VOL. 30, NO. 1 - WINTER 2016
Southern Communicator
A Publication of the School of Journalism and Communication
High School Students’ Talents Blossom at SJC Summer Media Camp By Luisa Casallas
In August, 12 high schoolers from Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, and beyond attended the second annual media camp in the School of Journalism and Communication. They chose between a Media Production track with Professor Stephen Ruf and a Blogging track with Professor Kendra Stanton Lee. “We wanted a way to showcase our programs, our faculty, staff, students, and facilities in a setting where prospective students could engage in a meaningful way,” said Stanton Lee.
“We liked the idea of giving the students something meaningful they could take back to their respective schools,” she added, “and also wanted to leave a warm impression of Southern in their minds.” The department is already making plans to host its third media camp for high school students May 23-25, 2016. Campers can choose between Videography/Photography or Writing/Editing. Luisa Casallas is a public relations major.
Media camper, Collin Schepers reviews his photos for a presentation. Contributed photo.
Left: Campers gather for morning devortions with Southern chaplain Anna Romuald before their second day of media camp. Right: It’s all smiles as campers pose with Professor Stephen Ruf outside Brock Hall.
Inside:
Renowned Photographer & Alum Visits SJ&C Page 2
Senior Showcase Feature: Chevon Petgrave
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New Classes Coming to School of Journalism and Communication Starting this Winter By Jeanelle Arguelles
Next semester, the School of Journalism and Communication (SJ&C) will add several new courses to its curriculum. “I’m excited!” said Linda Crumley, dean of the SJ&C. “I’m really looking forward to offering a few more classes.” Professor Pamela Harris will teach Public Relations Management and Strategy beginning in the Winter 2016 semester. The course will cover topics such as crisis management, strategic planning, measurement of return on investment, and social media management. In addition, Professor Tara Hargrove will teach a new honors speech class, which will be required for
Southern Scholars students exclusively. Starting in the fall of 2016, Professor Lorraine Ball will teach Professional Communication and Leadership, an upper-division class. A blend of communication and business concepts, this course will teach students about writing email messages, reports, and professional communication; improving group dynamics and leadership skills; as well as giving professional presentations. Although not a new course, this will be the first time Professional Communication and Leadership will be taught by a communications professor. While geared toward business or communication majors, the class will be open to all students, and Professor Ball hopes they will apply the class values
and concepts to their own benefit. On the horizon for the Winter 2017 semester is another new class, Advanced Public Speaking, an upperdivision “topics” course to be taught by Professor Hargrove. The class will be a step up from Intro to Public Speaking, providing development of professional public speaking skills. Advanced Public Speaking will include debates, stylistic devices for speaking, advanced forms of public speeches, and more. Hargrove was asked to teach this class because students in the introductory course have expressed a desire to further hone their abilities in public speaking. Jeanelle Arguelles is a general studies major.
Renowned Photographer and Alum Visits SJ&C By Keightee Weekes The School of Journalism and Communication was in for a treat when world-class portrait and documentary photographer Manuello Paganelli, a Southern alumnus, spoke to a packed classroom on Monday, Oct. 5. Paganelli began his presentation with a heartfelt reflection on his time here as a student. He originally studied biology with plans of becoming a missionary doctor but soon discovered that photography was his true passion. Paganelli has since worked with Tom Cruise, Enrique Iglesias, Elon Musk, Guy Fieri, Chaka Khan, and many other celebrated individuals. His work has been featured on the covers of and in several publications including TIME, Forbes, and Sports Illustrated magazines. Paganelli’s photos have also earned him spots in prestigious museums and art exhibits. Paganelli is a self-taught photogra-
Paganelli listens to a question from a student. Photo by Terry Henson.
major. “I realized I need to copyright my photos and not just post them all over on social media.” Paganelli is best known for his work in Cuba. He began exploring the island and photographing its people in 1989, and these images led to a solo photography exhibit and later, worldwide recognition. Toward the end of his presentation, Paganelli awarded a signed portrait to an audience member for identifying a man in one of his famous Cuba portraits. The man, Gregorio Feuentes, inspired author Earnest Hemingway as he shaped the protagonist in his novel, The Old Man and the Sea. Junior public relations student, Luisa Casallas won the signed portrait.
