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Public Relations Class Earns "Golden Image Award"

UWF Student Interns with District Department of the Environment

UWF Alum Ready for Her Peace Corps Adventure

Public Relations Class Earns "Golden Image Award"
By Kelly Cooke, senior, Communications Arts/Public Relations

“Leave no one unfed” is the mission of the Manna organization, a non-profit food pantry and gardens committed to alleviating hunger in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. Challenged to develop a comprehensive campaign to promote Manna’s mission and garner increased support for the organization, a University of West Florida Public Relations class was recently awarded the Florida Public Relations Association Golden Image Award, honoring their work on the campaign.

Under the direction of instructor Eileen Perrigo, APR, students in the spring 2008 “Public Relations Campaigns” class, also known as “Wellspring Public Relations,” worked on a public relations campaign for Manna that included formal and informal research, objectives, implementation tactics, evaluation tools and a recommended budget to ensure the campaign could pay for itself.

“This capstone public relations campaigns course allows students to model the roles of professional public relations practitioners and to create a professional campaign for a real client,” said Perrigo. “The students were challenged to promote Manna Food Gardens, a branch of Manna Food Pantries, to the community and designed a public relations campaign to promote public awareness, participation and continued growth of the gardens to aid in Manna’s mission to ‘leave no one unfed.’”

The campaign was submitted to the Florida Public Relations Association Golden Image Awards and was awarded the Golden Image Award in the student division. The award was presented on Aug. 5 at the 70th Anniversary Florida Public Relations Association Annual Conference. The conference and 51st Golden Image Awards Ceremony were held at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee, Fla.

The awards ceremony recognizes outstanding achievements of public relations professionals throughout the state. There are three awards presented in each category as follows, Judges Award (third place), Award of Distinction (second place), and the Golden Image Award (first place), which is presented to the highest scoring entry of each category. This year’s entries were judged by members of the Atlanta Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

“This achievement should be celebrated by all students and faculty at the University of West Florida as entries are received from students throughout the state,” said Perrigo.

Upon hearing of the award, Tim Evans, executive director of Manna, said “I would like to congratulate the entire Wellspring PR team on this accomplishment. We have been implementing many of the recommendations made and have been very pleased with the outcome. The work and commitment to the project has brought rewards for Manna and we are pleased to hear that it has brought rewards for the students as well.”

The UWF students, who created the award-winning campaign included Melissa Aiken, Matthew Amato, Nathan Ault, Kelly Cooke, Lindsey Dold, Amanda Hewes, Kate Kellen, Kasey Scott, Steve Snell and Ashley Young.

The Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) is a statewide organization of nearly 1,500 public relations practitioners dedicated to enhancing the professional development of its members, fostering the highest standards and ethics of its members and gaining understanding and support for the performance of its members and the profession as a whole.

Learn more about UWF’s Public Relations and Communication Arts programs at uwf.edu/commarts. For more information, contact Perrigo at eperrigo@uwf.edu.

UWF Student Interns with District Department of the Environment
By Megan Tyson, University Marketing Communications

While many of his peers were getting ready to hit the beach, University of West Florida Legal Studies major Alex Krivosheyev was waiting at the metro station, preparing for a day of investigating, reviewing and assisting professionals, getting a real-world glimpse of his future career opportunities. Krivosheyev always made sure to be on time for his 7:30 a.m. train that took him to another day experiencing the fast-paced and demanding responsibilities of his summer internship with the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) in Washington, D.C.

“Working in the legal field is very demanding,” said Krivosheyev. “I frequently worked 50 to 60 hours per week.”

Feeling well-prepared for any internship experience, Krivosheyev jumped at the opportunity to work when UWF alum Kimberly Katzenburger, deputy general counsel for the DDOE, invited him to intern with the agency. With the help of Susan Harrell, associate professor of Legal Studies, Krivosheyev was able to make the experience a reality.

“At UWF, you can really get to know the faculty and they are really willing to go the extra mile to help you reach your goals and pursue your interests,” said Krivosheyev. “The Legal Studies department provided me with the experience, knowledge, motivation and professional connections to help me reach my goals. The faculty at UWF have taught me how to think critically and independently, which is the most important skill for legal professionals.”

Hoping to learn as much as he could about environmental law and policy during his internship, Krivosheyev had the opportunity to draft environmental regulations, investigate environmental accounting fraud and even assist with settlement agreements against multibillion-dollar oil companies. 

“My biggest challenge was learning investigative techniques,” said Krivosheyev. “Overall, I was well-prepared and I was ready to do what was necessary to succeed in the agency. The professional contacts and friends that I established in Washington were by far the biggest reward.”

His other responsibilities included conducting legal research, drafting environmental policy and agency operating procedure, managing case progression, reviewing case files and assisting in investigations. Throughout his daily roles, he was grateful to get advice and work alongside a UWF alumna.

“Working with UWF alumni was fantastic,” said Krivosheyev. “The university is known across the country and UWF alumni are extremely respected individuals in the legal field.”

Find out more about UWF’s Criminal Justice and Legal Studies programs at uwf.edu/justice.

UWF Alum Ready for Her Peace Corps Adventure
By Megan Tyson, University Marketing Communications

Starting off the day with fresh squeezed juice, fruit, bread and an egg, UWF alumna Christine Tenzycki spends the morning with her host family. Immersing herself in language training, cultural activities and working on technical comprehensions, Tenzycki is preparing herself for one of her biggest challenges yet, serving in Ecuador as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Currently half way through her training before being sworn into the Peace Corps, Tenzycki, ’06 criminal justice grad, has to complete 10 weeks of training. Following her swearing in ceremony, Tenzycki will travel to Ecuador to spend two years serving as a youth and family trainee dedicated to forming youth groups, implementing community integration skills and activities and organizing “charlas” (educational presentations) to youths.

“So far my biggest challenges have been speaking a different language and being away from my family,” said Tenzycki. “Once I begin my service, one of the challenges will be integrating into a new community in a foreign country and facilitating youth and families programs that address the needs of the host community.”

Although she may face challenges through her experience, Tenzycki admits that these obstacles could also turn out to be some of her biggest rewards. Focusing her service on helping the youth and families in the community, she is grateful for the encouragement she has received from back home.

“My family and friends have been incredibly supportive,” said Tenzycki. “The application process alone was 11 months. My parents consider this the opportunity of a lifetime and are very excited for me.”

Tenzycki is no stranger to taking advantage of opportunities to try new things. At UWF, Tenzycki was very involved in the Criminal Justice program and interned with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office: Crime Scene Unit during her last semester. Throughout her internship, she helped process crime scenes and gained first-hand experience with the unit.

“It was the most incredible experience of my life,” said Tenzycki. “The absolute professionalism and overwhelming support I received from the staff at the Sheriff’s Office was indescribable. The UWF Criminal Justice program faculty coordinated the communication between me and the Sheriff’s Office and it was an amazing feeling to receive such support from UWF.”

When Tenzycki returns to the United States at the end of her Peace Corps service, her goal is to obtain employment with a law enforcement agency and attend graduate school.

“My advice is to set a goal and simply do it,” said Tenzycki. “Graduation was exciting and terrifying for me. I was happy to receive my degree, but scared of what the future held. I gave the Peace Corps a lot of thought and after a year of working in the social work field I applied and now I want to do it more than ever.”

Learn more about UWF’s Criminal Justice program at uwf.edu/justice. To find out more about the Peace Corps, visit peacecorps.gov.