UGA recognized for Outstanding PR Student in the country for second year

For the second year in a row, a University of Georgia public relations student has been named the Outstanding Student in the country by PRWeek, a leading publication in the public relations industry.

Margot Murphy was named the outstanding student at PRWeek’s U.S. Awards in New York City on March 13, 2025. Nearly 800 industry professionals were in attendance.

Murphy is a fourth-year public relations student from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. She is pursuing certificates in Public Affairs Communications (PAC) and the Institute for Leadership Advancement (ILA), a program of Terry College of Business. She also serves as a Tieger Fellow for the PAC program.

Abby Samet, a fourth-year public relations student from Greensboro, North Carolina, who is earning certificates in Sustainability and ILA, was also named a finalist in the Outstanding Student competition.

“We are very proud of Margot for receiving this recognition and of Abby for being named a finalist,” said Juan Meng, the UGA Athletic Association Endowed Professor and head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Grady College. “The fact that our students were named the top two students in the country is a tremendous point of pride for us.”

In addition to Murphy and Samet, three other UGA students participated in the competition: Phoebe Bagby, Lydia Coffman and Ike Epstein (AB ’24). Epstein was recognized for having one of the top five best campaigns, and two students from the University of Florida rounded out the top five.

“I feel incredibly honored to be recognized as outstanding student of the year for 2025 by PRWeek,” Murphy said. “The faculty, students and Grady College as a whole have poured so much into me and I will be forever grateful. The celebration was a night full of incredible practitioners and lots of fun with my parents, new connections and the incredible team at PRWeek.”

The students were challenged with putting together a public relations campaign focusing on a hypothetical sustainable clothing brand that competes against fast fashion, or inexpensive fashion that is typically produced overseas by underpaid workers.

“This prestigious award is a powerful statement recognizing our students’ hard work, dedication and perseverance in putting their best into a task assigned by PRWeek that addresses a real-world problem through research, strategy and creativity,” Meng continued. “Their hard work and passion to shape the future of our profession certainly lead to these remarkable achievements.”

Ben Deutsch, executive in residence; Tom Cullen, lecturer; and Meng consulted with the students and helped them focus on key messages.

“It was a joy to work with Abby, Margot, Ike, Phoebe and Lydia,” Deutsch said.  “They are a great representation of the high caliber of students in the Ad/PR program at Grady.  It was exciting to have three of our students in the top five, and ultimately the top two finalists.”

The PR Campaigns

Murphy’s campaign called Timeless, was gender neutral, carbon neutral, and climate neutral clothing brand marketed toward middle-aged consumers in the US. She included social media mock-ups and utilized an influencer who was the first transgender female model of the year.

“By focusing on the costs of labor, not only being financial, but also the cost of lives used by labor, I made a plan to manufacture all of the clothing in the United States using cotton farms from North Carolina,” Murphy explained.

“For me, it feels quite surreal,” Murphy said after being named a finalist for the award. “I also feel like Grady has prepared me so much to have this honor as a senior. I also loved the teamwork aspect of Abby and me making it as finalists. It really is a testament to how Grady College invests in their students. I already felt the impacts on a personal level, but now we’re seeing it on a national level. I feel really honored and excited that I was able to experience the PRWeek competition and understand the inner workings of such a impactful organization.”

Samet’s campaign was titled “Alted,” a rearranged creation of the world delta, which means change. Change is a topic Samet wrote about in one of her common application essays when she applied to UGA and she felt it was a great tie-in to this campaign.

“It’s definitely very validating for all of the hard work that I put in,” Samet said about being named a finalist. “I think the fact that three UGA participants were of the top five finalists does go to show how impactful and impressive the AdPR department is here at Georgia.”

Deutsch was impressed with the growth and dedication Murphy showed throughout the process. “I couldn’t be prouder of Margot for winning the PRWeek Outstanding Student of the Year award,” Deutsch concluded. “Her campaign on fast fashion showcased not only her strategic thinking and creativity but also her deep understanding of the impact communications can have on important global issues.”

Esther Kim (AB ’24) was honored with the outstanding student award last year.

Author: Sarah Freeman, freemans@uga.edu