pher and an advocate for the protection and value of photographer’s copyrights. During the lecture, he talked about the significance of keeping one’s copyright on images and licensing them in the future. Communication students found this topic helpful. “He really emphasized the impor- Keightee Weekes is a public relations and tance of owning your content,” said business administration major. Jessica Anzai, senior public relations
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World-Class Filmmaker Speaks at Southern By Eloise Ravell Filmmaker Terry Benedict visited the School of Journalism and Communication to speak at convocation on Sept. 10. Benedict is best known for directing and producing “The Conscientious Objector,” the award-winning 2004 documentary about World War II medal of honor recipient Desmond T. Doss. Before that, Benedict honed his filmmaking skills on films such as “Painted Hero,” “The Unnamable,” and “The Terminator.” Currently, Benedict is co-producing the upcoming feature film “Hacksaw Ridge” directed by Mel Gibson and starring Andrew Garfield and Vince Vaughn. One of the main organizations that Benedict is involved with is the Shae Foundation, located in Lebanon, Penn., whose mission is to give artists opportunities to give back to the community. The Shae Foundation allows
students to work with professionals to create real-life projects beyond what is generally offered in school. After 30 years of working in the field, Benedict said the most powerful moment in his career was listening to a teacher from the Holbrook Indian School in Arizona tell her story and being able to capture the raw emotion that she felt. “If you can train yourselves when you ask questions to listen and wait,” Benedict said, “magic happens.” The philosophy of the Shae Foundation is that every child is born with a purpose and that it’s the responsibility of parents to discover that giftedness, of educators to develop it, of society to value it, and of every individual to actually do it. Many fear following this purpose, because it’s usually an uphill battle. To demonstrate, Benedict discussed a list of the “worst” college degrees to get, which included fine arts,
communication, graphic design, film, photography, and music. “It is all the color that is in our lives,” Benedict reflected. “If you took all of that out, our souls would be gone, and yet there’s no value put upon that in society. It’s all taken for granted.” Eloise Ravell is a journalism major.
Terry Benedict visits with students after convo. Photo by Stephen Ruf.
Dean Crumley Conducts Research in Colombia By Evelyn Ruiz Professor Linda Potter Crumley teaches Intercultural Communication class and asks her students to write an ethnography (description of the customs of the people of another culture) or an auto-ethnography (the researcher’s own experience while getting to know the people). It had been a while since she had done an ethnography of her own, and the perfect opportunity arose during her recent trip to visit her daughter, Shanna Crumley, who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia. Her original intention was to research the way the Monaca Indians lived and to truly understand what they go through on a daily basis. However, she wasn’t able to do that because in that culture people are a little more reserved, and it was difficult to access them in limited time. Crumley’s backup research idea
was to look at the way Peace Corps volunteers build relationships within the communities they serve. Crumley was able to follow Shanna through typical daily experience from preparing to teach at 6:30 a.m. to starting up a weeklong program called GLOW that aims to help teen girls around Colombia to view themselves in a more positive and powerful way. Crumley served as one of the professional women role models and spoke to the GLOW girls about how far they could go in life with a goals and determination. She also was able to connect with the people on a deeper, more personal level when she visited two fincas (country estates, or ranches.) The first family was very reserved and did not want to be interviewed, but the second family was a little more open to being photographed and sharing their stories of life. Crumley got to help them wash clothes in the flat washing
of their home and prepare dinner over a wood fire. She learned that they are kind people and hard workers with a lot of warmth and humor to share. She is still in the process of analyzing her data from this trip and plans to publish a piece on her experience in Colombia. Evelyn Ruiz is a public relations major.
Pictured: Daughter Shanna with Dr. Crumley in Colombia. Photo courtesy of Linda Potter Crumley.
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Senior Showcase: Chevon Petgrave By Greg Rumsey “The Last Beat: A Photo Essay of Dr. Bietz’s Final Fall Semester” was the brainchild of Chevon Petgrave, senior mass communication/photography major, as he planned his senior portfolio this fall. The collection features images of university President Gordon Bietz, who will retire in May of 2016, in various activities, places, and attire as he engaged with faculty and staff, students, and alumni throughout the semester. “Not only did I put into practice the skills I had learned in photography, but I gained professional experience in scheduling, planning and equipment management,” Petgrave said in describing his project. He captured Bietz sitting at his desk, attending an alumni weekend banquet, signing books, interacting with people at the annual apple festival in the student park, and in several other settings. A sample of “The Last Beat,” is shown here. Many more photos from Petgrave’s complete senior portfolio can be viewed on his website at http://cp-photography.squarespace.com/work#/bietzessay Greg Rumsey is a professor in the School of Journalism and Communication.
A student stops by for pancakes and a selfie with Dr. Bietz on the promenade! Photo by Chevon Petgrave.
