Speech Competitions

Jordynn Barnhart speaking to an audience of 100+ at the annual Otis Young Motivational Speak-Off. She was awarded second place overall and a scholarship for her speech titled “Good for a Moment”, where she shares her experience about confronting a 6’4 bully and why you should always help people when they are down—even if you think they don’t deserve it. 

WATCH THE CONTEST VIDEO HERE

Every year she returns to help coach the next round of contestants, critiquing and analyzing their speeches while focusing on vocal delivery, body language and speech content.

Work Experience

Jordynn started off in the nonprofit world as an Event Volunteer at For a Day Foundation, who after several months worked her way up to Community Outreach Coordinator. After two years with FADF, she gained experience in fundraising and joined the Hope Hall family as a Development Associate working in the Advancement Office. Later, she joined Volunteers of America as the Communications & Special Events Manager for the PR and Fundraising Department.

She has experienced the entire spectrum throughout her career—from planning small donation drives to major galas raising over $300,000; and her design experience alone has saved organizations $20,000 annually by reducing budget costs in print collateral and website management. Being the primary person for media relations and content creation, Jordynn puts her journalism and public relations degree to use everyday. With a passion for storytelling, branding and strategy — Jordynn is dedicated to spreading the message of people in need and the organizations working tirelessly to help them.

Fundraising Knowledge

Jordynn is a member of AFP, which advances philanthropy by enabling people and organizations to practice ethical and effective fundraising. She attends core activities through AFP that include education, training, mentoring, research, advocacy and certification programs.

Eventbrite Courses

In 2018, Jordynn enrolled in Eventbrite’s online Event Marketing Course and Certification, which covered the essentials for event marketing and promotion from: social media, to paid advertising, event discovery, email marketing, and website conversion.

Clubs & Organizations

Throughout college Jordynn was an active member in numerous media clubs and organizations. At MCC she wrote articles and designed ads for the newspaper, co-hosted a talk show on the radio station, and managed communications for the arts magazine. At Brockport she joined the “89.1 The Point” radio station which ultimately led her to a job at Entercom Communications as a public relations coordinator.

Networking Summits

Thanks to David Mammano and Theresa Oschmann, Jordynn was invited to a day-long networking summit with speeches from six superstar entrepreneurs in the area. Topics ranged from discussing employee engagement, brand authenticity, and giving back to the community.

Media Conventions

CMA’s Spring National Convention is an annual, multi-day conference that offers 250+ sessions, special events, activities and extras located in New York City. Jordynn attended over 20 workshops on content creation, branding and audience-focused messaging.

Snapshot of College & University Courses

Jordynn graduated from Monroe Community College with an associates degree in communication and media, then went on to complete her bachelors at SUNY Brockport in public relations journalism and graphic design. She plans to earn her masters in public administration in a few years as well. Below is a snapshot of her favorite courses:

CMC 415 - Dynamic Professional Speaking

CMC 467 - Mass Communication

CMC 468 - Media Law & Ethics

REL 416 - Non-Profit Management

CMC 324 - Writing for Social Media

CMC 328 - Public Relations Writing

CMC 377 - Organizational Communication

CMC 327 - Web Publication and Design (HTML)

HONORS SPC - Competitive Speaking