State’s communications department handed out awards to its top students at the Media Summit Thursday.
Communications Chairman Steve Gilliland opened the media summit with a warm welcome. Miss State, Angelica Willis, had the privilege of introducing the keynote speaker, Matt Browning.
Browning spoke about his journey with State. He graduated from State in 2004 and is now the director of communications for Research and Public Service.
Twelve awards were presented at the summit.
- C.J. Landers exceeded Professor Marc Porter’s expectations and received the Screenwriting Student of the Year award.
- State’s first ever female sports radio broadcaster, Baigen Seawell, was recognized as the Radio Student of the Year.
- Professor Ali Ziyati had the privilege of bestowing two Public Relations Student of the Year awards to the PRSSA President, Sydni Harless, and State basketball player, Mar Iamdrid Coll.
Below is a detailed list of all of the awards handed out during the media summit.
- Filmmaking Student of the Year – Quinton Miller and Kevin Walker
- Public Relations Student of the Year – Sydni Harless and Mar Iamdrid Coll
- Journalism Student of the Year – Kaitlyn Cunningham
- Scriptwriting Student of the Year – C. J. Landers
- Radio Student of the Year – Baigen Seawell
- TV Student of the Year – Keith Martin
- Undergraduate Student of the Year – Kevin Walker
- Graduate Student of the Year – Robert Lilly
- Special Achievement Award – Jason Lykens
- Honorable Mention Award – Ria Mitra
All communications seniors graduating in May were also recognized at the end of the summit. Below is a list of the eleven graduating seniors.
- Matthew Burnette
- Noah Nathaniel Fulks
- Kayla Danielle Holder
- Mar Lamadrid Coll
- Charles Gerald Oakley
- Amanda E. Rogers
- Baigen Aziz Seawell
- Aric Douglas Taylor
- Kevin Cody Walker
- Angelica Maria Willis
- Marijean Withers
