Kelly Khuu and Alana Ross, seniors at UNL's College of Journalism and Mass Communications, have been selected for the American Advertising Federation's Most Promising Multicultural Students (MPMS) program. The honor connects top multicultural college students with professionals in the advertising industry and provides unique opportunities for career development and networking.
Khuu is an advertising and public relations major from Lincoln. She also has a minor in statistics and data analytics. This semester, she's an account planner on the National Student Advertising Competition team and a marketing intern at UNICO Group.
Khuu's creative vision always begins with insights from the data collection. She combines it with the advertising skillset she's developed from classes like Buoy Student Agency and from her time as the head of marketing and public relations for UNL's Vietnamese Student Association.
It means a lot to Khuu to have been selected for the MPMS program because her parents immigrated to Nebraska and built a new home all on their own.
"Growing up, I watched my parents work tirelessly against all odds to raise me and create a space for themselves in a new country," Khuu said. "My work is rooted in my values and the stories I carry as a Vietnamese-American woman."
After graduation, Khuu looks forward to working in the advertising industry and hopes to work on projects that serve underrepresented populations, create more inclusive spaces and challenge the narratives that dominate today's media landscape.
Ross (she/they), who is from Houston, has a double major in advertising and public relations and sports media and communication. She also minors in sociology, women and gender studies, LGBTQ/sexuality studies, and English.
Ross is the social media coordinator at the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center and the UNL Police Department and a peer mentor in the Office of Academic Success and Intercultural Services (OASIS) program, helping guide students in their first year on campus.
She's worked on projects with multiple UNL professors, researching the spread of information about e-cigarettes and cigars on social media and a project about the Mississippi water crisis.
"I began to see how a single hashtag can give false information or even spread something unrelated that diverts from the post's original subject," Ross said. "This research position was important to my learning because I saw how we can miscommunicate information via social media in real-time."
After graduation, her goal is to work with female, queer and minority athletes as a publicist or to work for a hockey team or in publishing. Ultimately, Ross wants to be a voice for the unseen and to continue to pave the way for black students to work in the media.
"The biggest goal I want to accomplish in my lifetime is to build an after-school program back in Houston," Ross said. "I want younger black people to see someone who looks like them working in media and representing them in so many ways."
At the end of February, Khuu and Ross will travel to New York City to join other standout students from across the country. They'll have the chance to visit top advertising agencies and PR firms, attend workshops led by industry professionals and experience the fast-paced industry firsthand.
The Most Promising Multicultural Students program began in 1997 and has helped nearly 1,000 students secure careers in advertising, public relations and related fields. Previous participants credit the program with helping them land jobs after graduation.