UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A group of students in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications teamed up this spring to take on a challenge as part of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Bateman Case Study Competition, and while working to spread awareness about “hidden diversity,” they learned a bit more.
Senior advertising/public relations majors Shannon Kaercher, Isabella Macon, Nicole Perez and Sydney Smichnick were members of a team competing as part of a specialized curriculum in "COMM 473 Public Relations Campaigns," the major’s capstone course.
“It is a great opportunity to gain hands-on experience with a PR campaign from start to finish,” Macon said. “Unlike other internships or courses, we are the leaders of this campaign and make the final decisions.”
This year, PRSSA partnered with Culturs Magazine and challenged groups across the nation to spread awareness of the magazine on their campuses and bring light to the magazine’s mission of fostering and enhancing the human connection of culturally fluid communities of multiethnic, multicultural, mixed race and geographically mobile.
“When we first learned about our client and our tasks, we were excited,” Smichnick said. “Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is an important topic, and Culturs takes it a step further by digging deeper into what it means to be diverse."
Beginning in early February, the group conducted educational drop-in sessions in various classrooms, where they discussed Culturs' mission with students and faculty.
“Diversity goes beyond what we look like on the outside,” Kaercher said. “There are so many people who have experiences that have shaped them to be who they are that are not recognizable, but just because we do not see those things does not mean they're not important.”
Whether those experiences are simply living in different parts of the state or different countries, or having parents from various religions, all these experiences have an impact.
Along with educational sessions, the group met with various leaders on campus to speak about their initiative on bringing awareness to this branch of diversity and identity. The student group also sent a petition about embracing and unveiling hidden diversity to leaders and faculty at 19 different Penn State campuses.
“We understood that changes in how conversations are approached, in terms of DEI, have to start at the leadership levels,” Perez said. “It’s also important to us that this doesn’t only happen at University Park, but at all of Penn State’s campuses.”
Embracing Penn State culture and what it means to be a student at the University was also at the forefront of the team’s “Leveraging Cultural Moments” social media campaign. The group distributed 100 State Patty’s Day goodie bags that explained the history behind that student-created event and shared the magazine’s messaging during THON Weekend.
The group also shared alumni stories to showcase how their Penn State experiences affected the outcome of their lives and careers, as well as how they try to shape and embrace a community of unique individuals in their workplace.
“Penn State has had such an impact on the four of us,” Smichnick said. “We constantly think about how we can leverage all our experiences here to help us continue to thrive as alumni one day.”
Although the campaign began as a competition, the students said it quickly turned into something more meaningful for the group and inspired them to make a change on campus.
“Looking back on everything, I am so glad we had this opportunity with Culturs,” Macon said. “I have personally connected with this magazine and its mission because I know what it feels like to belong into so many different categories and not be able to choose just one thing.”
The PRSSA Bateman Competition is a national case study competition that public relations students across all PRSSA chapters can participate in, allowing students to apply previous experiences, academic or professional, to plan and execute a complete public relations campaign.