C-Current Fall 2012
The newsletter for alumni and friends of the School of Communication
ECU graduate taking on the professional world with her resume and camera in hand.
by Amber Moore
In This Issue Inside scoop on interning for the marketing branch of the athletic department at ECU ................... 2 A favorite in the communication department, Eric Shouse .......... 3 Internships are Key.................... 4
Recent graduate, Chelsie Buffington, received her diploma from East Carolina University in May after earning her degree in media production and public relations. Buffy is now taking on one of her most important marketing projects yet: herself. The humble girl from Greenville is responsible for marketing herself as an employable young woman, and the job should not be a hard one for Buffy. In addition to her heavy course load, Buffy took on so much more. She was involved on campus with the Student Activities Board, which planned numerous events for the entire student body. Off campus Buffy was dedicated to a Christian Ministry known as Collide. While working at Collide Buffy created an internship program for her peers, was the social media coordinator, was the local and national missions team planner and organized/ran the board meeting.
Photo by Chelsie Buffington “Integrity is there,” says Scott Satterfield, Collide Mentor. “What you see when you get to know her, is what you get. Whether it’s you or 500 people (that Buffy is entertaining), it’s her. She’s pure. If I could hire her today in what I do, in any organization, I would want to have her around.” In addition to being busy in the Greenville community, Buffy was also open to expanding her horizons beyond her hometown. She traveled to ensure that she would not miss out on anything that the world had to offer.
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Erin McDonald’s internship helped her share her Pirate spirit.
Photo by Catherine LaFlamee
be on o t l o o c o “It was s nd get to be a the field close with d active an yers” the pla
By Catherine LaFlamme Erin McDonald, a communication major at ECU, looks cheerful as she tosses t-shirts out to the boisterous Pirate fans during a women’s soccer game against High Point. Even though it’s raining, McDonald looks more than happy to be supporting her fellow Pirates while promoting the team and their accomplishments. McDonald is an intern for the marketing branch of the athletic department at ECU. She works with the coaches and players at sport events, and coordinates all of the promotional and public events.
The main event of the year is ECU’s annual “Meet the Pirates,” which includes inflatable jumpers, food and drink, and a meet-and-greet for fans to interact with the Pirate athletes. “It was so cool to be on the field and get to be active and close with the players,” McDonald said. McDonald has the opportunity of experiencing what goes on behind the scenes of every game or event. Instead of being a fan in the stands of the football game, she gets to be on the field making sure everything is up to par from a public relations standpoint.
“We do a halftime promotion where we’ll actually pick students from the stands to come down and participate. We also get to help with the purple haze when the players run out at the start of the game.” Marketing can be a significant part of any event, job, company or program. Interning with the athletic department submerges students into a working, entertaining environment, according to McDonald. “I get to be up close and personal, on the fields and courts with the players and coaches. At the same time, I’m being educated on how the marketing aspect of the athletic department is so vital to it [the department] as a whole”, McDonald said. Internships are intended to help guide a student in the right career path. The ECU Career Center states that it facilitates internships for students in order to introduce them to the professional world they are preparing to enter -which is exactly the outcome McDonald experienced from her internship. “Honestly, going into this I was just hoping for some experience and spare change. After having worked a little and seeing the ins and outs of marketing and promotions I just want to see if this is something I want to be doing in my future as a career -- so far the answer is yes!”
A favorite in the communication department by Jordan Fitzgerald He is a School of Communication favorite. “I love being in his class,” junior communication student Katie Mullins said. “Just listening to his lectures is interesting and compelling. His class is so entertaining.” “He’s a fun teacher and relates the subject in the book with good examples in life through his humor,” junior communication student, Justin Hill said. So who is this teacher most students seem to love and enjoy? Professor Eric Shouse. Teaching at ECU for six years, Shouse has become a favorite in the communication department, likely because of his humor and rather interesting background. Before settling down at ECU, Shouse developed quite a diverse resume. After graduating high school in Riverside, Calif. Shouse worked in a factory assembling SCUBA gear and, soon after, attended Riverside Community College. He then transferred to Indiana University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in telecommunication. Traveling back to California, Shouse received his master’s degree at San Diego State. Shouse graduated four months early and spent his extra time exploring his hobbies. He wrote for the school’s newspaper and was published several times. But, more importantly, he began perusing his love of comedy. He can still recall his first performance. “It was with Hillel, I was doing my first standup performance in a Jewish Synagogue!” Because he enjoyed his awkward first taste of standup, he started performing at a nearby comedy club.
Photo by Jordan Fitzgerald
Within his first semester at ECU he knew he was where he belonged. He felt, for the first time, he had made a difference for his students.
