Chloe Miller, Susan Madsen honored at 2025 Golden Spike Awards

This years’ Golden Spike PR Awards honored two Aggies, one student and one professor who both left the ceremony with notable awards commemorating their achievements in communications and public relations.  

Chloe Miller, a senior majoring in journalism and communication, was named Utah’s PR Student of the Year. Susan Madsen, a professor of organizational communication and the founding director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, or UWLP, received the Communicator of the Year Award. 

Miller is the president of USU’s Public Relations Student Society of America, or PRSSA, chapter. She had seen others compete over the years and made participating a goal. 

“My goal was to participate and try my hardest and do my best. I try to operate with a growth mindset and just be like, ‘This is about the experience and about the knowledge that I’m going to gain professionally.’ Winning it was like a cherry on top of the experience,” Miller said.  

The competition included two rounds. In the first round, students made a PR plan for a nonprofit organization. Those who make it past the first round were invited to Salt Lake City, where they competed in a series of challenges. Competitors had to present their plan to a panel of judges, write a timed press release, pitch their campaign to a real reporter and respond to a crisis scenario.  

This year, students worked with the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, or UDVC, which connects people with county domestic violence resources and advocates for laws that will help victims and survivors. 

Miller said her main goal was to raise awareness. 

“There’s a gigantic stigma in Utah that domestic violence is not happening, but the stats are crazy,” Miller said. “One in three women and one in seven men in Utah experience domestic violence, and the number one cause of homicide in Utah is domestic violence related.” 

Miller said some of her ideas are already being implemented. The UDVC runs the “LINKLine,” a 24-hour confidential hotline for anyone affected by domestic violence. Miller proposed a social media campaign with videos introducing the people that answer the line  

“This is a real human being that you’re going to be talking to, and they’re just like me and you,” Miller said.  

A representative told Miller the UDVC has already started scripting the videos.

Miller encouraged other students to participate in the competition to make connections with PR professionals and get hands-on experience.  

“If you’re interested at all in doing it, just do it,” Miller said. “It is a lot of time and commitment, and it seems very intimidating, but everyone involved in the process is very, very supportive, and they want to see you succeed.”  

Susan Madsen

For Madsen, communicating is more than just a job title — it’s a calling. In 2009, she started UWLP to share research and raise awareness on the social, economic and cultural status of women. Recently, it has released reports on homelessness, substance use disorders and body image as they relate to women.

Madsen calls herself a “relentless communicator.” She regularly appears on radio shows and at public speaking engagements. She said about 26,000 people get the monthly UWLP newsletter. One of her recent LinkedIn posts received over 10,000 impressions. 

“Change is about communication,” Madsen said.  

During her career, she has combined her academic research with her communication platform to raise awareness for women’s issues and promote positive change. 

“I need to help do that and be the voice for change,” Madsen said.