HOUSTON (July 6, 2018) — The Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston is proud to recognize the Me to We HTX campaign and alumni Natashia Wilson who won first place in their respective categories at the 33rd Annual Excalibur Awards.

Me to We HTX, a student-run campaign that emerged from Dr. Lan Ni’s Understanding Publics class, won the Gold Excalibur Award in the Public Service/ Non-Profit Campaigns category.The campaign sought to reshape the narrative around Muslim immigration to the United States and reported a 58% increase in people’s willingness to speak up on matters regarding immigration.

The following public relations graduate students were recognized for their involvement during the spring 2018 semester:

• Kassandra Tak (‘17)
• Wendy Pierce (‘18)
• Stefani Crowe (‘17)
• Felicia Perez (‘18)
• LeAnn Tobola (‘18)
• Marina Calzini (‘18)
• Haley Hart (‘18)
• Katie Gillis (‘18)
• Carly Jones

“Me to We was unique because it started as a class project, but evolved into something much greater than we initially imagined,” said Wendy Pierce, a public relations graduate student who graduated in May 2018. “It became a campaign of extreme relevance and importance in our society, and just a really cool experience. We got to see our strategy come to fruition and then had the opportunity to present our campaign to representatives of DHS and Facebook in Washington, D.C.”

Separately, alumna Natasha Wilson was named Young Public Relations Professional of the Year for her work at Paige PR, a public relations and marketing agency for the energy industry. Wilson received her bachelor’s degree in public relations  in 2016. She now works as a digital strategist at Paige PR.

“I feel like I’ve come full circle from receiving the PRSA and Valenti scholarship during my senior year at the University of Houston to landing my dream public relations job at Paige PR and sitting on the scholarship committee for PRSA Houston,” said Wilson. “It is a true testament to all the hard work I’ve put into my career, and it’s amazing that PRSA Houston recognized my dedication to the PR industry.”

The 2018 Excalibur Awards took place on Thursday, June 21, 2018. Awards were given to the individuals or groups who surpassed what the organization refers to as “the professional standards that a public relations professional is upheld to by PRSA code.”