UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Penn State senior advertising/public relations major took a classroom challenge and transformed it into an award-winning finish in national competition.
Josh Maust was selected as one of the top five finishers for the PRWeek Outstanding Student Award thanks to a campaign he put together for a final class project, which was then entered in the annual national competition. This year’s challenge prompt from PRWeek asked students to develop an integrated communications campaign that emphasizes the seriousness of climate change and educates a divided America.
Maust, from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, who’s completing a double major in psychology and will graduate in May, went through several ideas and iterations before focusing his project on Bass Pro Shops as a partner.
“From my research it seemed like their consumers would care about the topic,” Maust said. “It was a lot of work, but we got peer feedback along the way and that helped. The thing I’m most proud about was how it all came together. My final campaign report was well-thought-out, and I thought the video looked pretty good, too.”
Along with a six-page campaign document and a 60-second video, Maust used AI images created by Microsoft Bing’s Image Creator from Designer and developed a campaign that amplified these images through earned and shared media. Then, with the help of a classmate, Maust pulled together the pictures and a supporting poster with a message that “There’s Nothing Fishy About Climate Change.”
Once he advanced to the final round, Maust conducted a phone call and pitched his idea to PRWeek’s Frank Washkuch.
“I’ve worked with Josh for a full year in two different classes, and it was no surprise that PRWeek saw in his campaign submission what I’ve come to expect in all his work,” said Tara Wyckoff, an associate teaching professor in the Department of Advertising/Public Relations. “His campaign was strategic, creative and professional. He seized the opportunity and made the most of it.”
Maust is the ninth Penn State student in the past four years to earn a top-five finish in the PRWeek competition. All have honed their skills and sharpened their campaigns as part of Wyckoff’s capstone course.
Penn State’s recent national finalists include Maryrose Finn (2023), Samantha Preza (2023), Colton Breon (2022), Margaret Pfeifle (2022), Sydney Haykel (2021), Jenna Silverblatt (2021), and Elise Bingaman (2020). Morgan Sheedy and Yunjing Zhang were honored as semifinalists in 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Two Penn State participants have been named PR Student of the Year — Robert Corrado in 2008 and Tara Burnham in 2006.