Front row, left to right: Chelsey Shelton, Samantha Hughey and Kelly Scheurich; back row: Heather Garcia, Katie Cecil, Tori Burton and Mark Simpson

Imagewest, the nation’s only student-run, revenuebased, full-service advertising and public relations agency at Western Kentucky University, will be traveling to Malaysia for four weeks this summer. Imagewest prides itself on being a different kind of agency and will be adding value to the summer internship program by traveling internationally with five select students, agency manager and faculty member.

This rare Malaysian internship opportunity will provide a chance for Imagewest student interns to work alongside the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). During the trip, Imagewest will be completing assignments that deal with branding, advertising, public relations and website design for IIUM.

“As a WKU professor, I find it intriguing to have the chance to work with my students in a international setting,” said Mark Simpson, WKU advertising professor.

Each semester, WKU students compete for positions at Imaewest for course credit. The agency has decided to expand to a global level for the first time since the agency opened in the Spring of 2004. Only previous interns are eligible to apply for the abroad internship. Imagewest plans to offer an international internship every summer. Imagewest Agency Manager Heather Garcia speaks highly of the award-winning, student-run agency designed to give WKU students real-world experience. As a WKU advertising graduate herself, Garcia expresses the importance of completing one or more internships before graduating from college and this particular opportunity will set these students apart.

“It is great to reward past interns with this type of opportunity. This experience will enhance their skill set and knowledge and look quite impressive on their resume,” Garcia said.

Imagewest will soon be adding IIUM to their ever-growing client list. This once in a lifetime opportunity will help these students gain knowledge on a much higher level than ever offered before. According to Dr. Menking, chief international officer at WKU, “This abroad opportunity is extremely rare and we’re excited that WKU students and Imagewest will be able to further implement WKU’s unyielding mission to be, ‘A Leading American University with International Reach.’”

The international Malaysian internship will take place from May 27, 2008 through June 25, 2008. Interns for the Imagewest international summer internship include Tori Burton (Ft. Stewart, GA), Katie Cecil (Louisville, KY), Samantha Hughey (Crestwood, KY), Kelly Scheurich (Louisville, KY), and Chelsey Sheldon (Glasgow, KY). Group leaders include Imagewest Agency Manager, Heather Garcia (Franklin, KY), and WKU advertising professor Mark Simpson (LeSage, WV).

For further information, contact Katie Cecil by phone at 502-523-7909, via e-mail at kathryn.cecil@gmail.com, Chelsey Shelton by phone at 270-590-4107, via email at chelsey.shelton@wku.edu, or Heather Garcia by phone at 270-647-2262, via email at heather.Garcia@wku.edu. To stay up to date with the Malaysian adventure, visit www.wku.edu/imagewest to see blogs, photos and videos.

Imagewest is a student-run advertising and public relations agency that provides students with real-world agency experience. Imagewest allows students to further develop their skills and enhance their portfolio giving them a competitive edge as they enter the workforce. Imagewest operates year-round and offers a variety of services such as graphic and web design, media relations and publicity, event planning, large scale printing, consulting, strategic planning, conducting research including the use of an in-house focus group facility, and much more.

Imagewest began in January 2004 and is located on Western Kentucky University’s campus in the Mass Media and Technology Hall room 331. Any revenues that are generated will go directly back into the School of Journalism and Broadcasting to cover expenses such as equipment, scholarships and educational travel. It is part of WKU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting’s Center for 21st Century Media Program of Distinction, which is approved and funded by Kentucky’s Council on Post-Secondary Education Regional Excellence Trust Fund.