The Waynesburg University Public Relations Student Society of America Chapter will host its seventh annual Public Relations Week from Monday, April 9, to Friday, April 13. This year’s theme is “Connecting the Dots” to celebrate the connections from different sectors and regions.

The Waynesburg University PRSSA Chapter continues to invite influential presenters, and this year’s programming stays true to that standard. The keynote address will be delivered by Ben Butler, the founder and client services director for Top Hat. Top Hat is an award-winning marketing communications firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Other presenters for the week include Jim Emmerling from EM Media Inc., an inbound marketing agency from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Lisa Conner, the communications and marketing director for the Silver Ring Thing based out of Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

Alongside these professionals, students will also have the opportunity to attend a program with the National PRSSA Publications Editor in Chief, Natalie Gloady, discussing how to create and maintain an excellent and effective online portfolio.

“PR week is always an exciting time for WUPRSSA,” said Maura Fenske, the president of the Waynesburg University PRSSA Chapter. “We learn immensely from the professionals invited on campus and are always grateful for the time and mentorship they give us.”

In addition to the speakers, the PRSSA chapter has added a new corporate social responsibility element to the programming. The chapter will collect gently used professional dress items to donate to the local Dress for Success branch and the local Catholic Charities as well.

The Waynesburg University PRSSA Chapter is a five-time Star Chapter of the National PRSSA. PRSSA is a pre-professional organization for public relations and communication students that aims to enhance students’ educations, broaden their network and launch their careers.

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Ashley Wise, Director of University Relations
724.852.7675 or awise@waynesburg.edu

Waynesburg University’s student-run newspaper, The Yellow Jacket, received word that it won nine Mark of Excellence Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Region 4.

The Society of Professional Journalists, a national organization that advocates for the rights of the press and the First Amendment, awards professional and student journalists for outstanding work in categories such as photography, general news, in-depth reporting and more. Region 4 includes Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania.

“As Executive Editor, I am more proud than ever to be able to represent such a fantastic student-run publication,” said Mattie Winowitch, executive editor of The Yellow Jacket. “The Yellow Jacket means a lot to me, and each award we receive makes me extremely proud.”

The newspaper’s staff members received nine awards in categories including feature writing, general news, feature photography and sports writing. The exact placement for each category was announced at the Region 4 Conference, hosted at Point Park University, Saturday, March 9.

Recipients this year included Winowitch; Teghan Simonton, managing editor of The Yellow Jacket, Luke Goodling, sports editor; Mitchell Kendra, copy chief; and Waynesburg University alumnus Jacob Meyer. Winowitch received first place for feature writing, and Goodling first place for sports writing.

As first-place recipients, Winowitch and Goodling will represent Region 4 in SPJ’s National Mark of Excellence Award competition. Last year, four staff members at The Yellow Jacket won a national Mark of Excellence Award for in-depth reporting – the first ever instance of national recognition for The Yellow Jacket. Winowitch and Simonton were among last year’s winners, along with alumni Kimmi Baston and Anthony Conn.

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Ashley Wise, Director of University Relations
724.852.7675 or awise@waynesburg.edu

Waynesburg University’s student-run newspaper, The Yellow Jacket, recently got word that it received eight awards from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (PNA), for work published in the 2017 calendar year.

The PNA is a nonprofit trade association for print and online media in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Each year, student and professional journalists are given the opportunity to submit entries for the Keystone Press Awards, in categories including general news, profile and feature writing and photography, among others.

Staff members and alumni from The Yellow Jacket won a total of eight awards in the Division II category, for four year colleges and universities with enrollment under 10,000. This is four more awards than the publication received from the organization last year, which had been a record-breaking year. For Mattie Winowitch, junior journalism major and executive editor of The Yellow Jacket, this is an exciting accomplishment.

“This is a moment that I have been waiting for from the moment I first sat in my executive editor chair this past August,” said Winowitch. “And to be able to say that I helped lead my staff to accomplish this difficult and amazing feat is more than I could ever ask for.”

Winowitch attributes the success to the hard work of staff members and the leadership of The Yellow Jacket advisors. The newspaper has a longstanding reputation for being professionally recognized—winning 4 awards from PNA and 11 from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2017. Winowitch is excited to maintain that momentum.

“The Yellow Jacket has a deep history of being award-winning, and by maintaining that pattern, we are further showing the world that we are very skilled at what we do,” she said. “With each award, we are putting Waynesburg University on the map, and I think that’s pretty cool.”

Sarah Bell, academic communications coordinator and one of The Yellow Jacket advisors, was ecstatic to hear about the awards. She said the accolades are testament to the hard work the staff puts into publication each week.

“I am incredibly proud of The Yellow Jacket staff for all of their work this year,” said Bell. “Winning a record-breaking eight PNA Keystone Press Awards is a reflection of how dedicated and multi-talented the newspaper staff is. Being selected to receive awards in a range of categories – from featuring writing and sports to photography and layout – speaks volumes to the quality of student journalism at The Yellow Jacket.”

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Ashley Wise, Director of University Relations
724.852.7675 or awise@waynesburg.edu

The Waynesburg University Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter has received the PRSA Pittsburgh Renaissance PRSSA Chapter of the Year award for the second consecutive year. The Chapter was recognized at the Renaissance Awards held last week.

Members of the Waynesburg University Chapter feel honored to be the only chapter to receive the award, which was presented for the first time in 2017.

“To be chosen as their first two winners both times was pretty incredible, and I have our chapter members to thank for that,” said Maura Fenske, senior public relations major and president of the Waynesburg University PRSSA chapter. “They’ve really worked tirelessly to make the chapter the success that it is, so to be able to recognize them with this award is really rewarding for me and for us as an executive board.”

The Chapter has received PRSSA Star Chapter Status nationally for five consecutive years and had members receive numerous national and regional awards according to faculty adviser and Department Chair Richard Krause.

“The students have invested significantly in this chapter, and they have accomplished many of our long-term goals in a relatively short time,” said Krause. “They have set a very high standard for future public relations students to follow.”

Amanda Troncone, junior public relations major and vice president of the chapter, said she believes the award shows the quality of the programs available at Waynesburg University.

“We are being recognized by our parent chapter for two years in a row that we are the best chapter that they have. I think that also challenges us, moving forward, to continue to push for excellence,” said Troncone.

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Ashley Wise, Director of University Relations
724.852.7675 or awise@waynesburg.edu

Maura Fenske, a senior public relations major at Waynesburg University, recently received the 2018 Bob O’Gara Student Scholarship Award from the Pittsburgh chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Fenske was recognized last week at the Pittsburgh Renaissance Awards, which recognized outstanding work in the public relations industry.

To receive this scholarship, a student must show excellent communication skills, academic achievement, moral leadership and knowledge in the field of public relations.

“Winning the O’Gara was definitely unexpected, and it was a huge honor for me,” said Fenske. “For the committee to award me the scholarship that represents such a huge name and the Pittsburgh Public Relations industry is really humbling, and I’m glad to be able to represent not only the chapter, but the Department [of Communication] and the University in this way.”

Fenske has led Waynesburg University’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) for two years and has demonstrated excellent leadership during this time, according Richard Krause, chair of the Department of Communication and PRSSA faculty adviser at Waynesburg University.

“Maura has been an effective leader for our chapter,” said Krause. “Under her leadership, the chapter has continued to receive national recognition and achieve many of its long term goals.”

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Ashley Wise, Director of University Relations
724.852.7675 or awise@waynesburg.edu