Southern Illinois University Edwardsville public relations students devised a successful, comprehensive direct-mail campaign that reached more than 40,000 alumni as part of their senior assignment.
SIUE has been featured in U.S.News & World Report among the nation’s top schools, including Brown, Princeton and Stanford for six-consecutive years for its Senior Assignment program. The Association of American Colleges and Universities has also recognized the SIUE program as a model capstone undergraduate experience for the nation’s institutions of higher learning.
Two teams of senior students organized public relations campaigns culminating with special events for the SIUE Foundation and the SIUE Student Foundation.
The Key PRecision team included the following students: Cassandra Bosomworth, Karissa Boozer, Kayla Halde, Erin Jackson and Eboni White. The students collaborated with Julie Babington, director of Annual Giving at the SIUE Foundation.
The team helped increase awareness about The Foundation among potential donors through a direct- mail campaign that involved letters, email blasts and social media messages. The campaign featured SIUE carpenter Eric Williams, who has worked on campus for 28 years and whose three children all graduated from SIUE and have successful careers.
The PR Image team was comprised of the following students: Page Whitehead, Doria Wormbly and Kyara Wright. They collaborated with Chandler Vandenberg, assistant director of Annual Giving at the SIUE Foundation, and helped spearhead the launching of the SIUE Student Foundation.
The Student Foundation is aimed at giving students enhanced opportunities to practice leadership and learn the value of giving back to the University community. The PR Image team made efforts to increase the membership of the group and also organized the SIUE Student Foundation Day. The March 26 event provided students not only information about the organization, but also a chance to participate in fun activities on the Quad such as mechanical bull riding, jousting, rock wall climbing, jump shot basketball and a pie eating contest.
Working to organize public relations campaigns culminating with special events, the two teams of seniors in public relations refined their skills that will make them competitive in the job market, according to Babington.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of nearly 14,000.
Photo Information:
Pictured are the Key PRecision team members with others.
From left to right are Kayla Halde, Erin Jackson, Karissa Boozer, Julie Babington, director of Annual Giving at SIUE Foundation; Dr. Sorin Nastasia, assistant professor in the Department of Speech Communication; Cassandra Bosomworth and Eboni White.
Pictured with Chandler Vandenberg, assistant director of Annual Giving at the SIUE Foundation, from left to right are Kyara Wright, Page Whitehead and Doria Wormbly.