July 7, 2025

RIT School of Communications Students Honored with Two PRism Awards

The awards, which celebrate excellence in public relations programs and tactical elements, highlight the students' exceptional work in developing and executing impactful communication campaigns.

Both winning projects stemmed from two sections of COMM 253 Communication, a course designed to provide non-communication majors with hands-on experience in public relations. Each class, comprising approximately 20 students primarily from engineering, business, and computer science disciplines, operated as an agency, with students taking on leadership, research, and execution roles.

Under the guidance of Frank Marra, Ph.D., from the School of Communication, students dedicated the first part of the spring 2025 semester to conducting research, developing strategies, and creating materials for their respective campaigns.

"Thinking Outside the (Zoom) Box" earned the Student PRism for Branding/Marketing. The project tackled the issue of Zoom fatigue with a campaign aimed at equipping participants with strategies and tools to make virtual meetings more engaging, energetic, and motivating. A key element of their approach involved the use of a software product, Airtime (airtimetools.com). Will Van Zandt, a third-year finance major, served as the student leader for this innovative project.

The "Hire Attire” project was recognized with a Student PRism for Events and Observances. This campus-wide initiative focused on guiding students on appropriate professional dress for job interviews and overall career success. Joe Byrnes, a fourth-year mechanical engineering tech major, and Isabell Repalust, a fourth-year international business major from Croatia, were the student leaders for "Hire Attire," collaborating with Adam Griffith, the assistant director for major events in the Office of Career Services.

“These awards underscore the RIT School of Communication’s commitment to fostering practical skills and real-world experience,” said Dean Kelly Martin of the RIT College of Liberal Arts. “Time and again we hear from employers how valuable competencies like communication, collaboration, problem solving, and integration of technology are to success in an organization, especially for leaders. In this project, students had the chance to develop these skills. We’re very proud of their accomplishments and grateful to the PRSA for recognizing them.”

RIT’s School of Communication offers undergraduate majors in communication, communication with a journalism track, and advertising and public relations; a master’s degree program in communication; and a list of innovative and career-tracking minor and immersion options in areas such as health communication, expressive and analytic communication, visual culture, film studies, and more . It’s also home to RIT’s Center for Expressive Communication, a campus-wide resource for all RIT students who seek to develop public speaking and presentation confidence and skills.