Top JMC students honored at spring banquet

Dr. Bob Lochte recognized JMC's five top students at the department's spring banquet. This year's top students are from left, Rui Qu, Ashley Johns, Shannon Davis, Lochte, Jessica Jeffress and David Dycus.

They were Ashley Johns, advertising; David Dycus, electronic media; Jessica Jeffress, journalism; Shannon Davis, public relations; and Rui Qu, graduate program.

Johns served two years as president of Ads Club and three years as presenter in the annual National Student Advertising Competition. She was named to this year's "Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities."

She was a Student Ambassador, a member of the women's crew team, a member of the Hart Residential College Honor Society and the coordinating officer for the G-Factor Campaign to retrain students for MSU.

She received a 2008 American Association of Advertising Agencies internship where she worked in media planning with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment in North Hollywood, Calif.

Johns also worked as a sales representative for The Chicago Tribune and a media consultant for ConferencePlus, Inc. in Schaumburg, Ill. She was named a Most Promising Minority Student for 2009 by the American Advertising Federation.

Dycus used his video skills in his minor of theatre, with productions on MSU TV-11 and with The Murray State News' web site. He was responsible for filming and editing video content for the site.

He worked with the MSU Student Recreation and Wellness Center and with Biokinetics Family Fitness in Calvert City.

Jeffress, who had a minor in business administration, was the designer and editor in chief of the Shield yearbook. The 2008 edition was named a Pacemaker Finalist (top 15 yearbooks in the country) by the Associated Collegiate Press.

She also worked as a writer/photographer in the university public relations office and had an internship with FLW Outdoors Magazine.

Her other work experience included editorial assistant with the New Caledonian Press, a writer/editor for Murray Life Magazine and a designer for K-Squared Designs.

Davis, a transfer from the University of Kentucky, had a double major in public relations and Spanish.

She was an officer in Public Relations Student Society of America and editor of the MSU chapter newsletter. She was also the chapter publicity director for the "Bands n' BBQ Blowout."

Davis worked in the MSU Public Relations Department as a writer/designer and did publicity for the Student Government Association.

Last summer she was the public relations and marketing intern for Baptist Hospital East in Louisville.

Qu, known to the JMC faculty and staff as "Ray Chew," had a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in her master's program.

She received her undergraduate degree in Literature with Teaching Chinese as Foreign Language from the Beijing Language and Culture University.

She worked as an editor for English learning books for the Beijing New Channel International Education Group and as an advertising sales assistant for the City Weekend magazine.

Qu plans to earn her doctorate and return to China to be a professor.