JCOM students and faculty recognized at CHaSS Awards

JCOM students, faculty, and alumni received prestigious honors from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences during an annual awards ceremony on March 20.  

 Professional Practice Professor Brian Champagne received the CHaSS Teacher of the Year award. Dr. Michelle Rossi was nominated for The Giraffe Award for her environmental communication research. Professor Emeritus Dr. Candi Carter Olson was recognized for her retirement. Alumnae Lindsay Kite and Lexie Kite received the CHaSS Inspiration Award for their study of female body image; their expertise in body image resilience and media literacy.  

 Utah State University Journalism and Communication Department faculty selected four students from each area of study as students of the year. They were recognized at a ceremony CHaSS and emceed by Dean Joeseph Ward. 

 The public relations student of the year is Madison Weber, a double-major in journalism (emphasis in public relations) and international studies, while minoring in Spanish.    

 She was involved with many on-campus clubs and organizations including Blue Crew, Student Alumni Association, Interfaith Student Association, Government Relations Council and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).   

  During her time at USU, Weber also created content for USU’s Department of Public Safety, worked as a multimedia specialist for the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief. She completed an internship with the Office of Public and International Affairs in New York City for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was accepted into the Young Professionals program with the Council on Foreign Relations.  Weber wrote for the Utah Statesman and, for the past year, worked as its sports editor.   

 Recently, Madison started her new position as a public information officer with the Utah Department of Natural Resources.  She enjoyed working in the 2024 General Session of the Utah State Legislature and providing communications support to Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed.   

 The social media student of the year is Baileigh Campbell. Campbell’s passion and drive to continue applying her social media analytics skills outside classroom is seen through her work with Ohana Beginnings, a non-profit that provides support to women facing unexpected pregnancies, as well her independent study, "From Taboo to Truth: Analyzing the Effects of Online Campaigns About Postpartum Depression in the Age of Social Media." She recently received Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities (URCO) funding. 

The broadcast student of the year is Paige Johnson, a standout throughout her time at USU. While working part time at KSL, Johnson took on a leadership role in our Newscast class. The edition of A-TV News she produced on February 14, 2023, won the "Student Emmy" from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. 

 The print student of the year is Clarissa Casper who is graduating this semester with a Bachelor of science in print journalism, along with minors in environmental Studies and english. Throughout her undergraduate degree, she dabbled in science communication, creative non-fiction writing and environmental writing. Through this she developed a passion for storytelling intertwined with the land. Clarissa plans to continue her education in an environmental field while aspiring to write nonfiction books about wildlife and articles addressing significant environmental issues.  

 JCOM senior Anna Johnson was recognized as Utah Public Radio Student of the Year while senior and 2023-2024 USUSA president Abraham Rodriguez received the CHaSS Aggie First Scholar Leadership award. JCOM sophomore Paige Blair was recognized for her service to the CHaSS student council. Plus, Friend Weller Utah Public Radio announcer and engineer was recognized for his service to the university from 1979 to 2024.