Twelve Kent State public relations students are competing in a national competition through the Public Relations Student Society of America called the Bateman course.  

The Bateman course is an invite-only course offered only to public relations students that challenges them to create and implement a comprehensive PR plan for a real-world client. 

The university is hosting two teams this semester: Bateman Blue and Bateman Gold. Professors hand-picked students to compete for each team.

The client this year is Culturs Magazine, a magazine focused on embracing those who belong to the culturally in-between population. 

Blake Serrano, a member of the Bateman Gold team, said to be culturally in-between is “to have multiple cultural or international identities.” 

Teams of competing students across the country will be judged by Culturs Magazine along with several members of the Public Relations Society of America board following submission.

The course is unlike anything else offered in the PR program at Kent state. Students are expected to work in a short three month fast-paced time frame providing real-world client experience of campaign creation and implementation. 

The Bateman Blue team hosted a blanket-making event March 1 in partnership with The International Institute of Akron.

“The International Institute of Akron helps refugees and immigrants get settled in the Akron area,” Tanner Poe, a member of the Bateman Blue team, said. “This blanket making is a tangible way to help people who are living in the cultural in-between which is what our client is all about.”

The nine blankets made at the event will be donated to refugees, immigrants and multicultural children that are connected with The International Institute of Akron.

“The people receiving these blankets are culturally in-between because they are dealing with the culture of their home country as well as American culture,” Bateman Blue team member Emilee Cardani said.

The event worked to aid the Bateman Blue team in promoting their tactic of raising the level of student awareness regarding Culturs Magazine, while also doing good for members of the culturally in-between.  

The blanket making workshop was Bateman Blue’s final event this semester, closing out the implementation phase of their PR campaign. 

“The goal of the competition is to win. The winner of the competition has the best campaign that has met all objectives, tactics and strategies,” Julia Cumley, a Bateman Blue team member, said. ”Even if we don’t win, it has been a great experience.”

Students connected with the competition feel that their future career goals are being nurtured by competition involvement. 

“I will take my experience of creating PR campaigns gained in the School of Media and Journalism with me later on in life, hopefully into political PR,” Cumley said. 

Bateman Blue team member Chania Crawford recommends the Bateman course to “students who like working in teams, are interested in learning more about what it takes to do a campaign or are interested in the communications field.”

Students interested in following the results of the Bateman Competition for Kent State teams are encouraged to follow them on Instagram at @ksuxculturs (Bateman Blue) and @embracetheinbetween_ (Bateman Gold). 

Angie Bowman is a reporter. You can contact her at [email protected].