NEWS

Local angle: Fayetteville

Advertising group names Barksdale among top minority advertising students

By ZACH HOSKINS
School of Journalism and Mass Communication

CHAPEL HILL -- Al-Sharik Barksdale, a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was chosen recently as one of 25 outstanding minority advertising students nationwide by the American Advertising Federation.

The federation selected Barksdale, a student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication's advertising sequence, to participate in its Most Promising Minority Students program Feb. 14-16 in New York City. He and the other honorees will travel to New York at the federation's expense and be honored at a Feb. 14 lunch in the Waldorf-Astoria.

The federation will provide winners with job interviews and networking opportunities during their stay. The students will also be featured in Advertising Age, an industry magazine.

Barksdale, who is from Fayetteville, said he was surprised by the recognition. "I know there are a lot of students in advertising around the country," he said. "It was an honor for me to be recognized as one of the top students of minority status."

Barksdale, president of the school’s American Advertising Federation student chapter, was nominated by the diversity chairwoman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies in New York City. "I’m sure her recommendation pulled a lot of weight," he said, adding that he then had to submit a resumé and two essays.

Barksdale said he benefited from his internship last summer with McCann-Erickson WorldGroup, a top New York City agency. "Through that, I met so many people from Carolina and beyond who were willing to help students," he said.

Now in its sixth year, the Most Promising Minority Students program seeks to encourage minority college students to enter advertising, marketing and communication, and to build awareness about the importance of cultural diversity in these fields.

Barksdale is looking forward to the program. "One recruiter told me the whole weekend is like one big interview," he said.

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Contact: Zach Hoskins, (919) 966-3323, zhoskins@email.unc.edu