Centennial College's post-graduate Public Relations and Corporate Communications students collected five Awards of Communications Excellence (ACE) in the student category at the Canadian Public Relations Society Toronto Chapter gala event on May 30.
The wins reinforce the sterling reputation Centennial's public relations program has earned in the industry. Three of the awards were for communications campaign execution and one for communications plan, while Rohalea Morris, an international student from Jamaica, was named CPRS Student of the Year.
Three student groups were recognized for their stellar strategic communications plans and campaign execution on behalf of three not-for-profit organizations: the Grandmother Project, The Toronto Humane Society and Heritage Toronto. The awards were judged by a panel of public relations experts, certifying that these students are job-ready and producing high-quality, industry-acknowledged work. Their campaigns were completed as assignments for both the Communications Management course and the Storyworks course, which have students developing communications plans for real-world clients.
"Through experiential learning, the students gain essential skills required to support their transition into their PR career," says professor Laurie Hall, who mentors the students through the execution-phase of the projects. All three groups received broadcast television news coverage in the competitive Toronto market.
"Our program strives to give students the most rewarding, real-world experience and we cannot be prouder of what our students achieved in such a short period of time, on zero budget," says Program Coordinator and Professor Donna Lindell.
The three winning campaigns include:
Positive Pet Parent
ACE Student Communications Campaign of the Year. In partnership with the Toronto Humane Society, students created this media campaign in response to an alarming increase in the number of pets being abandoned in GTA parks, post-pandemic.
Do Supm Toronto
ACE Student Communications Plan of the Year. Working with Heritage Toronto, this group created a three-week social media campaign to encourage Torontonians to visit and engage with the Little Jamaica community located in the Eglinton West community.
My Grandmother Taught Me
ACE Student Communications Plan and Student Communications Campaign of the Year. This campaign for the Grandmother Project encouraged Canadians to recognize the influential roles diverse grandmothers contribute to our communities in Canada and Africa.
Rohalea Morris, the 2023 recipient of the CPRS Student of the Year Award, acknowledged Centennial College's unique post-graduate program in her acceptance speech. "Completing this program has prepared me for the real world. I cannot wait to apply all I have learned and to make my mark in this industry."
