The university is proud to announce that Augustana Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) was honored at the 44th annual Minnesota PRSA Classics Awards banquet, held on May 12, in Minneapolis, Minnesota — among only 15 total agencies, corporations, nonprofit organizations and associations honored for exemplary work over the past year.
As part of Augustana PRSSA, Rachel Copper ‘22, of Humboldt, Iowa, earned a 2022 Minnesota PRSA Student Classics Award for her and her team’s work on a public relations (PR) campaign for the Boys & Girls Club of the Sioux Empire. Along with Copper, Lindsey Funke '24, Jazmne Thanpaeng ‘22, Liz Fossum '24 and Cooper Benning '23 contributed to the campaign, entitled “Boys and Girls Club Winter Carnival,” featuring a fundraising event targeting college students.
“I am grateful to have been a part of Augustana PRSSA because I was able to gain valuable hands-on experience. Not only did PRSSA allow me to work with nonprofits in the community, but it also allowed me to advance my public relations knowledge and form lifelong friendships,” said Copper, now an Augustana alumna who recently earned her Bachelor of Arts, majoring in communication/business and media studies.
The Minnesota PRSA Classics Awards provide an opportunity for students and professionals from South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin to submit their work for judging for finalist and first-place selection. The awards are presented annually to those “who, in judgment of their peers, have successfully addressed a communications challenge with exemplary professional skill, creativity and resourcefulness.”
Augustana PRSSA began participating in “the classics” in 2006, and have been award recipients each year they have entered the competition — earning more than 20 awards in the last decade.
“Augustana PRSSA is an outstanding way for students to develop portfolios of work in strategic communication and gain valuable experiential learning with significant impact. PRSSA is open to all majors,” said Dr. Michael Nitz, Augustana PRSSA faculty advisor and professor of communication studies.
To learn more about communication studies at Augustana, visit augie.edu/communication-studies.
Pictured: (back row left to right) Bree LeBrun ‘22, Anna Rose ‘22, Annika Jacoby '23 and Arden Koenecke ‘22 (front row left to right) Norah DeBoer '25, Mia Fank '25, Lindsey Funke '24 and Rachel Copper ‘22