Students Attend SAC Convention in D.C. By Myron Madden
Ten students and four faculty members from the School of Journalism and Communication traveled to the Washington, D.C., area to attend the 26th annual Society of Adventist Communicators (SAC) Convention from Oct. 15-17. Every year, the convention gives students the opportunity to connect with Adventist professionals in the communication field, but new this year was the opportunity to share research at SAC. Students Jessica Anzai and recent grad Janice Cosme presented undergraduate research on perceptions of pornography. The convention provided a vast array of potential connections for attending faculty, as well as students. Greg Rumsey, professor in the School of Journalism and Communication, frequents the annual event hoping to find people who work in the church and to learn from them.
“It keeps me up to date on what professionals in our field are doing in the church,” Rumsey said. “That gives me insights I can pass on to my students in the classroom or in casual conversations.” Other faculty attending included Linda Potter Crumley, Tara Hargrove and Stephen Ruf. In addition to networking, students and faculty were able to hone their communication skills by attending workshops focused on print communication, broadcast media, public relations, marketing, social media, or education. Many of the workshops dealt with reaching millennials and improving communication outside of, as well as inside of, the church. The Southern attendees also visited the Newseum, an interactive museum of news that allows visitors to experience history through the eyes of the media. The group weaved through archived newspapers from famous historic events, a 9/11 exhibit featuring a
vast amount of coverage from the attack, a gallery of Pulitzer-winning photos, and several more attractions. For Eloise Ravell, journalism and international studies major, the experience was especially memorable because she was able to “geek out” with students from the department. “I really enjoyed it because I got to see my passions come to life,” Ravell said. “I couldn’t have gone with just my friends, because they wouldn’t have had the same experience as me. So it was really great to be there with people who shared that passion.” “Our church needs young talent,” Rumsey said, “in journalism, in public relations, in media production, in research. This gathering can open—does open—students’ eyes to the opportunities for them to consider as career options.” Myron Madden is a mass communications major.
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Journalism Student Interns for 2 Local Magazines By Shaina Rantung
SJC’s Julia Bonney interned this past summer at Chatter and Get Out Chattanooga, two monthly magazines owned by Chattanooga Publushing Co., which also publishes Chattanooga Times Free Press. A senior mass communication major, she needed a 300-hour internship in order to graduate this upcoming May 2016. Since her concentration is in writing and editing, Bonney was interested in getting experience in that field. After learning that Chattanooga has an
outdoors magazine, she went online and started emailing. Finally scoring an interview, Bonney tooksome samples of her writing and resume. They hired her, and that’s how she found herself working six hours a day, five days a week, from June till August. Although a North Carolina native, Bonney found it quite convenient interning in Chattanooga, as she has her own place to live in the area. Working for two magazines gave her the opportunity to try many diverse roles. From calendar manage-
ment to writing varying magazine segments, Bonney experienced it all. She says her favorite would have to be writing about Andor, a development program for at-risk boys for Get Out Chattanooga. She got to drive to the property in Cleveland, Tenn., and meet the executive director interacting with the kids. Looking back at her time spent there, Bonney says that “it was definitely affirming to me... I want to do this for sure. It was a really good experience.” Shaina Rantung is a public relations major.
Reprinted with permission from the Chattanooga Times Free Press magazine, Get Out Chattanooga.
If you would like to read the rest of Julia’s article, please visit: http://media.timesfreepress.com/epaper/GetOut/September2015/index.html#page/1
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December
Graduates Photos courtesy of Stephen Ruf
Name: Bethany DuBose
Name: Corinne Jordan
Major: Media Technology (A.S.)
Major: Public Relations (B.S.)
Hometown: Lake Wales, Florida
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Name: Ashley Fox
Name: Alisa Luby
Major: Public Relations (B.S.) Hometown: Cedar Lake, Michigan
Major: Public Relations (B.S.), Graphic design minor Hometown: Sterling, Virginia
Name: Max Giron
Name: Chevon Petgrave
Major: Media Technology (A.S.)
Major: Mass Comm Photography (B.S.)
