Kopetskie, communications manager in the School of Communications and adviser to Phi Psi Cli, was recognized for his distinguished service to Elon University’s yearbook and students.
Tommy Kopetskie, communications manager in Elon University’s School of Communications, won the 2019 Honor Roll Four-Year Yearbook Adviser Award from the College Media Association.
The award is given to a CMA member with fewer than five years of advising experience, and Kopetskie, the staff adviser to Phi Psi Cli, Elon’s yearbook, will accept the award at the joint CMA/Associated Collegiate Press National College Media Convention Nov. 1 in Washington, D.C.
“Any success a student-run organization has begins and ends with the students,” Kopetskie said. “I am just glad I have been able to help produce four wonderful publications at Elon, thanks largely to the ambitious student leaders who have passed through our organization. To help make their vision a reality has been without question one of the greatest rewards of my professional career.”
Kopetskie, who came to Elon in 2014, began advising the yearbook when it was on the brink of elimination. Since then, it has experienced a stark turnaround in sales, student involvement and quality. Most notably, Phi Psi Cli has become a profitable publication in a time nationally when many college yearbooks are suffering or folding.
“Quite simply, Tommy changed the fortunes of our book,” said Colin Donohue ’05, School of Communications director of student engagement and alumni relations. “When Tommy was hired, he immediately injected life, fun and expectations into the organization. He helped them understand the community service aspect of producing a yearbook.”
In the last five years, the book has earned several state, regional and national awards for its design, photography and writing, including Best of Show (Yearbook) from the North Carolina College Media Association the last two years.
Kopetskie’s former students give him credit for encouraging them to think more creatively and strategically about the mission of the yearbook, which gave the organization a sense of renewed purpose. But perhaps more important to them is knowing he will be a lifelong mentor and friend.
“Although Tommy was only contractually obligated to be my yearbook adviser, he quickly became a mentor in other areas of my life,” said Kim Honiball ’17, who served as yearbook editor-in-chief in 2016-17. “It’s been two years since I graduated from Elon University, and I know I could still pick up the phone and ask Tommy any question weighing on my mind, and he would take the time to provide a thoughtful answer.”
Kopetskie and the rest of the campus community will get to see the fruits of the yearbook staff’s labor in September, when the 104th edition of Phi Psi Cli, titled “Connected,” is released.
“Tommy inspires students to work hard and do their best in what really is a volunteer activity requiring a full year of work before students can hold the finished product in their hands,” said Paul Parsons, former dean of the School of Communications and professor of journalism. “Students deeply like Tommy and enjoy working with him, and he motivates them through quality feedback and coaching. To us, he’s an Honor Roll Adviser.”
Before coming to Elon, Kopetskie worked in the marketing communications offices of The University of Scranton and Moravian College. And prior to entering higher education, Kopetskie worked a reporter for The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, North Carolina) and The Wake Weekly (Wake Forest, North Carolina).
During his nearly six years as a journalist, Kopetskie received and shared more than a dozen North Carolina Press Association awards, including Best Sports Coverage (3,500 – 10,000 circulation) in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, he captured first and second place in the Sports News Reporting category.
“To be honest, I had no yearbook experience prior to getting involved with Elon’s yearbook almost five years ago,” Kopetskie said. “As an adviser, I have grown to truly love the publication’s purpose and pace. In a society where Instagram and instant gratification are the norm, it’s enjoyable to put thought into a spread, a section, a book and tell the Elon story one year at a time. I couldn’t be more excited for the book’s arrival and for our students who put so much of themselves into the publication.”