In the following year, Shouse worked several random temporary jobs, not related to his telecommunication major. He began working in the supply room for a district attorney’s office. He also picked up other side work by painting houses and bouncing at local bars. And oddly enough, he spent time working with an inpatient mental hospital. After this time of exploration and experimentation, Shouse and girlfriend, Wendy, were married. They both moved to Florida where they attended South Florida University. Upon completion of his doctorate, and a novel he never published, Shouse began teaching at Eckerd College. During his time there, Shouse felt like he was wasting his time. He said his students had grown up with the best teachers and had attended the most prestigious prep schools. continued on page 5
Internships, Beyond The Cubicle
By Olivia Bennett When students think of their lives after graduating, they all have one thing in common: getting a job. While everyone has different majors, specialties and interests, we can all agree that getting the best job possible requires time, effort and experience -- experience that comes from internships. But, people are finding it more and more complicated to find internships in the field of their choice. Factors, such as a weak economy, a job market flooded with both veterans and newly graduated college students, and multiple specializations within the field of communication, make finding an internship that suits you and your interests a daunting task. Katie Mullins, a communications major specializing in public relations and journalism, at East Carolina University, knows just how true this is. She completed a four-month internship at Live Nation Entertainment over the summer. Live Nation Entertainment is the primary concert promotion company in the United States. After a merger with Ticketmaster in 2010, they are now the leader in promoting, selling and producing of concerts in America. In Raleigh, N.C., Live Nation has two concert venues, the Time Warner Cable Pavilion and the Raleigh Amphitheatre. Mullins spent her summer between the two, working a total of 14 shows. But her internship wasn’t all work and no play. Mullins had opportunities to network with some of the biggest names in the industry, from talking to people behind the scenes backstage to riding on golf carts with one of the biggest country artists in the nation. “Before the Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan concert, I was in charge of setting up the radio interviews for local country music radio stations,” said Mullins. “When we went to pick up Luke Bryan for his interviews, I got to ride on the back of a golf cart with him back to the press junket. It was so nervewracking to sit next to such a celebrity, but he was so down to earth and such a gentleman.” But it wasn’t just the celebrities that Mullins loved. Working with the concert promoters that have experienced hundreds of concerts taught her things that she couldn’t learn in the classroom. “By working for Live Nation this summer, I really feel like I have learned so much. I was given a lot of responsibility, which allowed me to learn things that I couldn’t have anywhere else.”
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“A lot of companies want people who have about 12 years of experience, and it is hard to get that experience when no one wants to hire people straight out of college. It is also hard to find a job unless you look really good on paper. Paper resumes don’t show your heart for what you can do, and that is a struggle.” After making her mark on ECU, Buffy left for Wilmington, N.C., where she took two interships, one with Ocean Cure, which
Photo by Chelsie Buffington
“I’ve been to Ghana, Belize, Jamaica,gone sky diving, ran the Krispy Kreme challenge, gone to so many concerts, walked a mile in her shoes, loved, hung out with the homeless, and served in West Greenville. It has really been great, and each one of these experiences helped me to grow, humbled me, and gave me so much more drive and excitement for life,” says Buffington.
“Paper resumes don’t show your heart for what you can do, and that is a struggle.”
lasted the summer, and the other with HALF UNITED. The move was a big one for a woman who spent her entire life in Greenville, N.C. but Buffy was eager and excited to pursue new learning opportunities. Though HALF UNITED did not remind Buffy to bring sunscreen to the job, she was quickly bringing a lot to the table. Buffy was promoted from summer intern to a member of the development team. She is in charge of a good portion of what helps the nonprofit operate, including the social media behind the organization and manages the new, incoming interns. Still a resident of Wilmington, N.C. and perfectly happy, Buffy is always prepared for the next big thing to come her way. She wants more than just a job and she is offering more than just an application.
continued from page 3, Shouse “In my senior seminar class, the students were not interested in what I had to teach, but rather for me to shut up and tell them how to get their A.” Shouse gave two years as a professor at Eckerd and realized it was not for him. Finally, he made his way to East Carolina University. Shouse remembers his arrival as a culture shock. “I didn’t think this was the place I wanted to wind up at, but it was,” he said. Within his first semester at ECU he knew he was where he belonged. He felt, for the first time, he had made a difference for his students. When asked what makes him a successful teacher, “There’s the nerdy stuff we’re all supposed to do, like get the education,” Shouse said, “but I think my experiences help make me relatable.” He believes he can connect with so many different groups and people because he has had such a diverse background. It seems like Eric Shouse has done it all, so what else could he add to his resume? More comedy. Shouse began performing with the comedy club, Seriously Clowning, on campus. Recently, he was adopted as the club’s advisor. They are currently working on a comedy contest they will host every Friday at the Tipsy Teapot.
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Even if you’ve only had a change in phone number or email address, please let us know. Please email the following to: Barbara Bullington, Alumni Relations Committee Chair, at bullingtonb@ecu.edu Name: Semester/year of graduation: Degree: Email: Phone number: Current job title: Company/organization: Personal news (such as marriage, children, awards, etc.):