Student-athletes are required to keep their head in the game both on and off the field. But rising sophomore Megan Phillips takes this sentiment — and Temple University’s motto, “Perseverance Conquers,” — to heart. Despite her busy schedule as a double major in public relations and communication and social influence and a member of Temple’s women’s field hockey team, Phillips earned the Top Freshman in Public Relations recognition and the Dr. Jean Brodey Scholarship at the end of the spring 2020 semester. She was recognized during an online student ceremony.
Phillips began her time at Temple with a solid set of priorities and practices that ensured her success in the classroom. Together with the rest of the university’s student-athletes, she spent at least once a week in the Nancy and Donald Resnick Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes. Tara Evans, associate director of the Resnick Center and the academic advisor for the women’s field hockey team, noticed that Phillips did not need much motivation to stay on top of her schoolwork and her schedule. She says that Phillips’ determination and impressive GPA — a 4.0 for her first semester — demonstrated her success during her freshman year.
“Her qualities and characteristics make her stand out among her peers and her teammates and she’s just positive, [has] hard work ethic, great communication skills, and she’s been really a pleasure to work with,” says Evans. “And I know she’s going to do phenomenal things in the future, which I’m excited to see.”
In the classroom, Phillips made sure to keep her professors informed about her athletic schedule while staying on top of her assignments. Rachel Ezekiel-Fishbein, a visiting professor in the Public Relations Department, taught Phillips in two classes and immediately noticed her commitment to excellence.
“I had the pleasure of teaching Megan both semesters of her freshman year, and I was so impressed with the seriousness with which she took her responsibilities as a student-athlete,” Ezekiel-Fishbein says. “She’s the type of engaged student who helps build a both positive and engaged classroom community.”
Phillips also got involved with other Klein College of Media and Communication activities. In February she participated in the Klein Global Opportunities Media and American Politics program in Manchester, New Hampshire, where she worked together with other ambitious communication students to cover the state’s presidential primaries. For her participation, Phillips received credit toward her communication and social influence degree.
“I was particularly impressed to learn that she was participating in the Klein GO New Hampshire primaries program, which I know was primarily attended by journalism students,” says Ezekiel-Fishbein. “One of the keys to successful public relations is really understanding newsworthiness and the role of the media. Her interest in the news and in politics is going to serve her very well in her field.”
In addition to her selection as the Top Freshman in Public Relations, Phillips was honored with the Dr. Jean Brodey Scholarship, awarded annually by the university to a deserving advertising or public relations student. The scholarship is named after esteemed public relations professor Jean Brodey, who was inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Association Hall of Fame in 1998 and passed away in 2014.
“Having learned a bit about Dr. Jean Brodey, she has an amazing reputation and she was a spirited and impressive PR professor,” says Phillips. “So it was incredible to receive that scholarship in her name.”
Phillips is excited to continue her education at Klein while staying mentally and physically fit. She hopes that her various interests, especially those in dealing with conflict communication and crisis management, will lead her to even more opportunities.