HCC receives Paragon Award from National Council for Marketing and Public Relations

Apr 19, 2017

Houston Community College (HCC) is honored to receive a Paragon Award, an accolade presented by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations.  The award is for a video production highlighting the cultural diversity of the HCC student population.

The idea was conceptualized as a holiday greeting by Cathy Najafi, Program Coordinator of the English as a Second Language program at HCC.

“Fortunately, I had a class with students from 19 different countries. Almost everyone in the class participated,” said Najafi. “ My job, as their instructor, was to ensure that they felt confident and beautiful on camera. This was done by having them practice a bit in class.”

Dr. Toni Rao, Operations Manager at HCC-TV, served as executive producer for the project. She made sure all the elements came together on the day of the taping. “It was interesting and, at the same time, eye opening to see how many students are international and how worldwide HCC truly is,” added Rao.  “HCC has a presence, a footprint, all over the world,.”

Through music, animation, special effects and the words of HCC students in their native languages, the piece achieves a sense of unity, warmth and excitement for the end-of-the-year festivities.  

Najafi said she was honored to have played a role in the project.  “Most of all, I am very proud of our international students who teach me the true meaning of respect, resilience, hope and pride on a daily basis,”

The National Council for Marketing and Public Relations is an organization that focuses on professional growth and recognizes works of excellence at community, junior and technical colleges.