The award recognizes chapters that achieve at least eight out of 11 contributions listed by the society, including, but not limited to, sponsorship, media exposure and community service.

At Quinnipiac, the PRSSA chapter leadership commits itself to serving the university and the community. Its primary partner is Special Olympics Connecticut, for whom the club’s members create platforms and press releases for the athletes competing in the Winter Games. Additionally, the annual Chuck-A-Puck event raises money for another major partner, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

At Quinnipiac, the PRSSA is represented in major school-wide events but also curates specialized functions that pertain to the world of professionalism that any student can participate in.

Annual speed mentoring has been a hit; this is where the group invites professionals to campus to have one-on-one meetings with students, answering questions and giving them advice for interviews. For the last seven years, the group has coordinated an Ethics Matter Panel, which is tailored directly to fulfilling one of the PRSA Star Chapter requirements.  

Being involved is important to the club’s president, Sylvie Jenkins ’28.

As a public relations and political science double major, she wanted to join one of Quinnipiac’s many organizations that allow students to do work suited for their desired career.

When she joined the club as a first-year student, Jenkins had the opportunity to attend the Women in Communications Career Conference in New York City where she and the members of the PRSSA were immersed in conversation with professionals about career growth, mentorship and industry trends.

Exposure to the field has led Jenkins to utilize her role as president to bring more communications possibilities to Quinnipiac and beyond.

“We are excited to have a campus-wide headshot night, a workshop with Quinnipiac professor Andrea Obston on how to work a room and we will be helping with the Mercury awards. Off campus, we were invited to the state capital and were among the only students to attend a Crisis PR event that helped with networking and seeing potential paths for us,” she said.

The success of the club does not rely solely on Jenkins, however. She is immensely proud of her fellow club members for all that they have accomplished in the last year and is so excited to see what they will continue to accomplish in the future.

To her, it is not only about supporting the future, but appreciating the past.

“I am proud of all the work the past administrations have done. They found and started relationships with these clients. Past leaders have done a lot of work behind the scenes to run events and win the Star Chapter for so many years that it really sets a tone for us to follow” she said.

Additionally, Jenkins said she is grateful to the Quinnipiac PRSSA advisers, Alexander Laskin and Katie Place, as well as Nadine Barnett Cosby, the dean of the School of Communications.