On June 17, 2011, Stephanie Smolek became the 2011 AHP Student Award Winner during the AHP Hoofprints in the Sand Seminar in San Diego, California. Stephanie received a $1,000 cash award, framed certificate and commemorative lapel pin. Publishers Press, Inc., Shepherdsville, KY presented her with an all-expenses paid trip to one of their Two-Day Customer Education Seminars held in Louisville, Kentucky.
AHP members and family gathered in a room reminiscent of a Polynesian ceremonial house for the AHP Student Award Luau including a reception, buffet, Tahitian floor show, and Hawaiian music. Attendees wore tropical shirts, sarongs, muumuus and lots of leis. Event sponsors for the evening were Pfizer Animal Health, AQHA Publications and Freedom Health’s SUCCEED®.
Every year AHP casts out its net to catch the finest and brightest students interested in a career in equine publishing. This year, three outstanding candidates, Megan Brincks, Stephanie Smolek and Elizabeth Walsh, were selected as 2011 Student Award Travel Winners, and won a $750 cash award toward travel expenses to the seminar. All three young ladies were interviewed by the Student Award Committee during the seminar and the committee members selected Stephanie Smolek as the 2011 Student Award Winner.
Stephanie attends the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she majors in Agricultural Journalism and Animal Science with an equine option. She has been around horses her entire life and began showing and training horses in junior high school. After researching options for a career involving horses, Stephanie became interested in equine communications. She applied to her local newspaper as a 20-year-old and under staff and wrote an article every two weeks for three years while continuing to work with horses at a therapeutic riding facility. When she started college, she began freelancing for the newspaper and other publications such as Saddle Up Nebraska, The Nebraska Farm Bureau News and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Sower. She loves to write, but also enjoys photography and social media. Her goal is to work for an equine publication or equine association where she hopes to include various communication mediums in her career. Stephanie is the daughter of Larry and April Smolek of Meadow Grove, Nebraska.
The 2011 Student Award Committee chairman was Brian Sosby, editor of Equestrian Magazine. He reviewed the nine applicants who were scored on the following criteria: academics, relevant experience, skills/abilities, presentation of materials, and career goals/assertiveness. The other two Travel Award winners were Megan Brincks, attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications, and Elizabeth Walsh, attending Columbia University where she majors in English.
High school seniors and undergraduate college students pursuing a career in equine publishing are encouraged to compete for the 2012 AHP Student Travel Awards and Student Award.
The Student Award program, started in 1993, was initiated to promote awareness to students of the career opportunities available in equine publishing. “This program has been a win-win for both the students and the association,” says AHP Executive Director Chris Brune. “Not only does it offer students a chance to learn about a career they may be passionate about, but it also has given equine publishing a long list of talented young people who are an asset to our industry and our association.”
American Horse Publications offers students interested in a career in equine publishing with several opportunities to participate in its association. To request information about any of AHP’s student programs, please contact: Chris Brune, American Horse Publications, 49 Spinnaker Circle, South Daytona, FL 32119; (386) 760-7743, e-mail: ahorsepubs@aol.com. Information is also available online at the AHP web site at www.americanhorsepubs.org under Students.
