A group of students in the public relations campaigns class has been working on a campaign that brings awareness to the Shannon Christy Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Shannon Christy was a WCU graduate and had a strong passion for journalism and kayaking. During her time as a student, she wrote for the Western Carolina Journalist (WCJ) and became the first outdoor editor for WCJ. In 2013, Christy passed in a tragic accident during one of her practice runs for the Great Falls Kayaking Race. The scholarship fund supports full-time students in the Communication Department that have demonstrated a passion for outdoor recreation.
The group has a goal to increase the number of donors donating to the fund and reach $25,000.
“If we can get the scholarship endowed ($25k), then we can finally put the scholarship into action and award it to future communication students,” said Hannah Broyer.
The group aims to target and deepen their connections with communication alumni who may have attended WCU the same years Christy did. They are also trying to reach WCU alumni in general.
For the campaign, the group has worked on research reports, objective planning, key messaging outlines, as well as press releases, email campaigns, and social media graphics. They are also using the public relations process that includes research, action, communication, and evaluation (RACE) and AP style writing, and the utilization of Microsoft Office.
The group’s favorite aspect of working on the campaign is the opportunity to directly support the communication department that has positively impacted them over the years.
“It feels good to be working on a campaign that has the ability to support other students through this amazing communication department,” said Broyer.
Lastly, the group presented the campaign on Wednesday, May 3.