Kathy Yang, a 2022 graduate of our Public Relations – Corporate Communications (CCPR) program, was sitting in her car at a Michaels craft store parking lot when she received the call from the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) Toronto Chapter that she won Student of the Year, an award that’s part of their annual Achieving Communications Excellence (ACE) Awards Ceremony.
“I was, and still am, beyond happy and humbled to learn about the win. Being named Student of the Year is such an incredible recognition, and it is certainly encouraging to know my academic achievements and enthusiasm for the profession are being recognized.” Kathy shares. “Not only that, but this recognition speaks to the dedication, support and quality of education our CCPR instructors provide. Our instructors truly care about student success not only in the classroom but in our professional and personal lives, as well. They go above and beyond to ensure we’re getting the best learning experience and set us up with the skills and knowledge for a successful transition from school to work.”
In addition to winning this award, Kathy was part of the Bronze winning group for their Storyworks project “Face-to-Face February” with their client, The GenWell Project – a non-profit human connection movement. “The campaign paradoxically harnesses the power of social media to encourage people to engage in face-to-face social interaction with others by providing daily connection prompts and activities throughout the month of February,” she shares.
Kathy explains that she and her four classmates, Eleanor, Sevdia, Monika and Natalia, revamped the campaign this year to help post-secondary students combat social anxiety that arose from nearly two years of COVID-19 distancing, and adds that the campaign helped participants gradually build up their comfort levels interacting with others again. “Our group is so proud of this achievement and what we were able to pull off. We’re incredibly happy to have worked with The GenWell Project and supported their meaningful mission, but more than that, our involvement in this project and with our client taught us the importance of human connection. I’m glad we picked up the torch from the first group of students who developed this campaign, and really hope student groups for years to come will continue to pass it on,” she says.
CCPR students have brought home multiple awards for several years, and this year was no exception. Find out more about this year’s wins here. Barry Waite, SCMAD Chair of Communications and Media, shares, “I want to send my congratulations to this year’s students for such outstanding work. The fact Centennial College students are recognized year after year by CPRS Toronto reflects the exceptional quality of their work and the support they receive in creating innovative, creative programming for a variety of clients.”
KATHY’S EXPERIENCE IN CENTENNIAL’S POST-GRAD PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAM
Before Centennial, Kathy had experience in social services, where she worked at a non-profit organization that supported seniors and their caregivers. However, she knew social services was not a perfect fit for her but didn’t know what she wanted to do instead. Fortunately, Kathy shares that she had the chance to engage in PR and comms-related work at the non-profit she worked at, and this allowed her to discover her interest in this field.
“I decided to pursue education in this area and make a career shift towards PR and comms, so I started looking at different schools and programs. The CCPR program caught my eye right away – the intriguing Storyworks course, field placement integration, and impressive instructor biographies had me sold. I’m extremely happy with my decision,” she says.
Kathy adds that one of the main takeaways from this program is to embrace change and take chances. “One of the first things we learn in this program is that no two days in PR are ever the same. Sounds a bit cliché, but it’s true. The industry is constantly evolving, unexpected issues crop up daily, and there’s always something new to learn just around the corner,” she explains. “Rather than being stagnant and just sticking with what’s known and safe, it’s far better to view change as something to be excited about and an opportunity to try something new. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified when I quit my full-time job to go back to school for a completely different field, but this decision turned out to be just what I needed.”
As for advice to those interested in pursuing this program, Kathy says to do it! “If you want to learn from award-winning professionals with years of industry experience, gain hands-on, practical experience through working with real clients and real agencies/organizations, and you are looking for a program that fully prepares you for a successful career in PR, then Centennial’s CCPR program is where you need to be.”
Kathy also wants to give a big thank you to the CCPR faculty, who she says were constantly challenging students to do their best and go above and beyond to make sure they were supported and on the path to success. “Thank you so much, Donna, Lyn, Laurie, Chris, Paolo, Barry and Sheldon!”
Article by: Alexandra Few
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