News Release

Girdwood, Alaska -- March 23, 2004

Students Sharpen PR Skills At Alpine Championships

The alpine skiers competing in the Chevrolet 2004 U.S. Alpine Championships are not the only ones improving their racing techniques with every turn, striving to reach their goals. Eight students from the University of Alaska Anchorage are using the event to hone their interviewing, writing, story pitching, event coordination, photography, and Web site management skills for future jobs. All are members of the Seawolf Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America.

“For the past several years, PRSSA members have chosen a community project to support,” said Vivian Hamilton, assistant professor of public relations at UAA and faculty advisor to PRSSA. “This year’s project was especially enticing because it offered exposure to local and national media and covered many facets of public relations.”

In addition to preparing plans and pre-event news releases and promotions to increase visibility, students organized a volunteer recruitment rally at UAA and assisted with a second volunteer recruitment rally at O’Malley’s on the Green. After these events, the volunteer numbers quickly jumped from 50 to more than 300. Students also heightened event exposure through an entry in the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Snow Sculpture competition, which highlighted the Chevrolet 2004 U.S. Alpine Championship logo and dates in full color. The sculpture was designed by Monica Terrones, the PRSSA Seawolf chapter president, who is interested in a career that will include graphic design.

Students are at Alyeska Resort this week writing articles for the event Web site, www.skianchorage.net; assisting local and national print and broadcast reporters with securing interviews; writing news releases; posting stories, start times and results to the Web site; and taking photographs to accompany their stories and releases.

“The students’ enthusiasm and willingness to learn is refreshing,” said Gary Scott, public relations and communications manager for Alyeska Resort and press chief for the Chevrolet 2004 U.S. Alpine Championships.

“The event was amazing,” said PRSSA member Amanda Apodaca, 21. “The experience of working on something like this is so different from class room learning – there’s no comparison.”

PRSSA is an affiliate of the Public Relations Society of America, which is the world’s largest professional organization for public relations practitioners. PRSSA has more than 7,000 members in 227 chapters on college campuses across the country. The organization provides students with opportunities to increase their knowledge of public relations and access to professional development. Its goal is to help produce highly qualified, well-prepared graduates who are prepared to enter the job market.

By Alysha Gobble
UAA student and PRSSA Seawolf Chapter secretary
907-250-0071

CONTACTS

Vivian Hamilton
PRSSA Advisor, 694-0400
Afvmh1@uaa.alaska.edu

Gary Scott
Alyeska Resort, 754-2211
gscott@alyeskaresort.com