Two Louisiana State University (LSU) students led the pack of applicants for two prestigious Public Relations Association of Louisiana (PRAL) scholarship awards. LSU student Erica Marie Fisher received the William M. Michelet Honorary Award of $1,000, and LSU student Kelly A. Glymph received the Jack H. Sanders Memorial Award of $1,000. The students were recognized January 26 at PRAL’s awards ceremony at Juban’s Restaurant.
Each year, PRAL honors an undergraduate student who is proficient in the field of public relations and demonstrates a strong commitment to community involvement. This award is provided by PRAL founder and accomplished public relations practitioner Bill Michelet.
As the winner, Fisher has been actively involved in not-for-profit organizations that focus on helping those with serious health conditions. She also is involved with Disney’s “Give Kids the World,” a foundation that works to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses, and “The Buddy Walk,” a program designed to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down Syndrome. When she was in high school, she got involved with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life to support a close family friend who was diagnosed with Stage IV neuroblastoma at the age of six. As president of LSU’s student-run PR firm Prestige, she is increasing her participation with Relay for Life. This year, Prestige will serve as the PR firm for Relay for Life of Greater Baton Rouge and work to increase Relay’s visibility by developing and deploying a new PR campaign.
In addition to her dedication to her community, this year’s Bill Michelet award honoree is committed to her studies. She holds a 3.8 GPA in mass communication and is one of only five students on LSU’s Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) 2010 National Bateman Case Study Competition team. She is currently an intern at Zehnder Communications and plans to graduate in May with a major in public relations and a double minor in business and theater.
Annually, PRAL also offers the Jack H. Sanders Memorial Award. Sanders was the first president of PRAL and a visionary in our field. Each year in honor of his memory, we recognize a Louisiana college junior who demonstrates excellence in public relations or journalism.
This year’s recipient, Glymph, grew up in Maryland interviewing family members at holiday gatherings and making newscasts in her basement. During her freshman year in high school, she joined her high school paper and worked her way up through the ranks from reporter to section editor to chief editor. She said she loves writing and is pursuing a field of study that allows her to do just that. Majoring in public relations and pursuing a double minor in business administration and psychology at LSU, she is an active member of Volunteer LSU, PRSSA and the Pi Beta Phi sorority. Glymph currently is working as the communications and government affairs intern at the Louisiana Dental Association.