OSU student organization selected for national award

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Members and advisors of AWSM@Oklahoma State visit with ESPN’s Linda Cohn. Pictured are (top row, from left) advisor Gina Mizell, Jace Chilcoat, Kelsey Thomas, Cohn, Shane Hoffman, Corbyn Wheeler, Kelli Grashel and advisor Ray Murray; (front row, from left) advisor Mike Sowell, Katie Parish and Michael Ergas.

The Oklahoma State University chapter of the Association for Women in Sports Media has won the national organization’s first-ever Student Chapter of the Year award. AWSM@Oklahoma State will be formally recognized at the association’s convention this summer in Phoenix, where members will receive a plaque for permanent display, as well as a prize package of complimentary memberships and convention registrations.

A board from the national association selected AWSM@Oklahoma State for the honor after the chapter was able to document significant progress during a busy 2012-13 academic year, growing its membership, hosting professional and social events, and raising $6,000 to start an annual AWSM speakers series on campus. The first speaker was ESPN anchor Linda Cohn.

“We are honored and delighted to receive this award,” said Kelli Grashel, OSU chapter president. “It’s a privilege to be the first collegiate chapter of AWSM to receive this prestigious award and to be recognized for all of our hard work. We are looking forward to improving and doing even more next year. We want to thank our professional advisers, advisers and the national organization because none of this would be possible without your help and we appreciate all the support.”

The AWSM@Oklahoma State adviser is Mike Sowell with the OSU School of Media and Strategic Communications, and the chapter’s professional advisers are Oklahoman sports writer Gina Mizell and Oklahoman sports columnist Jenni Carlson, a former president of AWSM.

“This is an incredible honor, and the credit goes to the outstanding members we have had in AWSM@Oklahoma State, not just this year but from the time we held our first planning meeting in April 2010,” said Sowell, who co-advises with Ray Murray from the School of Media and Strategic Communications. “I want to especially thank our current president, Kelli Grashel, who has been committed to AWSM from the time she arrived at Oklahoma State as a freshman in fall 2010. Kelli has been an amazing leader and a fantastic fundraiser, making all of our activities this year, especially the Linda Cohn visit, a reality.

The award selection committee was impressed by all of the chapters who applied this year, according to Joanne C. Gerstner, director of the AWSM student chapter program. She called the program “a true source of strength and inspiration for the whole organization, thanks to great groups such as Oklahoma State. Kelli, Mike, the members and mentors truly made it a year to remember at OSU, and we are really proud to congratulate them for their efforts,” said Gerstner, who also serves as vice president for outreach for AWSM.