PR major receives Student of the Year award

A recent Grand Valley graduate was named the Public Relations Student of the Year Award given by the West Michigan Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Jaclyn Ermoyan, an advertising and public relations major who graduated in April, received the honor at the 2017 PRoof Awards, held May 4 at Studio D2D in Grand Rapids.

“Hard work can often go unnoticed, so I’m grateful to be in a professional community that highlights each other’s work and pushes each other to be the best we can be,” Ermoyan said.

While at Grand Valley, Ermoyan served as the CEO of the university’s award-winning, student-run public relations firm GrandPR. In this role, she managed a team of more than 25 students and various projects for community clients.

As the CEO of GrandPR, Ermoyan participated in the 2016 Public Relations Student Society of America’s National Conference as a panelist and expert in student-run firm processes, organizational structure, retention and success.

Ermoyan said co-creating Humans of Grand Valley in 2013 is one of her proudest accomplishments at Grand Valley. The initiative shares Laker experiences and aims to encourage a strong sense of community on campus. Ermoyan was also an integral part of planning the TEDxGVSU event in February.

During her time at Grand Valley, Ermoyan gained professional experience working in University Communications, the Career Center and University Development, and participated in the Cook Leadership Academy.

“My experience managing GrandPR and working in University Communications allowed me to see true PR pros in action and learn from the best,” Ermoyan said. “Grand Valley has prepared me to be the most well-rounded student and professional that I can be." 

Grand Valley's University Communications department won 18 PRoof awards for work in public and media relations, writing, publications, video production and social media.