Freshmen Tylir Brown and Emily Clark are student “walkers” at the Walking Dead for Life Fundraiser event.
Jake Gongora | The Montclarion
Montclair State University’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) hosted “The Walking Dead For Life” fundraiser. People dressed up as zombies for this 2K walk to benefit the John Theurer Cancer Center in Hackensack University Medical Center on Sunday, Oct. 22.
“We wanted to pick a theme where everyone gets to dress up as zombies, especially because Halloween is around the corner and everyone loves ‘The Walking Dead’,” said freshman public relations major Amanda Peacock.
DJ Ridd was responsible for the Zombie shuffle that unfolded.
Jake Gongora | The Montclarion
Nancy Kennedy, director of development at the John Theurer Cancer Center, expressed how she felt about PRSSA hosting the 2K “Walking Dead for Life” event.
“We [the doctors and researchers at the center] can’t do what we do without support,” said Kennedy. “So community fundraisers are integral parts for us in raising money for cancer research.”
Public Relations Coordinator Larry Weiner overlooked the event and was proud of his students’ efforts in organizing it.
Montclair Mayor Robert D. Jackson and (left) and Public Relations Coordinator Larry Weiner (To the right) at the commence of Sunday’s 2K walk.
Jake Gongora | The Montclarion
“Because October is Breast Cancer [Awareness] month, we were thinking about what [the PRSSA] can do for the month of October,” said Weiner. “We came up with ‘zombies’ but it was Sabrina [Araullo], the president of the Montclair State PRSSA Chapter, who came up with the idea.”
President of PRSSA Sabrina Araullo at Dioguardi Field.
Jake Gongora | The Montclarion
Araullo noted that she and the rest of the PRSSA team planned the fundraiser over this past summer with Professor Weiner and other faculty members from the School of Communication and Media. She hoped that about 100 people would come support the cause and bring in donations.
Students who participated in the event were dressed up in costumes and had their zombie makeup created by junior and public relations major Stephanie Michael. Michael had her own special effects makeup table at the event where she completed students’ zombie looks.
Stephanie Michaels zombifies her first walker, Amanda Peacock.
Jake Gongora | The Montclarion
“I got to play with something that I am not really comfortable with and was outside the box,” Michael said. “I had fun with it.”
Stephanie Michael hopes to become a celebrity or Broadway makeup artist in the future.
Amanda Peacock’s final look after being zombified.
Jake Gongora | The Montclarion
Linda Cho, a Tony Award-winning costume designer for the musical “Anastasia” and many others, judged participants in a “Best Makeup and Costume” contest. Winners received free tickets to Broadway shows such as “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” “Chicago,” and “SpongeBob Squarepants.”
Cho heard about the 2K ‘Walking Dead For Life’ event from Weiner who saw two of her plays on Broadway. She said that she loves AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and jumped at the offer to be the guest judge at an event for an important cause.
Tony Award winning costume designer Linda Cho (left), director of development at the John Theurer Cancer Center Nancy Kennedy (middle), and Public Relations Coordinator Larry Weiner (right) at the event.
Jake Gongora | The Montclarion
The PRSSA is currently planning a themed walk for cancer research for the 2018 spring semester.
If you missed it last week, you can read Jake Gongora’s review for The Walking Dead.
