Robin Street Archives - School of Journalism and New Media

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Recent UM School of Journalism and New Media graduate named PRAM’s Outstanding PR Student in the state

Posted on: May 28th, 2020 by ldrucker

A May 2020 graduate from the School of Journalism and New Media was named Outstanding PR Student in the state by the Public Relations Association of Mississippi recently.

Karsyn King, a broadcast journalism major with a public relations specialization, was chosen from among students nominated by universities throughout the state.

A panel of judges selects the winner based on academic excellence and honors, public relations activities and experience, campus and community involvement, and a recommendation from the student’s instructor. The Gregory Raimondo Outstanding PR Student award is named for a PRAM member who was tragically killed in an accident in 2018.

King, who is also a double major in Spanish, was nominated by Senior Lecturer Robin Street.

Karsyn King. Photo by Stan O’Dell.

“Karsyn easily stands out as one of the brightest and best students I have taught,” Street said. “I knew from the minute I graded her first assignment that she was going to excel in PR. I truly am in awe of her abilities, intelligence and time management skills.”

Ryan Whittington, PRAM’s vice president of student services, was not a judge, but he did coordinate the selection process.

“This year’s judges commended Karsyn for her ability to juggle multiple projects,” Whittington said. “In addition to the way she maintained outstanding academic honors, multiple internships, part-time jobs and campus activities, they were impressed with her clear career goals. One judge shared, ‘It is obvious that she is a stellar student who will make an outstanding professional who can take on multiple projects and responsibilities.’”

King, from Monroe, North Carolina, was a member of the Honors College, as well as a producer and on-air talent at both the campus radio and TV stations. She served as event coordinator for the University Ambassadors and as an orientation leader for incoming freshmen. She was an officer in her sorority and in Panhellenic. Her volunteer work included serving at a local homeless shelter and as a tutor to underprivileged children. In addition, she worked two part-time jobs while in college.

“I am beyond honored to receive the award,” King said. “It is amazing to see my hard work pay off in such a profound way as I end my undergraduate career at Ole Miss. I will be forever grateful to Ms. Street for her nomination, her constant encouragement, and her invaluable guidance.”

UM School of Journalism and New Media offers three ways to pay tribute to Street who is set to retire in May

Posted on: May 12th, 2020 by ldrucker

About 4,000 hours of Senior Lecturer Robin Street’s life ended this month when she graded her last advanced PR student project.

Each semester, students in her PR Techniques class turned in a final PR campaign plan of 50-100 pages. Grading it took up to two hours per student and she had about 2,000 total students in that class over the years.

Those projects are only a portion of the assignments, tests and papers she graded for classes in Introduction to PR, PR Case Studies, Feature Writing, News Reporting and Writing for Mass Media, at least doubling the total number of grading hours to 8,000.

Was it worth to Street?

Robin Street

“Absolutely! “Watching my students succeed as professionals made every minute worth it,” Street said. “Nothing beats the feeling I get when former students email me to tell me they used something they learned in class at work.

“Watching that ‘light bulb’ come on with students as they begin to understand how to create the work is a wonderful experience. But that understanding does not come often until you show them how through grading and feedback.”

The School of Journalism and New Media is asking her former students to pay tribute to Street, who will retire from full-time teaching on May 31, in three possible ways.

Former students are asked to write a statement of what Street meant to them and to share their favorite story about her. Send the statement as an attachment, which will later be put into a bound volume, to Sarah Griffith at slgriff@olemiss.edu.
The Robin Street Public Relations Students Support Fund has been established to help PR students with travel and expenses and to establish the Robin Street Outstanding Public Relations Student award. To donate, go to https://ignite.olemiss.edu/project/19977
A party was scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23 from 6-8 p.m. That party, like so many other things in our lives, is now on hold. Updates will be sent out closer to the time.

Street takes PR students on a Memphis field trip to FedEx and St. Jude

Posted on: November 4th, 2019 by ldrucker

Students enrolled in Senior Lecturer Robin Street’s public relations classes traveled to Memphis Oct. 29 to meet with public relations professionals, including several JNM alumni, at FedEx and St. Jude.

Assistant Dean Scott Fiene accompanied the group, along with adjunct instructor Bill Dabney.

