a way, this past semester was a good trial run for this coming school year. I feel less nervous or scared about what to expect, because we had to quickly adapt this past semester. I'm beyond excited for this coming school year, even though we will have to default to virtual meetings,” Moussa said.
Despite the gathering limitations due to the pandemic, chapter members are excited to see what is in store for them during the next academic year.
“The bright side is we are working on increasing our speaker diversity and bringing in professionals to speak from all over the country who might not have ever been able to come to campus to present at a meeting,” Moussa said. “Even though this coming school year isn't going to be how any of us would like (our beloved PRSSA International Conference set for Nashville this year has been moved online), I’m confident Scripps PRSSA will still offer its members amazing networking and professional development opportunities.”
To learn more about Scripps PRSSA, visit their website at scrippsprssa.org .