Hometown: Silver Spring, Maryland
Hometown: Dallas, Georgia
Name: Deborah Hall
Name: Jennifer Reynolds Major: Public Relations and Business Administration (B.S.) Hometown: Sabattus, Maine
Major: Mass CommPhotography (B.S.) Hometown: Delware, Ohio
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Alum Celebrates 100-Year Anniversary of Malawi’s Malamulo Adventist Hospital By Joanne Ratsara 109-year-old Adventist midwife, Lisnetter Chipyoza cut the cake at Malawi’s Malamulo Adventist Hospital’s 100th anniversary with an inspiring trip down memory lane. Jason Blanchard is Malamulo’s chief executive, and he led the rural hospital in celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. When he was 5 years old, Jason Blanchard first entered Malamulo Hospital to have his tonsils removed. As he walked down a hallway to the children’s ward, he passed the maternity ward, where nurse Chipyoza was hard at work. “Jesus is really coming again!” said Chipyoza, still strong in body and mind, at the conclusion of a short sermon to assembled guests. “It you were doubting it, don’t doubt now!” Blanchard, “97, and Chipyoza personify a love for God and the people that has been the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist hospital since it opened as a small clinic in Southern Malawi in 1915, the same year that church cofounder Ellen G. White died. Today, the 200-bed hospital, managed by Adventist Health International, provides a range of preventative healthcare services and specialized (stet) services in
women’s and child’s health, infectious diseases, chronic disease, and general surgery. It also hosts a Loma Linda University field station where U.S.-based physicians-intraining can participate in a residency program, and it is shifting from a care facility to a teaching hospital. Blanchard returned to Malamulo as CEO in January 2014, 35 years after his tonsils were extracted. On his first day, he walked down a familiar hallway to his executive office, the exact room where he was operated on many years earlier. Shortly afterward, he met up with Chipyoza, who was still supporting and praying for the hospital. The two met again during the September 8 anniversary celebration attended by a host of government and church leaders, including Malawian Health Minister Peter Kumpalume, Loma Linda University president Richard Hart, and the university’s board chief, Lowell Cooper, who recently retired as a general vice president of the Adventist world church. Joanne Ratsara is a communications, marketing, and evangelism consultant and presenter.
AlumniUpdates Sarah Crowder, “12, and Ingrid Hernandez, “13 took this picture with the Southern Communicator in mind. The two were classmates at the School of Journalism and Communication, and later coworkers in the Marketing and University Relations department at Southern Adventist University. They are now coworkers at Adventist Health System in Orlando, Fla. Sarah is a creative services specialist, and Ingrid is a communications specialist. Pictured: Ingrid Hernandez (left) and Sarah Crowder have worked together since taking commuication classes at Southern. Photo courtesy of Ingrid Hernandez.
Southern Communicator
A publication of the School of Journalism and Communication southern.edu/journalism
Faculty
Faculty Advisor : Greg Rumsey
Editor : Luisa Casallas
Vol. 30, No.1
P.O. Box 370 Collegedale, TN 37315
Winter 2016
Lorraine Ball David Barasoain Linda Potter Crumley, dean Tara Hargrove Ryan Harrell Pamela Maize Harris John Keyes Kendra Stanton Lee Andy Nash Sam Nkana Stephen Ruf Greg Rumsey James Seward Billy Weeks
Alum Garret Nudd Seeks New Horizons have one chance to be a parent. Joy and I began to pray that God would show us an eventual exit strategy.” This past July, the leadership at Gordon Hospital asked if he would be interested in applying for their open marketing director position. “I was interested, but reluctant at first,” he recalls. Then it came up again. After much prayer it became clear to the Nudds, that this was where God wanted them. “It’s really a full circle kind of move,” Nudd notes. Before running his own photography business full-time, he started out in the field of marketing and communications working at Southern’s Marketing and University Relations department as assistant director of public relations. He then moved on to similar roles with other orgainzations before starting his photography business. Even as a full-time photographer, Nudd’s experience in marketing and advertising served him well. “People would often say to me, ‘you’re so lucky that you get to take
pictures all day long,’ but what they didn’t realize was that to run a successful photography studio, it’s 90 percent marketing, branding, client relations, and community involvement.” Garrett is excited about the future with his role at Gordon Hospital and even more excited for his family. “It is an exciting time to be in healthcare, and Gordon Hospital is a leader not only in Calhoun, Ga., but within the Adventist Health System family.
Portrait of Garrett Nudd taken by Joy Nudd.
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By Chevon Petgrave Southern alum Garrett Nudd (class of 2000), has shifted gears in his career. The Chattanooga-based photographer of 10 years is now working with Gordon Hospital in Calhoun, Ga., as its director of marketing, public relations and foundation. Nudd says the decision to make this transition was inspired by the desire to provide his family with stability and a “normal” family life that his photography travel schedule didn’t always provide. “I remember one time last year when my oldest daughter Graycen came home from school excited because she had been asked to play her violin at church,” recalls Nudd. “Our youngest child had just been born and was too young to be out at large public gatherings. I remember the look on Gray’s face when I told her that I was traveling again that weekend and wouldn’t be able to take her to church. She was so disappointed and I felt horrible. You only