Six College of Journalism and Mass Communications students were named to this year's Bateman Case Study Competition team. The national competition is sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America.
More than 75 teams enter the competition each year. Students get real-world experience through researching, planning, implementing and evaluating a public relations campaign for an actual client. This year's client is EveryLibrary, the only national 504(c)4 political action committee for libraries.
The team's campaign will position EveryLibrary as the leading national organization for library activists, donors, and users. Their goal is to support EveryLibrary's mission of helping public libraries on Election Days, stabilizing school library budgets, guarding against book bans and engaging with state legislatures alongside partner organizations.
This is the 11th year Nebraska has been part of the competition. Previous campaigns have earned top-3, top-16 and top-20 awards. Last year's campaign for Culturs magazine won an honorable mention and a top-12 finish.
The team began the research process in the second half of the fall 2024 semester and will implement and measure their campaign this semester. Check out their work so far at everylibraryunl on Instagram. In late March, they'll submit their campaign and, if selected to be one of three national finalists, will present their campaign to a panel of judges in early May.
UNL's 2025 Bateman team faculty adviser is Valerie Jones, Fred A. & Gladys Seaton Professor and associate professor. Their professional adviser is Jeff Salem, director of communications & public relations at the Arbor Day Foundation.
The following is a list of UNL's 2025 Bateman team members, listed alphabetically by hometown with their year in school, major(s) and team role:
Nebraska
- Gretna: Kaleigh Zollman, junior, advertising and public relations, account executive
- Lincoln: Vincent Nguyen, junior, advertising and public relations, research manager; Paige Waite, senior, advertising and public relations, senior copywriter
- Omaha: Ella Stine, junior, advertising and public relations, project manager
Elsewhere
Ankeny, Iowa: Avryn Schardt, junior, advertising and public relations, community relations and media manager; Ana Wombacher, senior, advertising and public relations, journalism, multimedia and graphic designer
