Fisher Student on Winning Team in 2018 PR Apprentice Program

St. John Fisher College student Alyssa Whitley ’19 was a member of the winning team in the 2018 PR Apprentice program. Whitley, a media management major at Fisher, worked on a team with students from the Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Geneseo, and the College at Brockport.

Sponsored by the Rochester Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, PR Apprentice is a two-day brainstorming and networking case competition for area college students studying public relations, marketing, advertising, or communications. Held at Dixon Schwabl on Friday, Nov. 2 and Saturday, Nov. 3, four teams of students, working as mini agencies, created and pitched a comprehensive public relations campaign to a panel of judges.

This year, the students created an internal campaign to promote Project HOPE, which was developed by the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in collaboration with the Rochester City Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, public health advocates, and community partners, including Huther Doyle. An effort to address the opioid epidemic, Project HOPE redirects individuals arrested for drug possession crimes to addiction services in the community in lieu of being processed through the criminal justice system.

On Friday evening, students had a chance to learn about the program from Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley and Kim Ackerman, director of support services and assistant to the president at Huther Doyle.

Then, they worked for two hours Friday evening and five hours on Saturday to create their campaigns and presentations. At the end of the second day, the students presented their plans to judges, including Ackerman, Doorley, and Dixon Schwabl’s Chief Executive Officer Lauren Dixon.

Whitley’s team, The Cool Dog Group, presented a plan rooted in research with clearly measurable goals and objectives.

An active member of the student organizations related to her media management major, Whitley is no stranger to public relations. She serves as president of Fisher’s chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSSA) and is a member of The PRIMA Group, Fisher’s student-run, full-service public relations and advertising firm.

Pictured from left to right: Lauren Dixon, CEO, Dixon Schwabl; Jessica Oats, RIT; Emily LaRocca, Geneseo; Alyssa Whitley, St. John Fisher College; Shannon Reagan, Brockport;Kim Ackerman, Huther Doyle; and Sandra Doorley, DA, Monroe County.