AAF Minority Award Spotlight

By Reilly Blackwelder

Tsilavo Ratsimbaharison is one of the American Advertising Federation’s Most Promising Minority Students. I’m sorry. Can you repeat that? His name may be hard to remember, but Tsilavo is not a person who is easily forgotten.

Ratsimbaharison is a senior advertising major at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He’s involved with AAF, blogs about advertising trends, and serves a high school community as a Young Life leader.

Ratsimbaharison’s accomplishments were recognized at the AAF annual meeting in New York City, where he attended recruiter expos and seminars and networked with some important people in the industry. He also was one of three students in the nation recognized by CNN for his commitment and service to the community and received a $1,500 grant. Ratsimbaharison said the honor means more to him than just the title. He now feels included in the tight community of influential advertising leaders. He says he was inspired by the amount of talent and dedication at the meeting from the professionals and says he felt encouraged and excited to keep pursuing and perfecting his craft.

The faculty advisor for the AAF chapter at USC, Professor Bonnie Drewniany, could only praise him. “Tsilavo is a bright, talented writer who is extremely passionate about advertising,” she says. “He lives and breathes advertising. This passion, combined with his innate creativity and intelligence, make him a young man to watch. I feel confident that one day our school will be inviting him back to honor him as an outstanding alumnus.”

Professor Drewniany has identified and championed at least one honoree every year since the inception of the AAF Honor Award was created in 1997.

Ratsimbaharison wasn’t the only USC journalism student recognized. Erin Loo was named to the AAF Honor Roll.

Loo is a senior advertising major and is involved with the Student Advertising Federation and the Baptist Collegiate Ministries. She also is the media director for the AAF-NSAC Ad Team.ic

Reilly Blackwelder
Reilly Blackwelder

Reilly Blackwelder is a senior Public Relations student. She was a communications intern at the American Red Cross. She was also an Event and Retreat Coordinator for the Diocense of Charleston Youth Ministry. Her hobbies are crafting and thrift shopping.

She is a part of the 2011 Intercom Class.