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The top students in each of the department’s programs were recognized at the annual JMC Honors banquet on April 26. From left: Dr. Bob Lochte, department chair; Parker Franklin, journalism; Ashley Samuelson, advertising; Brandon Story, TV production; Brennan Handley, public relations; and Dr. Debbie Owens, graduate coordinator and incoming interim chair. |
Six JMC students were recognized by the department as the best in their respective academic programs at the spring honors banquet. They were Ashley Samuelson, Ryan Freeman, Parker Franklin, Brennan Handley, Brandon Story and Ahmad Alfadhli.
Samuelson was the outstanding senior in advertising. She had a successful internship with Energy BBDO in Chicago.
She was a member of the Ads Club, an officer in Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and a member of Elizabeth Residential College.
A double major in business administration and graphics communications management, Freeman was the top senior in GCM.
He worked in the Alumni Center and was an US Census worker.
Franklin was the outstanding senior in journalism. A minor in sports communication, he was a reporter for WKMS-FM. He was a Provost Scholar.
Handley was the top senior in public relations, A marketing minor, she had marketing internships on campus with the Center for Telecommunications Systems Management and off campus with Maritz IT Service.
She was a member of Public Relations Student Society of America, Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and Best Buddies.
Story was the outstanding senior in television production. A minor in journalism, he worked for “Roundabout U,” “Racer Vision” and the MSU Digital Media Service in video production.
He also worked as a videographer with the OVC Digital Network and in TV production with the First Methodist Church.
Story was a member of the TV Club, Alpha Lambda Delta, Alpha Chi, Phi Kappa Phi, the Racer Pep Band and the Racer Marching Band. He served as vice president and president of the Racer Marching Bank.
The outstanding graduate student, Afadhli came to Murray State as an international student in the ESL program in the spring of 2014.
He graduated in December 2015 with a 4.0 GPA.
His comprehensive project, “Propaganda and Politics: The Role of Social Media in the Arab Spring,” found that although social media played a minimal role in setting the agenda for the Arab Spring, it was instrumental in amplifying the agenda and increasing the reach of the movement.
He is currently working in public relations in his native Kuwait and looking at several doctoral programs.
