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(New Orleans – May 6, 2020) A �������� strategic communications major won big last month in the first round of the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition. Senior Nick Chopivsky, who received the AAF New Orleans chapter’s “Advertising Person of the Year” award in February, won “Best Presenter” in the virtual competition among District 7 peers held online April 24-25 due to COVID-19.

His team placed fourth overall for their team presentation and received a perfect score from one of the judges. Led by communications professors Alvaro Bootello and Michelle Clark Payne, the Loyola Ad team included students: Nick Chopivsky, Mia Fenice, Ariel Landry, Will Perkins, Brooke Larkins, Miller Ezell, Mary Ann Florey, Ellen Harper, Sabrina Whatley, Sydney Burns, Olivia Molloy, Anish Balaji and Will McFadden.

Loyola’s Ad Team competes each spring in the AAF contest, the premier college advertising competition that provides more than 2,000 college students the real-world experience of creating a strategic advertising/marketing/media campaign for a corporate client. Students develop a marketing plan and pitch their work to advertising professionals at the district, semi-final and national levels.

“The students’ presentation was brilliant,” said Sonya Duhé, director of the School of Communication and Design at Loyola. “In fact, one of the judges gave our team a perfect score!  And despite COVID, these students put together a fantastic presentation and made it happen! They finished strong!

Perhaps even more important, Duhé, said, this year’s team included not only strategic communications majors, but students from the university’s design and film programs. The team reflects the collaborative spirit of the new School of Communication and Design and the College of Music and Media, which experienced an organizational restructuring last summer under the leadership of Dean Kern Maass.

The new organizational structure includes design students with journalism and communications students in the newly reformed School of Communication and Design. Together with film, music, theatre, production and recording students in the College of Music and Media they enjoy interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis on collaboration and storytelling.