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Katie McKee
Katie McKee

The annual PRWeek Student of the Year competition highlights the talent of the country’s top public relations students. This year Texas Tech University made its debut in the competition, courtesy of Katie McKee, whose entry made the Top 5.

McKee (BA Public Relations, 2014) devoted her last semester as an undergraduate to preparing her entry for PRWeek’s competition.

Although McKee was already enrolled in the college’s required Public Relations Campaigns class, and she knew that creating an entirely separate campaign for the competition would be very time-consuming, she said she wanted to “go out with a bang” her senior year.

“This was my way of avoiding the typical senioritis and giving myself one last hurrah,” McKee said.

While McKee competed in University Interscholastic League journalism competitions in high school, she described the PRWeek Student of the Year competition as a “completely new ballgame.”

“I had never competed on this large of a scale or for stakes this high,” McKee said. “It was definitely challenging and very difficult to stay motivated, but with the help of my professors, I stayed on track and completed the competition the night before graduation.”

McKee said she felt the biggest obstacle she faced in the competition was the creativity required to shape her campaign. She explained, “Oftentimes as students we forget to think outside the scope of what will get us a good grade.”

Autumn Shafer, Ph.D., as assistant professor of public relations in CoMC, was McKee’s mentor throughout the competition. Shafer said that while there were a lot of students in the college who wanted to apply, McKee was the only one who did all of the work and completed her application.

“I had her in PR Strategies a couple of years ago, and I knew that she was a great student,” Shafer said. “She was one of those students who stand out. The public relations department came together, mostly providing moral support, because we knew how much work she was doing.”

Trent Seltzer, Ph.D., associate professor and chairperson for the Department of Public Relations, has strongly encouraged students to apply for the competition in the past, and said he was thrilled when McKee decided to go forward with submitting an entry.

“I am pleasantly surprised that the first year one of our students makes a submission, she made the Top 5,” Seltzer said. “It’s great for Katie, and it’s great for the program. Hopefully this communicates to our students that they can compete with the best students anywhere in the country.”

McKee said, “Dr. Seltzer and Dr. Shafer were incredibly helpful, and without their guidance and very constructive criticism, my entry wouldn't have been what it was. They probably don't even realize how much they helped me, but they were really supportive and worked with me until my submission deadline at 11 p.m. Dec. 12.”

McKee described the moment she found out she had placed in the Top 5 of the Student of the Year competition as the moment when she knew public relations was where she was supposed to be. She said, “I knew I had a strong campaign, but by no means did I expect to place in a national competition.”

Shafer said she hopes other students at Texas Tech will use McKee as an example to see that they have the talent to compete on a national level.

“I think we definitely have other students who could go as far or farther than what Katie did,” Shafer said. “I hope it inspires more students to apply.”

McKee said her experience with the PRWeek Student of the Year competition was a positive one, and she would highly recommend competing to other students.

“It's a chance to apply all of the things you've learned in class, and instead of worrying about making the grade, you can expand your creativity and do anything you want,” McKee said.

“It's a good taste of the professional world because in a competition, you no longer have professors to rely on. You have to think, create, and produce for yourself, and that's the point when you really learn whether you're going to sink or swim,” McKee added. mc

(Rachel Blevins is a sophomore journalism major from Mineral Wells, Texas.)

"You have to think, create, and produce for yourself, and that's the point when you really learn whether you're going to sink or swim." - Katie McKee