: Students enrolled in Senior Lecturer Robin Street’s public relations classes traveled to Memphis Oct. 29 to meet with public relations professionals, including several JNM alumni, at FedEx and St. Jude.

: Students enrolled in Senior Lecturer Robin Street’s public relations classes traveled to Memphis Oct. 29 to meet with public relations professionals, including several JNM alumni, at FedEx and St. Jude.

: Students enrolled in Senior Lecturer Robin Street’s public relations classes traveled to Memphis Oct. 29 to meet with public relations professionals, including several JNM alumni, at FedEx and St. Jude.

An added bonus at FedEx was a visit from Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman PR. He was in town to meet with JMM graduate Jenny Robertson, who is FedEx vice president for corporate communications. Edelman briefly spoke to the students.

At FedEx in Memphis, Street found 10 of her former students in communication positions.

Pictured, from left, are Lillie Flenorl, communications specialist, FedEx Freight; Teresa Daniel, senior communications specialist, social media; Jenny Robertson, vice president, corporate communications; Natashia Gregoire, director of FedEx Freight communications; Street; Ed Coleman, communications advisor, internal communications (not a former student, but an alumnus); Caitlin Adams, communications principal, office of the president and COO; and Alex Shockey, manager of social media and content. Not pictured are Rachel Hammons Parks, senior marketing specialist, brand; Cacera Richmond, senior communications specialist, FedEx Freight; Janna Hughes, communications advisor, global citizenship; and Caitlin Berry, senior communications specialist, internal communications.

Photo credit: Bill Dabney

Four recent graduates and faculty member honored by Southern Public Relations Federation

Posted on: October 6th, 2019 by ldrucker

Four recent graduates and a faculty member have been honored for their public relations projects by the Southern Public Relations Federation.

The 2019 SPRF Lantern Award competition was for work completed in 2018, and the student work was judged along with professionals. The awards were presented Oct. 1 at the SPRF annual conference in Orange Beach, Alabama.

The graduates submitted public relations campaigns produced in Senior Lecturer Robin Street’s advanced PR Techniques class. Each campaign was designed to increase awareness on a topic of their choice.

“The students had to create a complete public relations plan that included researching, event planning, writing mass media materials, creating effective social media and using photography and video and multiple other communications,” Street said. “Their awards demonstrate the excellent training they received in these skills from all the faculty members at the JNM School.”

Recent graduates from the School of Journalism and New Media public relations specialization and their teacher took home awards in the Southern Public Relations Federation Lantern competition. Pictured are Senior Lecturer Robin Street and IMC graduate Aleka Battista looking over their and the other gradates’ awards. Battista won an Excellence Award, as did Journalism graduates Hailey McKee and Kendall Patterson. IMC graduate Davis Roberts and Street won Merit Awards. The students entered PR campaigns they created in Street’s Advanced PR Techniques class. Photo by Stan O’Dell

University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media Assistant Dean and Director of the Integrated Marketing Communications program Scott Fiene praised the graduates.

“Once again, our students guided by Robin Street, have won high praise for their outstanding work,” Fiene said. “The fact that these students were judged against professionals in the public relations industry make this all the more special.”

Multiple entrants can win in the same category if they earn the required number of points as scored by the judges. Awards are given at three levels. No awards were given in the highest category, called the Lantern. The Excellence Award is the next highest award, followed by the Merit Award.

Aleka Battista, an IMC May 2018 graduate, won an Excellence Award for her campaign “Soar Over Summer,” designed to increase awareness of the importance of continuing learning during the summer for K-12 students.

“I feel honored to be recognized alongside so many amazing public relations professionals across the South,” said Battista, who now works at Red Window Communications, an IMC agency in Oxford. “The class gave me an in-depth knowledge of public relations through hands-on experience and made me feel well prepared to not only complete a full public relations campaign but to continue on successfully in my career field.”

Hailey McKee, a May 2019 Journalism and Public Policy graduate, also won an Excellence Award for her campaign “Gauge the Wage” to increase awareness of the gender wage gap.

“I was overjoyed to see that I’d won something because it gives validation to the work I am so passionate about,” said McKee, now a public relations graduate student at Boston University. “Ms. Street’s class was essential in learning and incorporating the skills needed to earn this award and taught me so many PR tools that I still use in my graduate class and at my internship.”

