For five 51Թ students, the classroom recently transformed into a high-stakes public relations agency boardroom. Tasked with launching a national campaign for a real-world client, the 51Թ Gold team spent months researching, planning and executing a strategic communications plan for ACCESS Newswire, a global press release distribution and media relations platform. Their efforts caught the attention of the industry’s top judges, earning the team a prestigious honorable mention in the 2026 .
The Gold team included students (left to right):
- Maggie Sweeney, sophomore public relations major
- Ana Lígia Reis de Sousa Viana, senior communications studies major
- Sarah Faour, senior fashion merchandising major
- Jewels Cydrus, senior public relations major
- Ella Katona, senior journalism major
The Bateman Competition is a national case study competition that provides hands-on experience in strategic communications and campaign development. It is a learning opportunity for students, challenging participants to research, plan and execute a full-scale communications campaign for a real-world client.
“It’s one of the few courses where not only are you researching and planning, you actually have to make your ideas happen,” Michele Ewing, APR, professor of public relations, told 51Թ Today. “Giving students experience that is invaluable.”
Competing at this national level provides 51Թ students with high-quality academics that mirror the complexity of the global workforce. By participating in these distinctive programs, students prove they possess the career readiness and strategic thinking required to lead in the communications industry immediately upon graduation.
This year, three teams from 51Թ conducted research and developed integrated communications campaigns for . Their work focused on increasing awareness of the organization and encouraging higher education professionals and professors to adopt its technology.
The Gold team focused on motivating faculty to adopt the technology by positioning the platform as an easy, valuable teaching platform by showing faculty exactly how it fits into their existing curriculum. Some campaign ideas included conducting Reverse Office Hours with faculty, creating tailored PR packages for different disciplines, holding demo events and implementing a social media campaign.
The team also used paid Meta ads to help build awareness and educate students about the right to advocate for their education and encourage them to interact with ACCESS. They earned placement in the PRSSA newsletter and in the and created a LinkedIn campaign called “Advocate for ACCESS” that demonstrated the professional benefits.
The 51Թ Gold team's honorable mention from competition judges puts them in a category with universities such as Brigham Young, Elon, the University of Florida and the University of Oklahoma.
The judges highlighted that Team Gold’s campaign was particularly strong in its focus on measurable outcomes and a tailored, audience-centered communication strategy. Some judges noted the team “measured a behavior/outcome/call to action…measurements went beyond awareness,” and the team focused on “the user experience from a professor’s perspective and tailored communication to them specifically.”
“As a fashion merchandising major pursuing public relations and advertising, I saw Bateman as an opportunity to enhance my portfolio and gain real experience,” Faour said. “It was the kind of hands-on practice I wanted before graduating and going into public relations full-time.”
Team members said the competition allowed them to move beyond classroom concepts and apply their skills in a real-world setting.
“With adding my public relations minor junior year, I felt a bit behind in the program, so Bateman was a great way to actually implement a campaign and not just learn about it,” Katona said.
Team members also emphasized the value of collaboration.
“I think it was really good practice to learn how to work in a team,” Katona said. “It was really good to learn from a team and get to know everyone else’s skill sets.”
Olivia Eastly, public relations and content coordinator for the Akron Zoo and a 2020 51Թ graduate, served as a professional advisor for the Gold Team and said the experience mirrors real-world communications work.
“It’s a similar process where you know who your audience is, and you get to build a campaign around that and an overall objective,” Eastly said. “They did a really good job of ticking all the boxes that the client had asked for, but also going that extra mile asking, ‘What else can we do?’”
Ewing praised the students’ achievements and highlighted the significance of the recognition.
“There were almost 50 universities that participated,” Ewing said. “To have one of our teams earn honors says a lot about the caliber of our students’ work.”
The Bateman Competition continues to serve as a valuable program for PRSSA, connecting students with industry partners and providing opportunities to apply classroom knowledge to real-world challenges.
“Don’t hesitate to just do it if the opportunity comes your way, it’s only going to lead to good things,” Eastly said.