Student Wins Prestigious Scholarship for Public Relations Studies

Daniel Londono, a St. John’s University senior who demonstrates exceptional leadership and academic achievement in the public relations field, has recently been recognized with the Betsy Plank/Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Scholarship for the fall semester.

He won the scholarship’s top prize of $5,000; two other awards are valued at $1,500 and $1,000. The scholarship is awarded annually by the Public Relations Society of America Foundation (PRSA), an independent, charitable organization that is committed to promoting diversity among public relations professionals, and is named for past PRSA President Betsy Plank.

The scholarship recognizes outstanding PRSSA members during their junior or senior year of college as they prepare for public relations careers. Daniel, who is Vice President of Communications for the St. John’s PRSSA chapter, is expected to graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations.

“St. John’s hands-on educational style and its networking opportunities have helped me to create an amazing portfolio and offered me opportunities to explore many areas of the industry throughout my years at the University,” said Daniel.

“I am especially thankful to St. John’s faculty who teach communication arts,” he said. “They are great guides and mentors, and my career path would be completely different without them.” Daniel identified several St. John’s professors as his mentors, including John DiMarco, Jr., Ph.D., Professor, Mass Communication, and Tiffany L. Mohr, Ph.D., Director of the Public Relations program and Assistant Professor, Mass Communication, Division of Mass Communication, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies.

“Daniel really deserves this honor,” Dr. DiMarco said. “Working with him in my career portfolio course, which challenges students to find and create their professional brand, I witnessed his immense talents in writing, social, and design. We had great class discussions on how to find meaning and happiness in our careers, and how to use our professional skills to help people. The Betsy Plank award lends recognition to Daniel’s impressive body of work.”