Thanks to a national public relations competition, four Elon University seniors are brining hunger closer to home — and the classroom.
Each year, Elon participates in the Public Relations Student Society of America's Bateman Case Study Competition. The annual competition is a challenge requiring students to implement and present a full public relations campaign around a predetermined theme. This year’s team consists of four seniors: Kristi Jacobsen, Alison Schiffli, Elena Pipino, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, and Shannon King.
According to the PRSSA, the 2012 Bateman Case Study Competition goals are to increase awareness among children, teenagers and their parents of the serious short and long-term consequences of obesity, inform them of the steps they can take to adopt a healthier lifestyle and provide incentives to take action now — all through strategic campaigns.
“The topic was childhood obesity and our partner was United Way in Alamance County," Jacobsen said. "This demographic is really hard to reach to change a behavior like that. Also, Burlington is a food desert, which means that we don’t have the proper resources to eat healthy. We have so much fast food and not enough supermarkets.”
The competition process is one that requires dedication to deadlines and time management. The team worked to balance coursework with the competition and struggled to work with members abroad in the early stages of the process.
“The Bateman Team process lasts several months,” Schiffli said. “In November, we first met as a team and familiarized ourselves with the competition. Both December and January were spent in the research and planning stages.”
The team's campaign was live Feb. 1-29. They then prepared a campaign book to send to national PRSSA headquarters, where judges will select the top three teams who will compete in Minneapolis in May for first place.
Joining the Elon Bateman team is a competitive process.Some students apply for a position on the team, while others are specifically invited.
“I had heard about the competition last year when one of my friends was involved on the team, and I had Dr. (Frances) Ward-Johnson, who is the adviser, in a class during the spring semester," Pipino said. "She kind of talked about it, and actually three of the team members had class with her so she kind of planted the seed in our head back last spring and then most of us were asked to be on the team.”
After a semester of work and presentations, the team has submitted its book, a portfolio of their work. Now, the waiting game begins.
“It goes through a couple rounds of judging, and then later in April we find out if we made the top," Pipino said. "Then the top three go and present to a board of PRSSA members. Then the final winner is announced on May 18.”
According to the team members, the competition has been a rewarding experience.
From the beginning stages of research to the final presentation, the Bateman competition challenged participants.
“The Bateman Team has been very rewarding in several ways," Schiffli said. "First, it has been very rewarding to put skills I have learned through my four years in the School of Communications to use in the community. Additionally, I have appreciated the opportunity to interact with children in Alamance County at various community organizations, and see how our educational programs are positively impacting their lives.”