Texas Tech University’s College of Media & Communication recently honored three graduates during the annual Outstanding Alumni Awards ceremony at the Overton Hotel on Oct. 18.
Matt Bush (Advertising, 2009), Anne Hudson (Journalism, 2000) and Ginger Nelson, J.D. (Advertising/Spanish, 1992) were each recognized for their contributions to the professional fields of media and communication.
“Our students major in professors, not areas,” said David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D., CoMC professor and dean, as he introduced the awardees. “The success of our college is the direct result of our people caring for our students and for each other, and the individuals receiving recognition tonight are living proof of that.”
Matt Bush is currently an associate creative director at Ogilvy Chicago. A third-generation Red Raider, he was born in Idalou and now has more than 10 years of experience working on creative teams at ad agencies in Chicago and San Francisco. Bush has contributed to successful campaigns ranging from Jimmy John's to Jack Daniels.
“The faculty at the college pushed me to become a creative, and for that I'm very grateful. I get a big rush in seeing one of my ideas go from a piece of paper to an ad on TV,” he said. “I'm extremely honored to be here tonight and I still have so much to learn.”
Anne Hudson has worked with iHeartMedia Austin in the broadcasting field, starting out as a traffic reporter to now running her own show on the legendary Top 40 country radio station 101 KASE-FM in Austin.
Hudson is now one of iHeartMedia's top talents and has hosted large nationally-broadcasted events across the country from New York to Las Vegas. She was recently named “On-air Personality of the Year” for both 2018 and 2019 by the Alliance for Women in Media.
Similar to Bush, Hudson's memories of her time as a student are positive.
“What I remember most from my undergraduate time at TTU is the great support I received from everyone at Texas Tech,” she said. “Freda McVay was a huge influence on me and helped me get the internships that made all the difference when I was starting out on my career. For that, I am forever grateful and now, whenever I meet students today, I always emphasize how important those internships are.”
The final alumni awardee, Ginger Nelson, is a board-certified lawyer now serving her first term as mayor for the City of Amarillo. After completing her undergraduate degree, Nelson went on to earn her degree from Texas Tech's School of Law in 1995. With a focus on the legal areas of real estate and probate for more than 20 years, she has been working closely with her husband and fellow Red Raider, Kevin, since 2004.
As Nelson recalled her college career, she said she was grateful to CoMC for giving her the tools to succeed when she graduated.
“When I was at TTU, everyone was very good at teaching students the structure to go out and change the world, whichever world that may be,” she said. “This was an enormous help to me, and if that goal is not currently recognized in the college's mission statement right now, it really should be.”
The CoMC Outstanding Alumni Award was created to recognize alumni who have achieved a certain level of professionalism, won awards in their area of expertise, reached a high level of position within their careers, and who have sustained their success over a lengthy period of time. Awardees are selected by a committee representing the students, faculty, and alumni.