Valenti School of Communication to Host Fifth Annual Impact Awards Ceremony and Honor Essence's Nandi Howard

Nandi Howard, Content Director of Essence, is the recipient of this year's Valenti Impact Award.
Nandi Howard, Content Director of Essence, is the recipient of this year's Valenti Impact Award.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Tish Ochoa, Communication Manager, Valenti School of Communication 
Phone: 713.743.9473
Email: LMOCHOA2@Central.uh.edu
  

HOUSTON, TX, SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 — The University of Houston’s Jack J. Valenti School of Communication will host its Fifth Annual Valenti Impact Awards event from 6-9 p.m. Monday, September 19, at Caracol, located at 2200 Post Oak Blvd. #160, Houston, TX 77056. The Valenti Impact Awards are an opportunity for the public to celebrate and support the achievements of the Valenti School of Communication students, faculty, staff and alumni. 

“Each year, our community partners come together to support our students, who are the next generation of storytellers,” said Jennifer Vardeman, director of the Valenti School of Communication. “In the years since the awards inaugural event, our donors and supporters have helped award more than 150 deserving students with over half a million dollars in scholarships! The Valenti School’s students are some of the most creative, innovative, resilient, and hardworking, all skills they will use in telling the stories that make an impact in our world.” 

The 2022 Valenti Impact Award recipient is Nandi Howard, Content Director of Essence Magazine—a premiere lifestyle publication. A native of Houston, Ms. Howard is a graduate of DePaul University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a minor in public relations and advertising. Now, with over five years of experience as a leader in the industry, she has become a trailblazer for future storytellers, exemplifying the type of professionals Valenti students aspire to be. Chosen for her impact on culture-focused media by showing that women and the Black community are at the heart of storytelling today, Ms. Howard prides herself in her ability to cultivate a diverse perspective. 

“Diversity is essential to any area of communication, and I am proud to serve as inspiration to future generations of women, Black women, and communication students at the Valenti School,” Ms. Howard said. 

Admission into the Valenti Impact Award event is $60 per individual ticket. Sponsorships are also available for purchase. Those interested in purchasing tickets or becoming a sponsor may do so by visiting bit.ly/VALENTIIMPACT or contacting Valenti School’s Communication Manager Tish Ochoa at lmochoa2@uh.edu or 713.743.9473. Event information and updates may also be found on the Valenti School of Communication’s official social media handles @UHValentiSchool. 

At the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, our mission is to produce educated, tech-savvy, and ethical graduates. The Valenti School of Communication serves 1,750 students at the undergraduate level and 50 students at the graduate level. At the undergraduate level, we offer a Bachelor of Arts in strategic communication, communication studies, journalism, health communication, and media production. We offer a Master of Arts degree in communication with four concentration options of health communication, mass communication, public relations, and global and intercultural communication. Visit us at www.uh.edu/class/communication/.
 

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