Kansas City, Missouri student receives 2024 Inez Kaiser Scholarship
The Greater Kansas City Public Relations Society of America chapter announces the winner of the 2024 Inez Y. Kaiser GKC-PRSA Memorial Scholarship Fund Award is Robert Hill, 20, from Kansas City, Missouri.
Hill graduated from Lincoln College Preparatory Academy in Kansas City, Missouri. He attends Howard University in Washington, DC and will be a junior this fall. Hill is majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in sports administration.
In his scholarship application, Hill said one of his biggest goals in life has always been to communicate a positive message on television. When researching ways he could do that, he said broadcast journalism seemed like the best major for him.
“I am also a good writer as well when it comes to telling stories, especially my own,” Hill said in his application. “I realized that I could communicate a positive message and inspire through the process of storytelling. Crafting narratives, whether through writing, speaking or visual mediums is something that I found interesting. The ability to communicate stories effectively, to captivate an audience and to evoke emotion through words is such a powerful thing to me.”
Hill said his career goal is to work in the news industry, which may eventually lead him to public relations. He said he wants to contribute to seeing more Black journalists in newsrooms.
When asked about being a recipient of the Kaiser Scholarship, Hill said the funds will be a great help.
“I feel grateful and happy to receive this scholarship,” Hill said. “I also get to be part of a community that continues the legacy of Inez Kaiser.”
The GKC-PRSA chapter, in memory of Inez Y. Kaiser, established the Inez Y. Kaiser Memorial Scholarship Fund in 2021. Kaiser was a Kansas City public relations pioneer who was the first Black woman in the nation to own a public relations firm with national clients. Hill is the 10th Kaiser Scholar. Contributions to the scholarship fund can also be made, which helps future public relations professionals.
Additional Background on Inez Kaiser
Inez Kaiser was born in Kansas City, Kansas in 1918. She graduated from Pittsburgh State University, was an educator first but became a businesswoman and public relations professional of many other firsts. In 1957, she founded Inez Kaiser & Associates. In 1963, she was the first Black woman to establish a national public relations firm with national clients in a Commerce bank building in downtown Kansas City – unheard of at the time. She was the first Black woman to join the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. She soon had an impressive roster of local (e.g., Commerce Bank, J.E Dunn Construction, Hallmark) and national (e.g., Lever Brothers, Burger King, Sears) clients.
It was her passionate commitment to volunteerism that defined her. She established the Jackson County Chapter of the LINKS of which Vice President Kamala Harris is a prominent national member. Kaiser was the first Black woman to join the Public Relations Society of America in 1966. She won many local and national awards. She was an advisor to Presidents Nixon and Ford to help Black businesswomen but crossed the political aisle when as her son says, “she voted for Obama.”
Additional Background on GKC-PRSA
The Greater Kansas City PRSA chapter is a community of public relations and communications professionals across the Kansas City area, from recent college graduates to leaders of some of the largest firms, agencies, and non-profits. Our members represent nearly every practice area and professional and academic setting within the public relations field. In addition, we support students from across the Midwest who are members of their campus Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapters. We hold virtual and in-person events to enhance our professional growth. Our chapter also boasts signature events, such as our annual PRISM Awards gala honoring the year’s best in communications excellence. At GKC-PRSA our mission is to be the professional resource and advocate for Kansas City’s Communications community.
