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The faculty
and administrators of Elon's School of Communications hosted the
institution's annual awards ceremony in McEwen Studio B May 5.
Twelve outstanding
students were selected from among more than 800 communications and
journalism majors to be honored for their outstanding contributions
in and out of the classroom. Those honored meet the highest academic
standards, have been active in on-campus media organizations and
have achieved great success in challenging internships.
Outstanding
Senior Awards
These four
awards recognize outstanding personal and professional achievements
by graduating seniors who have demonstrated through consistent performance
extraordinary knowledge and ability in their areas of specialization,
and have made significant contributions to the School of Communications
and the major.
MATT BELANGER,
Broadcast Communications Award. In addition to his outstanding
work in the classroom, Matt, a School of Communications Fellow,
was a leader at both the student newspaper, The Pendulum, and at
Elon Student Television. He was Elon's first recipient of the D'Angelo
Family Scholarship in Honor of Bill Leonard and is a previous winner
of the Times-News scholarship. He is under contract to work as a
reporter and as the 10 p.m. anchor at KELO-TV in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The award was announced by Dr. Don Grady.
CAITLIN
JACOBS, Corporate Communications Award. Caitlin, a standout
student, completed several quality internships while at Elon, and
produced an outstanding CD-ROM to market the School of Communications
as her senior capstone project; the CD was shipped to hundreds of
prospective Elon students. She was an active leader in PRSSA. The
award presenter was Dr. Jessica Gisclair.
LAITH AL-MAJALI,
Film Award. An active participant in broadcast and film activities
at Elon, Laith has returned to his native country, Jordan, many
times to do professional-level production work. His work has aired
on the Travel Channel and he produced a special piece featuring
Queen Noor in the summer of 2004. He has been instrumental in nearly
every major video project during his years at Elon, haunting the
edit bays of McEwen at all hours of the day. He is working on a
Hollywood deal, and will move to California after commencement.
The presenter was Professor Ray Johnson.
COLIN DONOHUE,
Journalism Award. Colin was a leader at The Pendulum all four
years at Elon, including work as sports editor, managing editor
and editor-in-chief. He is a past recipient of the Times-News Award,
the Student Communications Media Award and the Priestley Award.
He worked part-time at the Burlington Times-News, and was an officer
in the Society of Professional Journalists. He is heading to the
University of Memphis, where he will serve a graduate assistantship
as copy editor of the Newspaper Research Journal. The presenter
was Dr. David Copeland.
The
D'Angelo Family Scholarship in Honor of Bill Leonard
Presented to
an outstanding rising senior in Broadcast Communication, the award
was established by Drs. Lawrence and Dolores D'Angelo in honor of
the late Bill Leonard, former president of CBS News. This year's
winner is Scott Myrick, a Communications Fellow and three-year
leader of ESTV's weekly news program. Myrick has devoted his time
outside the classroom to developing the broadcast coverage of Elon
community news. He has also worked at FOX 8 News in Greensboro-High
Point. The presenter of this award was Dr. Brooke Barnett.
The
Mary Ellen Priestley Award
Presented to
the student majoring in Journalism whose work for newspapers or
magazines has been of the most consistently high quality, the award
is named for the late Dr. Mary Ellen Priestley, former Professor
of English and Journalism at Elon College and adviser to The Pendulum
during its first eight years. This year's winner is Jessica Patchett,
current business manager and former news editor and editor for The
Pendulum. The presenter of this award was Professor Janna Anderson.
Earlier in the day, Patchett, a Communications Fellow, was honored
with the university's overall Student Communications Media Award,
awarded by the Media Board to the student who best serves the university
as a leader in its student-media organizations. She will attend
Princeton Theological Seminary in the fall.
The
Mary Ellen Priestley Scholarship
This scholarship
is awarded to a female student who is a rising sophomore, junior,
or senior majoring in print journalism and preparing for a career
as a writer or editor for public-circulation newspapers and magazines.
The scholarship was established by the late Dr. Priestley. This
scholarship is awarded to Leanne Jernigan, a Communications
Fellow and copy editor at The Pendulum who will be working at the
Alamance News this summer. The presenter of this scholarship was
Dr. Harlen Makemson.
The
A.J. Fletcher Award
This award
recognizes the achievements of an outstanding undergraduate corporate,
broadcast or film major who reflects a wide-ranging interest within
the field, has a GPA above 2.75, has demonstrated leadership in
campus or personal life, and has been involved in some area of community
service. This year's recipient is Communications Fellow Brandi
Little. Brandi concentrated on research as an undergraduate,
presenting the findings of her broadcast studies at SURF and NCUR
and even at the Federal Communications Commission in Washington,
D.C.
She also participated in the Pew Internet & American Life Predictions
Project. She has worked in several quality, research-oriented internships,
including Elon's first with Nielsen. Dr. Connie Book announced the
award; Little is studying in London, and was not at the ceremony.
James
F. Hurley Legacy Scholarship
This endowed
scholarship is named in memory of James F. Hurley Sr. and James
F. Hurley Jr. and in honor of James F. Hurley III. All three were
influential as publishers of The Salisbury (N.C.) Post. The scholarship
is awarded to a junior, with preference given to communications
students with priority to journalism majors, and it carries through
to the student's senior year if the student remains at Elon for
four years. The recipients are Ashley Feibish, editor and
former co-news editor of The Pendulum, and Neeley House, an
outstanding student. The presenter of these scholarships was Dr.
David Copeland.
Times-News
Scholarship
This scholarship
will provide financial aid for a participant in journalism at Elon
University who has demonstrated leadership, scholarship, service
to the community and exemplary character traits. This scholarship
is awarded to Ashley Busch and Katherine Hart. The
presenter of these scholarships was Dr. Anthony Hatcher.
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