School of Communication Studies Award for Top Student in the Certificate in Communication Studies: Madie Freeland

School of Communication Studies Award for Top Year One Bachelor of Communication Studies: Samuel Wat

School of Communication Studies Award for Top Year Two Bachelor of Communication Studies: Irra Lee

School of Communication Studies Award for Excellence in Communication Theory: Amy Willemse

Communication Studies Postgraduate Scholarships: Lenny Hyde, Mark Rasquinha, Leilani Sitagata, Catherine Theunissen

Dean’s Award for Best Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies:Nicky Jonas

Dean’s Award for Excellence in Master of Communication Studies – Thesis: Carmel Rowden

Geraldine Lopdell Award for Diversity in Communication: Malia Latu

Radio NZ Pacific Award for Asia-Pacific Journalism: Sri Krishnamurthi

Oceania Media’s SPASIFIK Magazine Prize and the Pacific Media Centre’s Storyboard Award for Diversity Reporting: Blessen Tom

The Radio Bureau Award for Top in Applied Radio Techniques: Matilda Phillips

The Radio Bureau Award for Top Radio Student: Brad Hemingway

NZ Herald Award for Top Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism: Nicky Jonas

NZ Herald Award for Award for the Outstanding Graduate in the BCS Journalism Major: Jamie Ensor

Public Relations Institute of New Zealand Award for the Top Year 2 Public Relations Student:
Amy Wang

The winners of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand Paul Dryden Tertiary Award 2018: Michael Bain, Amelia Cheng, Elizabeth Osborne, Cathrine Pierce

Public Relations Institute of New Zealand President’s Award AUT Top Public Relations Undergraduate Project Award 2018: Kelsey Schutte, Rita Lennon, Gabrielle Lum, Margot Rudolphe, Brittany Dustin

Public Relations Institute of New Zealand President’s Award AUT Top Public Relations Postgraduate Project Award 2018: Isabel Gailer, Belinda Morris, Sophie Sager

Public Relations Institute of New Zealand President’s Award for the Top Academic Student in the Public Relations Major: Hayley Smith

Fonterra Annual Public Relations Internship Award: Isabel Gailer, Kasper Humphrey, Katie Pettigrew

The Postgraduate Public Relations Global Virtual Team Winner (2018): Ayesha Asif

FCB Change Agency Award for Digital Media Excellence: Olivier Longley

School of Communication Studies Award for All-round Excellence in the Creative Industries Major: Ella Leilua

School of Communication Studies Award for Academic Excellence in the Creative Industries Major: Hannah Dowsett

QMS Awards for Advertising Creativity:
QMS Art Director of the Year: Gina Morgan
QMS Creative Strategist of the Year: Kezia Lynch
QMS Copywriter of the Year: Ambrose O’Meagher
QMS Creative Team of the Year: Gina Morgan & Eliza Romanos

Francis Porterfield Memorial Award for Excellence in Multi-Camera Production:
Niamh Swannack

School of Communication Studies Award for Achievement in Screen Production:
Emma Orchard

School of Communication Studies Award for Top Student in Screen Production:
Catherine Theunissen

Geraldine Lopdell’s family was looking for a fitting way to celebrate a “life well lived” when they decided to set up one of Auckland University of Technology’s newest awards.

During life, Lopdell had been an excellent teacher and artist, a supportive and generous friend and a captivating storyteller with an adventurous spirit.

Her early years were spent in Tonga and Samoa where her family travelled for her father’s work, and she had a firm belief that more women’s stories and views – particularly those of Pasifika women – needed to be told and heard.

The Geraldine Lopdell Award for Diversity in Communication will encourage Pasifika women to tell their stories. The first prize will be given in April 2019, nearly one year after Geraldine’s passing. It will be set at $1200, and is anticipated to be offered annually for an initial term of ten years.

Deciding a memorial award to support something she cared about would be a fitting way to celebrate her life, Geraldine’s partner Colin and her two daughters Alex and Anne had approached their family friend, AUT’s Professor David Robie and have since been working with the AUT Foundation to establish the award in the School of Communication Studies.

Professor Robie, who heads up AUT’s Pacific Media Centre – Te Amokura, suggested a prize be established alongside the existing Storyboard Award for Diversity Reporting. It was decided the Pacific Media Centre, with its focus on telling ignored and “untold” stories, and amplifying Pasifika women’s voices, was a natural fit for an award to celebrate this special woman’s legacy.

The family believe that Geraldine would have been honoured to have this award established in her name as she would have wanted to value the contributions and perspectives of Pasifika women.

Future generations
As Colin says: “The award is about recognising the life of an extraordinary and wonderful woman by encouraging an extraordinary and wonderful woman at the start of her career. She would have liked her legacy to support the next generation.

“It’s not just about making a financial difference to the recipient, although clearly we hope that it will help. It is about saying to them that we acknowledge your hard work, we recognise your achievements, you are doing brilliantly, keep going!”

Setting an award up is fairly straightforward, Alex says: “and you can direct it in a way to match up with the social changes that you want to encourage and see. It’s something that can benefit future generations and depending how you set it up, it can go on in perpetuity.’

Alex and Colin say they would love to see more awards of this type, “because you don’t have to have a huge amount of money to do something small and positive. We’d love to see other people think in this space and unleash that potential.”

Stand by for news of the first recipient of the Geraldine Lopdell Memorial Award for Excellence in Communication – and undoubtedly, a few great stories from the recipient.

Karyn Tattersfield writes for the AUT Foundation. As well as being involved in humanitarian activities in Fiji and Indonesia, Geraldine Lopdell was a key member of the Auckland-based Project Lingap Kapwa supporting the Mangcayo Elementary School in Bicol, Philippines.

• The Geraldine Lopdell Award for Diversity in Communication | Criteria and background
• AUT Foundation
• More information