Kristan Kohley, a Westminster College senior public relations major, recently earned the Gold Key award by the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).

"I am very honored to be among the small group of students across the country to receive the Gold Key Award," Kohley said. "The PRSSA sets high standards that must be met for this award, making it the highest individual honor given to members."

According to the PRSSA, the criteria to receive a Gold Key award includes: at least a 3.4 quality point average in the public relations major; be a current senior or graduate student; have held a leadership position in PRSSA; be a member of PRSSA for at least two years; have completed at least one professional internship; and affirm his or her intention to become an associate member of the PRSSA within one year of graduation.

Kohley is a daughter of Philip and Melanie Kohley of Saxonburg and a graduate of Knoch High School. Earlier this year, Kohley received the Renaissance Student Scholarship Award from the Pittsburgh chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). While at Westminster she served as: the director for the PRSSA; president of Lambda Pi Eta, a national honor communication society; a teaching assistant in the English and Public Relations Department; a student director for the Westminster College Learning Center; member of the Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honor leadership society; copy editor for "The Holcad," Westminster's student newspaper; appears in the "Who's Who Among College Students in American Universities and Colleges;" a Vance Distinguished Scholar; and appears consistently on the Westminster College Dean's List with a perfect 4.0 point average.

Contact Kohley at kohleyka@westminster.edu for more information.

Kristan Kohley