Two Cal State San Bernardino students won Silver Awards recently at the district level of the American Advertising Awards competition, allowing them to compete at the national level.
Advancing to the national competition of the ADDY Awards are Sarah Bither, who completed her bachelor’s in art-graphic design during the winter quarter with a minor in marketing, and Suner Mauerhan, a graphic design student. Bither received her award in the packaging category and Mauerhan received her award in the poster category.
“Winning this award is a very personal achievement to me,” said Bither. “I really struggle with having confidence in myself and taking pride in my work, and this has often kept me from putting myself out there in events like the ADDYs. I absolutely could not, and would not have gotten to this point without the support and encouragement from my professors, my classmates, and the faculty here at CSUSB.”
“I am extremely privileged to receive the Silver Award at the district level of the American Advertising Awards and to represent CSUSB,” said Mauerhan. “I would like to thank the art department for giving me the initial opportunity in the regional awards competition. I am very grateful to have my work acknowledged by the design community.'
The district level of the American Advertising Awards competition covers all of Southern California and Western Nevada. The competition consisted of thousands of entries that had won awards in their own regions.
“Myself and my colleagues in the department of art and design here at CSUSB are really delighted for and proud of our students' success in the recent local and regional heats of the ADDYs,” said Matthew Poole, art department chair. “This is a great achievement for Suner and Sarah, and we have all our fingers crossed that they may progress to the next stage in the competition.”
Conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation, the Inland Empire ADDY Awards is the first of a three-tier, national competition. Concurrently, all across the country, local entrants vie for recognition as the very best in their markets.
“I am personally very grateful for the energy and commitment of my colleagues, professor Andrew Oakes (design) and Jacob Poore (Coyote Advertising), who have been supervising the project and mentoring the students throughout,” said Poole. “It's a terrific opportunity for our coyote design students to take part in a professional competition and to meet, talk with, and show work to industry leaders.”
The American Advertising Federation-Inland Empire, a non-profit chapter of the American Advertising Federation, is comprised of professionals in San Bernardino and parts of Riverside and Los Angeles counties from all industry segments, including advertising and media agency owners, marketing directors, sales and media managers, suppliers, radio stations, graphic designers, photographers, webmasters, copywriters and academics.
For more information about the American Advertising Awards or winning CSUSB students, contact Jacob Poore at jpoore@csusb.edu.
Set in the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, California State University, San Bernardino is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in inland Southern California. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015-2016, Cal State San Bernardino serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually.
For more information about Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.