Center for Civic Engagement: Partnership in Public Health Awareness
2018-2020
Role: Instructor and Project Coordinator for COMSTRAT 383
In fall 2018 a Center for Civic Engagement collaborative partnership was created between Whitman County Public Health (WCPH) and COMSTRAT 383 Media Strategies and Techniques for Public Relations (383). The focus of the overall project was to raise awareness about locally significant public health issues. 41 students across 10 teams established a vision and strategy for seven awareness campaigns and three special projects. Website: https://sites.google.com/view/383finalprojfall18/home
In spring 2019, 20 students were broken out into five teams charged with implementing these campaigns through public relations, social media engagement, website development, grassroots outreach, and new digital content creation efforts. Throughout, WCPH provided students with current statistics and research regarding prevalent health-related issues within Whitman County including vaccination administration (flu, Tdap, and HPV), the benefits of breastfeeding, and the dramatic rise of Sexually Transmitted Diseases among the residents of Whitman County. WCPH also met with the students regularly via Zoom video conference. Website: https://sites.google.com/view/wcph-spr19/home
In fall 2019, 25 students were placed on five rotating teams and given specific tasks in PR, social media, digital content creation, web and metrics, and grassroots outreach. All activities benefited WCPH. We incorporated Google Analytics and SEO into their website, created a blog and newsroom, and launched a social media engagement strategy using Hootsuite. Website: https://sites.google.com/view/wcphfall19/home
Spring 2020
In spring 2020, we partnered with multiple organizations including food insecurity groups on campus, Pullman Regional Hospital, Whitman County Public Health, and Latah Alliance on Mental Health. Students were assigned to one of three teams that are led by three past 383 students: Casie Lynch, Kate Thomas, and Sam Schmitke. Each group was assigned various tasks in public relations, social media engagement, event promotions, grassroots outreach, and digital communication.
Fall 2020
Murrow College student Megan O’Brien continued the professional communications and outreach work with WCPH through December 2020.
How would I get involved in something like this that has real world application. I am a current student getting my second degree in creative writing, but I have my BA in Communication at Murrow.
Hi Jennifer. If you are interested in getting involved in CCE projects at WSU, please visit https://cce.wsu.edu/. Many classes integrate CCE projects into the curriculum, but you can also get involved on your own through various community engagement options. Learn more at https://cce.wsu.edu/get-engaged/engagement-options/. Good luck!