​Two area college students have been awarded $500 scholarships from North Dakota Professional Communicators to assist in their academic endeavors in the future.

Kali Berlinger, a junior at Minnesota State University Moorhead, and Micayla Bitz, a sophomore at Concordia College, each received a $500 Marion J. Piper Scholarship. The award is named in honor of a longtime NDPC member who died in 1969.

Berlinger is majoring in integrated advertising and public relations with a minor in media analysis and mass communications. Berlinger is actively involved in the MSUM chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, and she plans to use her degree in a communication role that allows her to use new and emerging social media platforms to connect effectively with audiences. She is originally from Morris, Minn.

Bitz is a member of Lambda Pi Eta, a communicator honor society, and she serves as president of the Concordia chapter of College Democrats. She’s also putting her communication skills to use as a fundraising assistant with the community engagement team of a local nonprofit organization. Bitz is majoring in communication studies with a minor in English and political science. She plans to use her degree in a communications career that allows her to “make a difference” and help “make the world a better place.” Bitz is originally from Mandan, N.D.

The Marion J. Piper Scholarship is open to any students enrolled at a North Dakota college or university, or Concordia College or Minnesota State University Moorhead in Minnesota.