Award Honors Two for Excellence in Media and Communication

Katelyn Perry ’20 and Colleen Senglaub ’20 were recently named recipients of the 2018 Jack Palvino Excellence in Communication Awards. Given to two students within the Department of Media and Communication at St. John Fisher College, the award recognizes undergraduates who demonstrate academic excellence and a passion for a career in communication.

“Both students have emerged as leaders in their sophomore year at Fisher, with Kate serving as an editor of the Cardinal Courier and Colleen rising up through the ranks of PRIMA,” said Jeremy Sarachan, chair and associate professor in the Department of Media and Communication, who, along with Associate Professor Dr. Todd Sodano, served as members of the award committee.

A member of the Dean’s List, Perry is majoring in media and communication with a double minor in art and digital cultures and technologies. A native of Albian, New York, her academic interests include photography, design, art, and journalism. As the design editor for the Cardinal Courier, she creates the look and theme of each issue. Perry also designed a new logo for the magazine which premiered in spring 2018. In addition to her work with the magazine, she is a member of Fisher Players’ tech crew.

Senglaub is a sophomore media management major with a minor in Spanish originally from Queensbury, New York. She has been actively involved at Fisher since her freshman year. As a sophomore, she served as the development captain for the Teddi Dance for Love, treasurer of Fisher’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and the co-account executive for The Prima Group’s Gilda’s Cup account. She also served as the strategic communications manager for the College’s Bateman case study competition team and is currently a corporate communications intern at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

Established by Jack Palvino ’55, the award provides a $3,100 grant to help offset the cost of tuition. Palvino is a member of the first graduating class at St. John Fisher College, and sits on the Board of Trustees. In the 1960s and 1970s, Palvino was Rochester’s No. 1 morning personality at top-40 formatted WBBF-AM. With his business partners, he formed The Lincoln Group, and began to acquire radio stations in Buffalo, Northwestern Ohio, and Rochester. Locally, his company eventually owned WHAM, WVOR, WPXY, and WHTK, until he sold the stations to CBS/Infinity and Clear Channel Communications. Recipients of the award must demonstrate a desire to pursue a career in media and communication industries, and be a first, second, or third year student who has declared communication or media management as their major.