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Two teams of ��ɫֱ�� public relations students earned honorable mentions in the Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) Bateman Case Study Competition. The two ��ɫֱ�� teams were selected for the honor among sixty teams that entered the competition nationwide.

Each year the competition asks students to research, plan, implement and evaluate a comprehensive public relations campaign for a real client. This year’s client was The Campaign to Change Direction, an organization that seeks to change the conversation about mental health in the United States.

This is third time in four years that a ��ɫֱ�� team has earned an honorable mention in the competition. In 2013, a team placed second nationally. This is the first time that two ��ɫֱ�� teams have earned recognition in the same year.

The Bateman Blue team worked with college-aged African-American students and consisted of the following public relations majors:

• Holly Disch, ’18
• Nicole Zahn, ’18
• Kristin Slomiany, ’17
• Charleah Trombitas, ’18
• Brittney Prather, ’18

The Bateman Gold team worked with senior citizens and was made up of the following public relations majors:

• Taylor Pierce, ’18
• Daniel Henderson, ’18
• Latisha Ellison, ’18
• Rachel Stevenson, ’18
• Lauryn Rosinski, ’17

Tim Roberts, associate lecturer and undergraduate studies coordinator, advised both teams.

“Both teams picked underserved publics – college-aged African-American students and senior citizens – because their primary and secondary research informed them that these groups, historically and currently, don’t receive the mental health support they need,” he said. “The teams’ campaigns successfully addressed that, and as a result, positively changed the conversation about mental health within their target groups.”

Two ��ɫֱ�� public relations alumnae also served as professional advisors for the teams: Lyndsey Fortunato, ’13, marketing manager for TalentLaunch (Bateman Gold), and Erin Orsini, ’11, senior account executive for Marcus Thomas LLC (Bateman Blue).