Hannah Barnes and Christine Painter have been selected to serve as the editor-in-chief for the Optimist and the group account director for the student-run advertising and public relations agency, Morris & Mitchell, respectively, for the 2011-12 school year.

Faculty members chose Hannah Barnes, junior graphic design and advertising major from El Paso, to serve as editor for the Optimist

This year will mark the 100th anniversary of the Optimist. Kenneth Pybus, journalism and mass communication professor, asked Barnes to consider becoming editor to help redesign the look and feel of the Optimist

“Professor Pybus talked with me about doing it, since I’m a designer,” Barnes said. “He thought I could do a good job redesigning it and making it different for this year. Being in the loop of what’s going on is by reading (the Optimist). I think it would draw a lot more attention to have it visually striking.”

Barnes said she considers this position an opportunity to gain skills in organization, leadership and publication design, aside from her background in graphic design.

“I guess this will help me see what I’m capable of and what I like and don’t like,” Barnes said. “I’m open to whatever, as long as I can do what I like to do, which is design.”

As for the newly-formed advertising and public relations agency, Morris & Mitchell, Christine Painter, junior advertising and public relations major from North Richland Hills, was chosen as group account director to help stimulate expansion after the agency’s first year of production.

“We’ll have more growth and more clients this year,” Painter said. “The agency is still in its early stages, but I expect to get more clients, so we can show what we’ve done and get more recognition in the Abilene community.”

As account director, Painter will head projects for advertising, branding and market research.

“I want to work in an agency one day, and it really helps to get prepared here in college for what we’ll be doing in the real world,” Painter said. “Journalism students have the Optimist, broadcast majors have the radio station and now with the agency, Ad/PR students can get experience while in college.”

For more information, visit the Optimist online at www.acuoptimist.com and Morris and Mitchell at www.morrisandmitchell.com.