by Alli Inglebright
Karley Powell, a senior in the College of Journalism and Mass Communication, received the 2018 Ruth Edelman Public Relations Student Society of America Award. Her award includes a $1,500 prize and a three-month paid internship at the Edelman office in New York City.
Powell doesn’t know what department she will be working in but she is excited about the opportunity to learn something new. In a past internship, she worked in social impact.
“I’m excited to be in a new area of PR that I haven’t been able to explore yet,” Powell said. “Learning this new area of PR will allow me to expand my skills and give me a broader range of knowledge.”
The Ruth Edelman PRSSA award is one of two awards given by the agency each year. It honors students who demonstrate women’s leadership, women’s studies and/or contributions in the field to promote women’s issues. The second award, the Daniel J. Edelman PRSSA award, is given to a student who demonstrates exceptional leadership ability and a commitment to a career in public relations. This award was given to Riley Muse from the University of Georgia.
Powell is also minoring in women’s and gender studies and was part of the 2017 University of Nebraska–Lincoln Bateman team. The team won third place in the PRSSA Bateman competition for the campaign “Redirect the Conversation.” The PRSSA Bateman competition is sponsored by Edelman. Powell was able to visit the Edelman New York City office in 2015 with the Learning Community she was mentoring.
Powell spent last summer in New York City interning with Weber Shandwick as part of their social impact team.
“I’m excited to be back in New York and to be part of a global PR firm again,” Powell said. “It will be good to see another agency and how it works.”
After completing her internship with Edelman, Powell would like to stay in New York City and continue working in social impact.