Kendall Patterson, a May 2019 Journalism graduate, also won an Excellence Award for his campaign “A Person Alone Could Be A Person Lost,” on the detrimental effects of loneliness and how to overcome them.

“I am blessed to be winning an award,” said Patterson, now a staff writer at the Chester County Independent newspaper in Henderson, Tennessee. “It’s a satisfying feeling to know that the work I did before I even started my career is being recognized on a regional level. The class allowed me to understand the massive amount of research and planning required to complete a public relations campaign.”

Davis Roberts, a May 2019 IMC graduate, won a Merit Award for his campaign “EATS (Emphasize Awareness Trash the Stigma) Like a Man” about eating disorders in men.

“I’m extremely honored to receive an award from SPRF,” said Roberts, now a graduate student in IMC at Northwestern University. “Awards and honors aside, I am just happy that I was encouraged and supported in school while creating a campaign focused on a topic that is so important and personal to me. Ms. Street forced us to step into the shoes of a PR professional by assigning us to create our own campaigns from scratch.”

Street also won a Merit Award for feature writing.

For more information on the School of Journalism and New Media, visit https://jnm.olemiss.edu/.

Public relations student team takes first place in on-site competition at Southeastern Journalism Conference Competition

Posted on: February 22nd, 2019 by ldrucker

Team Included IMC majors for the first time

For the first time, two integrated marketing communications majors were on the winning team in the public relations on-site competition for the Southeastern Journalism Conference Competition.

Team members were IMC majors Hayden Benge and Davis Roberts and journalism major Hailey McKee.

“I am so proud of what our students do,” said IMC Assistant Dean Scott Fiene. “And the fact that the winning three-person team is comprised of both IMC and journalism majors is testament to how students from both our degree programs work together and are prepared for real-world scenarios.”

For the competition, held on the campus of Middle Tennessee State on Feb.15, the team had two hours to complete a communications plan addressing a hypothetical public relations situation given them.

For the first time, IMC students were on the winning team that brought home first place in the on-site PR competition at the Southeastern Journalism Conference Feb. 15. Team members had two hours to create a communications plan for a PR situation they were given. Pictured, left to right, are team members IMC major Davis Roberts, Journalism major Hailey McKee and IMC major Hayden Benge and (Photo credit: Stan O’Dell)

“The situation was detailed, complex and longer than any of us expected,” McKee said. “Though there was temptation to become frozen with pressure, when we started tossing out different ideas and creative strategies for the campaign, I think we quickly found our groove and had a lot of fun with the situation we were given.”

Roberts attributes their success to what he learned in his IMC classes.

“In IMC, I’ve been taught to focus on a particular situation and learn everything I can in order to compose the right message for the right people and effectively deliver that message in a consistent manner across multiple channels,” Roberts said.

Benge and other team members particularly credited their PR classes.

“The 491 and 492 classes for the public relations specialization were very helpful in preparing us for the competition,” Benge said. “The assignments in the classes required us to create PR plans similar to the one in the competition. Having that background definitely assured us that we knew what we were doing.”

The students’ instructor for those classes, Senior Lecturer Robin Street, asked the students to enter the competition.

“I already knew how outstanding these students are, so I never doubted they would win,” Street said. “They all excel in planning, creating and implementing a communications strategy plan.”

Street has also nominated the students, all seniors, for a separate award from the Public Relations Association of Mississippi for Student of the Year. Those awards will be announced in April.

At the SEJC conference, Assistant Dean of the JNM School Patricia Thompson was named Educator of the year. Six journalism students also placed in other on-site competitions. In addition, journalism students won multiple awards in the Best of the South competition for work they had completed during the school year.

For more information on the SEJC competition results, visit https://jnm.olemiss.edu/2019/02/19/assistant-dean-students-earn-21-awards-at-journalism-conference/.

School of Journalism and New Media’s ‘It Starts with (Me)ek’ team wins a Silver Anvil Award

Posted on: June 9th, 2018 by ldrucker

A School of Journalism and New Media instructor and her 30-student team won the Silver Anvil, the most prestigious U.S. award in public relations, on June 7 in New York for It Starts with (Me)ek, a public relations campaign they created asking School of Journalism and New Media students to “just pause” before stereotyping others.

