Four Buffalo State public relations alumni earn Excalibur Awards

Two recent alumni of Buffalo State’s Master of Science in Public Relations (M.S in PR) program were honored with Student Excalibur Awards from the Public Relations Society of America’s Buffalo Niagara chapter at its annual ceremony in mid-October. Since the inception of the Student Excalibur Awards in 2022, 13 students from Buffalo State’s M.S. in PR program have been awarded. The annual competition recognizes outstanding public relations work by professionals and students in the Buffalo Niagara region. Campaigns are judged by public relations professionals from outside the Buffalo area with no connections to the students or their work. 

This year’s award winners, and their clients, were Stephanie Codd, ’26, and Courtney Helinski, ’26, for Best PR Campaign for the campaigns they produced in the COM 690 Master's Project course this past spring. COM 690: Master’s Project is the capstone course for the M.S. in PR program and provides students with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience developing real-world campaigns while building their professional skills and strengthening their resumes. Since 2012, the course has been taught by Deborah Silverman, associate professor and chair of the Communication Department. 

"I'm delighted to see these outstanding students recognized for their professional quality work on their PR campaigns,” Silverman said, “a format that is widely used in the public relations profession.”

“While working on my master’s project, I was also working in the development department at Homespace, where the plan’s tactics and objectives were unfolding in real time," said Codd. “Largely thanks in part to my masters in PR, I was able to land my dream job this past fall as VP of Development at VIA Visually Impaired Advancement. I’m excited to apply my coursework to real life experiences.”

Beyond developing campaigns, students also gain experience presenting work that meets professional industry standards.

“The campaign was especially rewarding because it allowed me to apply strategic communications to an organization that plays an important role in our community,” said Helinski, who was awarded for her campaign, More Than a Rink: Cornerstone Arena. “Receiving this award is incredibly meaningful because it recognizes the opportunity to bring professional experience and academic studies together in a project with a real impact. As someone balancing a professional career while continuing my education at Buffalo State, this recognition reinforces the value of lifelong learning, stepping outside your comfort zone and continuing to challenge yourself.”

Two additional alumni of the M.S. in PR program, Darra Kubera, ‘18, and Peter Murphy, ‘19,  won Excalibur Awards for campaigns they developed for the organizations at which they are now employed as public relations professionals (the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning and the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences respectively). Murphy's campaign also won the top prize, the Platinum Award, for the best public relations campaign.

Pictured: Courtney Helsinki (left), Deborah Silverman, Stephanie Codd.