America250PA team scores second in statewide competition

There was the challenge of simplifying a complex idea and lots of statistics.

There was the complexity of making sure they could communicate the full scope of the project in the 7-minute time allowed. 

There was a remarkably short turnaround timeframe of two weeks to prepare for the first round of competition. 

And there was the need to brainstorm on all aspects of the challenge – from presentation to deliverables – simultaneously.

Yet PCA&D’s team pulled together in prize-winning fashion, recently finishing second in the state for their America250PA Direct Effect Innovation Challenge project. The three-round marketing challenge provides teams of postsecondary students the opportunity to design and launch campaigns for America250PA. The goal: to engage every Pennsylvanian, in every county. 

“No other design school was chosen as a finalist,” observed Melissa Ries, the professor who helped guide PCA&D’s team. “But PCA&D does a good job of introducing integrative marketing concepts” along with the art and design work every student also must master. 

PCA&D has been named a finalist each year the College has entered the competition. The College’s 2022 team won top honors. 

‘Driving on Sunshine’

All of PCA&D’s team members are part of The Agency, the College’s in-house branding and marketing group made up of students. Chavito Allen ’26, AGA; Jayden Herod ’26, Design Thinking; Quinn McPhee ’26, AGA; and Madalynne Reynolds ’25, Graphic Design, were assisted by fellow Agency contributors Oscar Martinez ’26, AGA; and Marissa Rhice ’25, Illustration, and guided and advised by Ries and Career Development Fellows (and PCA&D alumni) Maliyah Gregg and Jasir Moody-Awo. 

This year’s DEIC theme, “Powering the Future”, called upon teams to help promote the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission’s commitment to becoming America’s first sustainable superhighway by 2040. 

The PCA&D team’s concept? “The Grow PA Project: Driving on Sunshine”:  Displays of physical and digital installments that displayed the state’s local endangered plant ecosystem — and highlighted the positive effects of solar power, solar transportation, and renewable energy. It would call upon all of their various art and design backgrounds to bring to life. 

“It was definitely a ‘divide and conquer’ time,” Herod said. Everyone had their own role to perform in order to fit in everything that needed to be accomplished, from logo, infographics, motion graphics, and illustration, to project management, scriptwriting, and more. “It all needs to be pitched to the client,” Allen said, “so how do we fit it all in?” And the time crunch, Reynolds said, “really pushed us to make decisions” and refine all of their ideas into the final pitch. 

“The hardest part was (adhering to) the rubric,” McPhee said, “consistently trying to fit in what we came up with to get the most points.”

Results

“For me,” Herod said, “this was a really great opportunity to put PCA&D on the map. We were able to work on the same level as those whose focus is business and marketing.”

For McPhee, the competition was a realization that “the creative mind can’t be replaced… it felt almost like an act of defiance to place well against other teams, many of which used (artificial intelligence). We won’t be replaced.”

“Great ideas take great teams,” Allen added. “I believe wholeheartedly that we would not have gotten so far without our positive collaboration.”

Watching reactions to what their team presented, Reynolds said, was really rewarding. 

“We heard from multiple people that the day [when finalists present their concepts] gives people hope for the future,” Herod said, “what we bring to the table when we enter the workforce.”

“We had so much to learn… and to wrap our heads around the concept,” Prof. Ries said. “The students really took the project on themselves and built their own path based on their expertise.”