Journalism, Public Relations & Media Department Annual Awards Ceremony Returns to In-person Format
By Sarah Jung, Professional Writing & Rhetoric student
Baylor University’s Journalism, Public Relations and New Media Department hosted the annual student awards ceremony for 2022 in the Paul & Jane Meyer Conference Room at Foster Business School on Friday, April 22, featuring guest speaker and alumna, Claire St. Amant. For many students, this was the first time to attend the ceremony in person due to the pandemic, which required the ceremony to be held online in 2020 and 2021.
During this ceremony, a total of 73 scholarships were awarded to students from various donors. Students were acknowledged for their exemplary work and tenacity and received certificates of honor from the Journalism, Public Relations and New Media Department’s professors.
Students were excited to be recognized for all their hard work, and were eager to share bits of advice to fellow undergraduate students.
“Take advantage of all the professionalism and expertise that all the professors have and just become their friends and learn everything you can from them because they ultimately want to see you succeed and support you” said Bradley Springman, a senior at Baylor University, awarded with honors for Best Career Portfolio.
Claire St. Amant, a 2008 Baylor Graduate and Emmy Award nominee for “Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a News Magazine” with 48 Hours, shared her experience as a struggling journalist and how she pushed limits and took risks to achieve the unexpected. She was then awarded as the department’s Alumni of the Year for 2022.
“Claire St. Amant is a young version of an ‘old school’ journalist who finds and tells good stories. She puts in the shoe leather. She’s fearless. She’s fair. She’s creative. She’s an excellent researcher who’s persistent – and her moral compass is impeccable. She pursues the truth and tells truth to Power. And she knows how to laugh. All in all, she’s just the kind of person we need more of these days” said Dr. Cassy Burleson, senior lecturer at Baylor University.
Claire St. Amant encouraged students and graduates to chase after stories that they believe in, even when faced with opposition. She shared stories of her time with multiple publications, and offered advice to the audience at the awards ceremony on achieving their goals as a journalist or public relations and new media professional.
“The only way to ensure that you won’t fail is to just try one more time,” St. Amant said. “I hope that you take that confidence into stories that you believe in… The ones that you really believe in are worth fighting for, the ones that are going to make a difference in your career, the ones that are you know winners tonight, you probably encountered some opposition to, so don’t get discouraged.”
During the ceremony, several students were honored as outstanding students including Outstanding Graduate Students, Kailey Davis and Jaden Jennings; Outstanding Senior in Advertising, Maggie Alexander; Outstanding Senior in Photojournalism, Brittany Tankersley; Outstanding Senior in News Editorial, Marquis Cooley; and Outstanding Senior in Public Relations, Kathryn Herd.