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2012 Kate Nawoyski Receives JASPER Award

The Jersey Shore Public Rela- tions & Adver tising Association awarded University student Kate Nawoyski with the 38th annual JASPER Rising Star Award.

This award is given to students who excel in the communication industry and are enrolled in accredited programs. Out of the 19 different award categories presented in the JASPER Awards, Nawoyski, senior communication major, received the Gold Award in the Rising Star category for her video, Macheke Sustainability Project: Moleen Madziva.

According to awards.jspraa.com, “entries must meet a minimum score of excellence to be considered. Based upon the judges’ scores, one Gold and one Silver prize will be awarded in each category.”

Nawoyski said she was asked by the University’s Enrollment Publications Depar tment to suppor t Madziva’s sustainability project by creating a promotional and informative video. “The Macheke Sustainability Project is a great organization and we thought the video would not only help them, but get Monmouth University students motivated to get involved in the project,” said Nawoyski.

Sarah Savarese, the Director of Enrollment Publications and Communications, and Eileen Reinhard, the Assistant Director of Enrollment Publications and Communications, nominated Nawoyski for the award. “Kate does outstanding work and we’re very fortunate to have her working in our office,” Savarese said. “This competition category was an excellent opportunity to show others outside of the University the quality of her work.”

The Macheke Sustainability Project is a nonprof it organization whose headquarters are in New Jersey. “Essentially, MSP is a collection of social business initiatives whose focus is to empower people and eradicate pover ty in the village community of Macheke, Zimbabwe,” according to machekeproject.org. “This model of poverty reduction seeks to support people in their goal to becoming self-reliant through social entrepreneurship initiatives.”

Moleen Madziva is a University alumnus who was born in Zimbabwe in 1975. She grew up in the village of Macheke and traveled to the United States to pursue an education. After receiving a Ph.D. in Sustainability Education at Prescott College, she decided to develop a project that would decrease the poverty level in Macheke.

Students and professors at the University as well as peers at Prescott College have suppor ted Madziva and her effor ts to empower the people of Zimbabwe and reduce the pover ty level. “These effor ts have led to my founding of a non-prof it organization called the Macheke Sustainability Project – a profound initiative that seeks to empower the people of my village as they tur n from a life of abject poverty,” Madziva said.

“I’m just glad that I was able to help the MSP get their message out and hopefully get them some more volunteers,” Nawoyski said. “The award is added recognition, icing on the cake.”

The JASPER Awards are an entity of the Jersey Shore Public Relations & Adver tising Association. However, the JASPER committee is responsible for deciding the candidates and winners of the awards. “In existence since 1965, the Jersey Shore Public Relations & Adver tising Association has grown into the area’s largest communication association, consisting of almost 200 members from the adver tising, graphic design, marketing, and public relations professions,” according to their website, jspraa.com.

“Everyone appreciates recognition for their accomplishments, and we knew Kate deserved to be honored in such a way as this,” said Savarese. “I’m glad the judges agreed.”

Other than the award winning, Macheke Sustainability Project: Moleen Madziva, Nawoyski has created additional videos that support different causes and organizations. “I created a testimonial video for Houseless Not Hopeless, a project created here at Monmouth by Susan Damaschke and the First Year Service Project that helps raise awareness about homelessness,” Nawoyski said. “I’ve also created videos for the Alter native Spring Break trips to Guatemala to promote the work that students did and to raise funding for the trips.”

Nawoyski is involved with many other groups and organizations on campus. Her involvement includes, but is not limited to, President of the Pre-Law Club, Operations Manager for Hawk TV, Apar tment Manager for Residential Life, videographer and editor for Enrollment Publications, captain of the Mock Trial team and she works for Production Ser vices.

Nawoyski is also ver y committed to volunteer work and will be traveling to Haiti in January for an Alter native Winter Break Trip.

PHOTO COURTESY of Blaze Nowara