March 2, 2023

SVSU professionals and students honored for creativity

Saginaw Valley State University staff and students were recently honored for their creative work in the marketing and advertising arena, winning 14 ADDY Awards in the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Great Lakes Bay’s annual American Advertising Award competition. This local competition is the first step of the national American Advertising Awards, the advertising industry’s largest awards competition. Winning entries are awarded Gold or Silver ADDY Awards and are eligible to advance to the second (district) level of competition. 

Four SVSU students won ADDY Awards in the student division for work created for class projects or external clients.  

• Jessica McInerney, a graphic design major from Fairgrove, won two Gold ADDY awards and one Silver ADDY.  
• Elissa Mughanem, a graphic design major from Essexville, won two Silver ADDY Awards. 
• Carina Quirin, a graphic design major from Birch Run, won two Silver ADDY Awards. 
• Haley Smathers, a graphic design major from Howell, won a Silver ADDY. 

McInerney, Mughannem and Quirin are interns in the Office of University Communications at SVSU.

SVSU’s Office of University Communications won one Gold ADDY and six Silver ADDY Awards in the professional division. Jill Miller, director of enrollment marketing and creative services; Michael Randolph, marketing specialist for videography and photography; and Jason Swackhamer, social media and digital content specialist, were honored for the award-winning work. They were assisted by student interns. 

Haley-Jane Harms, of Yale, Michigan, assisted Miller on the Gold ADDY-winning entry, SVSU playing cards. Harms graduated in May 2022 with a degree in graphic design and is now employed at Access Intelligence. 

The “Cardinal Voices” podcast, which earned Silver recognition, was directed by Swackhamer. Five University Communications student interns were instrumental in the production: 

• Joy Bonke, a geography major from Pigeon, was co-host and conducted research. 
• Alyssa McMillan, a psychology major from Unionville, provided social media support. 
• Andrew Richard, a marketing major from Adrian, was co-host and conducted research. 
• Zoey Schwab, a creative writing major from Bay City, provided animation, audio production and transcription support.  
• Walker Wenzel, a December 2022 communication graduate from Saginaw, provided audio production and logo design.  

The Gold ADDY-winning entries will be forwarded to the second tier of competition – the district level. There are 15 AAF districts throughout the United States. Winners from the district ADDY competitions will advance to the national level.