The award, given by the Public Relations Society of America, is considered to be the Oscar of the PR industry.

Actress and CBS Sunday Morning show contributor Nancy Giles, perhaps best known for her role on the TV show “China Beach,” served as emcee and presented the award to Senior Lecturer Robin Street, campaign chair.

The It Starts with (Me)ek campaign won a Silver Anvil award, considered to be the Oscar of the PR industry, for internal communications. Actress and CBS Sunday Morning show contributor Nancy Giles presented the award to Senior Lecturer Robin Street at a ceremony in New York on June 7. Accompanying Street at the ceremony were three of the 30 students who worked on the campaign. Pictured from left, Grace Miller, Giles, Street, Bianca Abney and Brittanee Wallace. Photo by Stan O’Dell.

Meek graduates Brittanee Wallace, Bianca Abney and Grace Miller, three of the 30 students who served on the ISWM committee, joined Street at the ceremony.

The week-long campaign consisted of 50 events, speakers and activities, all based on the message to “just pause” before judging people based solely on one factor such as their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness or other factor.

Like the Oscars, Silver Anvils are given in multiple categories. It Starts with (Me)ek won in the internal communications category for government or non-profit organizations.

The campaign has previously won awards from both the Public Relations Association of Mississippi and the Southern Public Relations Federation.

Street speaks to members of College Public Relations Association of Mississippi

Posted on: May 24th, 2018 by ldrucker

Senior Lecturer in Public Relations Robin Street spoke to members of the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi May 21 at Holmes Community College – Ridgeland. PR staff members from all four-year and community colleges in the state can join.

Street spoke about the It Starts with (Me)ek anti-stereotyping campaign she and 30 students put on at the Meek School. Street’s former students and other Meek School alumni were well represented. Alumni Mary Margaret Turner Busby and Barin von Foregger organized the conference.

From left are UM alumni with Street in the college where they work as communication specialists. Front row: Steve Diffey (Holmes), Donna Thomas (ICC), Street and Julie Bauer (NWCC).

Second row: Natalie Davis (Co-Lin), Mary Margaret Busby (Holmes), Pam Starling (Ole Miss), Barin von Foregger (Holmes). Third row: Nell Luter Floyd (Millsaps), Cathy Hayden (Hinds) and Sarah Sapp (Ole Miss).

UM students and alumni well represented at Public Relations Association of Mississippi conference

Posted on: April 16th, 2018 by ldrucker

Meek School students and alumni were well represented at the recent Public Relations Association of Mississippi conference, most of whom are Senior Lecturer Robin Street’s former students.

Front row, from left, Paul Katool, Bianca Abney, Kendrick Pittman, Robin Street, Mary Margaret Turner Busby and UM alum Rob Pettit.

Back row, from left, Emily Blackwell Pickering, Jace Ponder, Alex Hicks, Selena Standifer, Ryan Whittington and Brian Von Foregger.

UM PR students win top award from Southern PR Federation: Lantern award recognizes It Starts with (Me)ek campaign

Posted on: October 2nd, 2017 by ldrucker

A Meek School of Journalism and New Media campaign asking students to “just pause” before stereotyping others has won a top award from the Southern Public Relations Federation.

The Lantern award was presented in the internal communications category at the Southern Public Relations Federation conference in Tupelo Sept. 26. Awards are presented at three levels in multiple categories, and the Lantern is the highest level.

The winning campaign, It Starts with (Me)ek, was created and implemented by a team of 31 students led by Senior Lecturer Robin Street. Judges for the competition repeatedly praised the “great job” the team did.

ISWM was a week of speakers, programs and communications encouraging inclusion and respect while rejecting stereotypes based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, mental health, religion or other factors. UM alumnus Shepard Smith spoke at two of the events.

A Meek School anti-stereotyping campaign won a top honor, the Lantern award, from the Southern Public Relations Federation. Pictured here are some of the 31 Meek students who served on the campaign committee under the leadership of Senior Lecturer Robin Street, far right. Front, from left, IMC major Kaitlin Childress from Brandon and IMC graduate student Bianca Abney from Moss Point. Back, from left IMC majors Kendrick Pittman from Kosciusko and Zacchaeus McEwen from McComb, with journalism graduate student Chi Kalu from Nigeria. Photo by Stan O’Dell.

