St. John Fisher senior Mary Ramos has been named one of five finalists for PRWeek's Student of the Year Award.

"I'm surprised," Ramos said of the news that she was a finalist. "There were a lot of coincidences going on. I'm really excited about it."

The award is meant to recognize a student with exceptional ability in a range of public relations skills. It is designed to encourage and reward future talent in the industry.

For her entry, Ramos, who serves as the Assistant Online Editor for the Cardinal Courier, was required to do research and create a public relations plan for the Motorola electronics company. All finalists must work with the same company. 

For her Advanced Public Relations class, Ramos was required to choose an organization to create a hypothetical public relations plan for, based on a problem or opportunity facing the organization. As luck would have it, she had chosen Motorola for the basis of her class project.

"They had an opportunity to develop their other areas rather than just cell phones," Ramos said when asked why she had chosen that company. "The theme for the competition was how can you help Motorola develop, and I thought they could develop their other areas of wireless communications rather than just cell phones.

"I don't know if it was luck or what. I mean, what are the chances?"

Over winter break, Ramos met with Communication Professor Mike Ginestre, who helped her revise the plan for competition.

"I was spending New Year's in New York, so I got to turn my entry in in person."

Ramos will fly to New York City on Jan. 29 for a final day of judging. As their last challenge, finalists will be required to present another public relations plan for Motorola dealing with crisis communication. They will be given a week to develop the plan prior to the final phase of competition.

The short-listed contestants will also be flown back to New York on March 8 for an awards ceremony honoring professionals in the industry.

If Ramos is selected as the winner of the nationwide competitions, she will take the top prize of $5,000 and a mention in the print edition of PRWeek.

She will also be eligible for a paid internship with Hill & Knowlton, a prestigious public relations agency in New York City.

"I have a lot going on with Senior Seminar, the Courier, and also an internship," Ramos said. "Luckily, I'm good at multitasking. It's going to be a good year."