The Gutenberg Celebration is an annual alumni networking event for the Journalism and Mass Communication Department that honors three alumni for their accomplishments.

This year’s Gutenberg Celebration was held on Oct. 29 to honor three alumni: Shelbi Rampy (‘07), Brandon Tripp (‘11) and Brenna Jeffries (‘14).

The Gutenberg awards are scale models of Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press, bought from the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany.

This year, only one printing press model remains from the originals.

To keep giving out awards, the JMC Department created 3D-printed scale models based off the last remaining award.

This year marks the first time these 3D-printed awards will be given out.

Karley Adrion, assistant professor and organizer of the Gutenberg Celebration, said the event is a unique opportunity for JMC alumni, faculty and students to network and celebrate the accomplishments of others.

“The honorees in some ways serve as examples or even inspiration for where students might see themselves in a few years,” Adrion said.

For faculty and alumni, the Gutenberg is a way to come together to reminisce and celebrate each other.

“It’s an exciting time to see people that we have had a relationship with before … see how they’ve not only grown professionally, but just grown as people,” Adrion said.

This year’s nominees shared their stories with ACU students, faculty and alumni, making the Gutenberg a powerful night of networking, community and celebration.

Brenna Jeffries

Brenna Jeffries graduated in 2014 with a degree in advertising and public relations. She worked as a public relations manager and communication specialist at companies like PAVLOV and RECARO Aircraft Seating before becoming a press secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Jeffries said her favorite moments in the JMC Department came from working at Morris and Mitchell and being able to try a lot of different media-related jobs.

“[ACU] was great that it gave me the environment, the opportunity to figure out what I wanted to do and what I didn’t want to do,” Jeffries said.

Having managed the whole Gutenberg Celebration as a student, she said she never imagined that she would come back to ACU as an honoree herself.

“[I’m] very, very honored,” Jeffries said. “Being recognized from such a prestigious university in my mind and my heart is a very, very special thing.”

Thinking back on her career, Jeffries said she learned some important lessons over the years.

“You need to come into any role you have with a really hard work ethic, and you need to maintain that no matter how old you get, no matter what your job is,” Jeffries said. “You have to be focused on the fact that you’re not working for a man, you’re working for the Lord.”

She said she learned the importance of keeping good relationships.

“Don’t ever burn a bridge,” Jeffries said. “Treat everyone with dignity and respect, just as the Lord called us to do with how Jesus lived His life.”

Brandon Tripp

Brandon Tripp graduated in 2011 with a degree in journalism, focusing on sports broadcast journalism.

Tripp spent about a decade in college athletics before working for Varsity Brands as senior manager for digital and visual communication.

As he reflected on his time at the JMC Department, Tripp said his favorite memories were having deadline days for The Optimist and working on the coach’s show.

“The late nights getting to edit the show and working with Grant Boone, who’s absolutely hilarious, … those are the best memories,” Tripp said. “I just loved my time at ACU and can’t be more thankful for the lessons that taught me.”

He said he was surprised when he got the call that he was nominated for the Gutenberg.

“I’m pretty sure I said, ‘wow,’ like a hundred times whenever Dr. [Kenneth] Pybus called me,” Tripp said. “It’s a huge honor and really humbling to get the award for sure.”

Tripp gave the credit for his success to all the lessons he learned over his career, specifically sharing the value of hard work and a willing mindset.

“Being willing to learn and take those opportunities on is what gives people the confidence and the trust in you to give you more responsibility,” Tripp said.

He also mentioned the importance of having confidence in yourself and what you bring to the table.

“Don’t be afraid to speak up with new ideas, even if you feel like you’re too young or ‘I haven’t been doing this long enough’ or ‘Other people in the room are more experienced than me,’” Tripp said. “Never let the fact that you think you don’t have enough experience be a roadblock to you speaking up and bringing your ideas to the table.”

Shelbi Rampy

Shelbi Rampy graduated in 2007 with a degree in broadcast journalism. She interned for an event planning company soon after college and ended up loving that career path.

She worked as an event planner part-time before starting her own event planning business, Events by Shelbi Rene. After working for a couple years as the executive operations manager for Dude Perfect, she returned to running her event planning business.

Rampy said that her time at ACU gave her the opportunity to try out different career paths. She especially enjoyed getting to travel to New York for a journalism convention with the JMC students.

“It was just a really cool experience being in New York,” Rampy said. “We got to go to all of these sessions that were, at the time, it was people who were part of the Today Show or part of NBC.”

When Rampy discovered she was nominated for the Gutenberg, she was surprised and honored. She said she would never forget that call.

“I got the call when I was in a van with a bunch of YouTubers driving away from a filming shoot with Dude Perfect,” Rampy said, laughing. “They’re like, ‘What was that all about?’ And so I told them, and everybody cheered for me.”

In her career, Rampy said she learned many valuable lessons.

“Building relationships and getting to know people and being kind and always doing your best in your job,” Rampy said. “Those are all very important things to carry you through in life.”

She said it is also important to not doubt your worth in the career you choose.

“Your mindset really, really matters when you’re out there competing and trying to do a job that a lot of other people want to do,” Rampy said.  “If you want to do it, then just keep doing it. Do it and believe that you can do it. And I truly believe that helps you succeed.”