The feelings of gratitude are mutual for WVU Reed College of Media students and leaders
of the local nonprofit organizations for which they’re providing advertising and
public relations services.
Each semester, students in Teaching Associate Professor Elizabeth Oppe’s Advertising
and Public Relations capstone course create an integrated communications campaign
for a local nonprofit organization. This semester’s clients include Get Moving!
Inc., United Way/Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, All American Grand Bash, Old
Hemlock Foundation, Monongalia Parks and Recreation and WVU Campus Food Garden.
The seven recipients of the 2023 WVU Reed College of Media IMC & DMC Scholarships
have at least two things in common – a desire to make positive change in their
communities and a clear idea about how to do it.
Recipients Kirsten McAlpin of Sumner, Georgia; Jenna Cooper of Wellsburg, West Virginia;
Megan Hansen of Sacramento, California; Julie Thomm of Charleston, West Virginia;
and Sydney Starkey of Morgantown, West Virginia are enrolled in the College’s online
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) master’s degree program. Alesha Hemeda
of Schenectady, New York, is enrolled in the online Digital Marketing Communications
master’s degree program, and Nicolina Converso of Edgewater, Maryland, is part
of the IMC program’s Defense Information School (DINFOS) cohort of military affiliated
students.
From professional mentorship to volunteering at his alma mater, College of Media
alumnus Brandon Thomas (BSJ, 2010) has made a habit of giving back.
Thomas was recently recognized with the Emerging Leader Award by The Plank Center
for Leadership in Public Relations at their Milestones in Mentoring Gala in Chicago.
The award honors young leaders who are mentoring new public relations professionals,
while also providing reverse mentorship to more senior colleagues, all while advancing
diversity, equity and inclusion.
“WVU News,” the Reed College of Media’s student-produced television newscast,
has been awarded a 2023 Platinum AVA Digital Award for the special edition episode
“Mental Health in America, a Growing Crisis.”
This international creative competition is judged by members of the Association of
Marketing and Communication Professionals and recognizes outstanding achievement
in the concept, direction, design and production of digital media and communication.
