The University’s Public Relations Student Society of America received first place in the National Organ Donor Awareness Competition at the PRSSA National Conference in Indianapolis late October.
The conference, which took place from Oct. 21 to Oct. 25, was part of a semester-long educational program for Manship School of Mass Communication professor Jinx Broussard’s Public Relation Campaigns classes. Broussard said she most enjoys the progress her students make throughout the semester.
“The most fulfilling part of leading the Manship PR students is to watch them progress from doubt and a bit of fear at the beginning of the semester to confidence that they have accomplished their campaign goals at the end of the semester,” Broussard said in a press release.
Along with the student-run public relations firm “225 Communications” and the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency, the University’s public relations student society has created a PR campaign and daylong event each year since 2014 to participate in PRSSA’s national competition. Back in April, the PR student society held its event to spread awareness about the need for organ donations across campuses nationwide.
“In doing so, the students enhance their knowledge by applying what they are learning in the classroom,” Broussard said in a press release.
Since 2014, Broussard has selected one group of students in each of her campaign classes to work on the LOPA campaign. Her students took first and second place in 21014 and 2015, respectively. In the six years that Broussard’s campaign classes have assisted LOPA, students have helped register hundreds of organ donors. Kelly Ranum, the CEO of LOPA said the student’s work has had great impact on those struggling to find donations.
“The obvious implication of LSU’s NODAC win is more people in the donor registry,” Ranum said in a press release. “But the real victory is the hope they have given to the thousands waiting … I appreciate the tremendous job they did and imagine their passion for donation will continue long after graduation.”
This year’s award-winning campaign was created by Manship students Brooke Chandler, Rachael Green, Anna Hoz, Meagan Meyers, David LaPlante and Kaitlyn King.