Student committee members enrolled in an integrated marketing communications course helped create the campaign. They met weekly to plan events, videos, communications, competitions and social media posts.

“Our students worked for months to plan and implement all the components of the campaign,” said Street, who taught the class. “They spent every Wednesday night in class and countless additional hours working on their individual tasks and assignments. I was so proud to see all their hard work and true dedication be recognized.”

Scott Fiene, assistant dean for curriculum and assessment and assistant professor, directs the IMC program at the Meek School. He attended the award ceremony with Street and several students.

“Our student team entered in the professional category,” Fiene said. “So they were judged, not by student criteria, but by professional standards. I noticed that they were the only students to win a professional award that night. The award exemplifies how well all our faculty prepare our students for their careers in journalism, public relations and integrated marketing communications.”

For more information on the Meek School, visit meek.olemiss.edu.

UM students take top awards from Public Relations Association of Mississippi

Posted on: May 10th, 2017 by ldrucker

Photo caption: University of Mississippi public relations students were the only college students in the state recognized in the Public Relations Association of Mississippi Prism student competition recently. Pictured from left to right, are seven of those student winners: (front row) Rachel Anderson, a journalism and Spanish major from Chesapeake, Virginia; Christina Triggs, a marketing and corporate relations major from Sugarland, Texas; Emma Arnold, a journalism major from McKenzie, Tennessee; Hannah Pickett, an integrated marketing communications major from Houston, Texas; (back row) Alex Hicks, an IMC major from Meridian; Sarah Cascone, a journalism major from Thomasville, Georgia; and Cassidy Nessen, an IMC major from Katy, Texas. Not pictured is journalism graduate Maggie McDaniel from Columbus, Georgia. Photo by Stan O’Dell.

University of Mississippi public relations students won every award presented in the Public Relations Association of Mississippi student competition recently, and one student was named the best public relations college student in the state.

Journalism and Spanish major Rachel Anderson from Chesapeake, Virginia, was named PRAM’s 2017 Student of the Year, competing with nominees from five other universities in the state.

“Rachel was selected for her impressive record of excellence and drive in all areas such as her academic honors, PR-related organizations and experience, and for her activities on campus and in the community,” said Kylie Boring, PRAM’s director of student services. “She has acquired a skill set of talents that will help propel her into the public relations industry, and I am confident she will represent this industry to the highest standard.”

Anderson also won an award for her student work, as did five other students and one alumna. The awards were presented at the PRAM state conference in Hattiesburg April 24.

Students entered public relations campaigns they produced in Senior Lecturer Robin Street’s advanced public relations class. Each campaign required multi-media skills, including writing news and feature articles, shooting video and photos, creating digital media, planning creative events and conducting research.

“I was so proud that every student award presented went to one of our students,” Street said. “Our students demonstrated that they excel in the diverse set of skills needed in PR. That is a tribute to the preparation they received from all the faculty members at the Meek School.”

Awards were given at three levels, based on the number of points judges award each entry. The top award is the Prism, followed by the Excellence and Merit awards. Multiple students can win in the same category if they earn the required number of points.

Hannah Pickett, an integrated marketing communications major from Houston, Texas, won a Prism.

“Students from the University of Mississippi once again proved their knowledge and understanding of the public relations practice through their entries in the Prism Awards,” said Amanda Parker, PRAM’s vice president for awards. “The judges praised Prism Award winner Hannah Pickett for having an extremely creative and well-planned project, making it an excellent campaign all around.”

Excellence winners were Anderson; Emma Arnold, a journalism major from McKenzie, Tennessee; and Christina Triggs, a marketing and corporate relations major from Sugarland, Texas.

Merit winners were Sarah Cascone, a journalism major from Thomasville, Georgia; Cassidy Nessen, an IMC major from Katy, Texas; Alex Hicks, an IMC major from Meridian; and Maggie McDaniel, a journalism graduate from Columbus, Georgia, who now works as an account manager at Communications 21 in Atlanta.

For more information on the Meek School of Journalism and New Media, visit their website at https://jnm.olemiss.edu or email MeekSchool@olemiss.edu.