Compendium Magazine

COMPENDIUM CSUDH COMMUNICATIONS ALUMNI PUBLICATION

Vol. 3 Issue 1 September 2019

TAKING ON THE SUPER BOWL

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Communications alum Da’ Ron Frost (C/0 2017) covers the 2018 Super Bowl LII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. This was his second year in a row reporting on a Super Bowl game for Pro Player Insiders. In this photo, Frost is interviewing former New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis (now with the Tennessee Titans).

“It was a dream come true,” Frost said. “I would have never imagined to cover a Super Bowl so early in my career, let alone two. It just makes me want to work harder and continue the journey I am on now. Recently I just got hired by the NFL Network as a Closed-Caption Operator. It’s an entry level position, but working for the NFL is a dream of mine. This is only the start of something bigger.”

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Dr. Cheever gets a photo op with three former Editors-in-Chief of The Bulletin (from left: Julissa James, Bria Overs, and Kelsey Reichmann), during the 2019 Communications Department Banquet at The Reef restaurant in Long Beach.

James and Overs were both recipients of the prestigious National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Los Angeles Chapter scholarship in two consecutive years. For more information, read the article on Page 5.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter From the Chair Dr. Cheever discusses the year’s developments Page 3

Staff Award COM Advisor Penny White receives University Staff Award Page 4

NABJ Scholarships Former Bulletin Editors-in-Chief win prestigious award two years in a row Page 5

New Department Grant

Fieldhouse Facelift The department computer lab gets updated Page 18

Being Media Literate Examining the effects of media literacy Page 19

CSUDH in Santa Barbara COM students attend the Santa Barbara Film Festival Page 21

Oscar-Winning Director

Hollywood Foreign Press awards COM Department with new grant Page 7

Academy Award-winning director visits CSUDH Page 23

New Majors

Big Day in Journalism

COM Department replaces its options with three new majors Page 9

SISJ hosts annual World Press Freedom Day Page 24

Culminating Project COM Department drops thesis paper for a final project Page 11

Ready for the Competition AD/PR students being trained for a competitive field Page 13

Going Digital Preparing COM students for the digital landscape Page 15

New Faculty Profile COM Department welcomes Dr. Ana de la Serna to the faculty Page 25

Alumni Profiles Checking in with our Toro alumni Page 29

COM Banquet See the annual event and COM award winners Page 33

News Culture The Bulletin gets a dedicated newsroom Page 17

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS COLLEGE OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES 1000 East Victoria Street • Carson, CA 90747 (310) 243-3313 / (310) 243-3683 • Fax (310) 516-3779

COMPENDIUM CONTRIBUTORS

Editor

Dr. Brant Burkey, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Communications Suzanne Jarquin Jaclyn Okwumabua Tiesha Pittman Kelsey Reichmann

Layout Designers Elisa Rodriguez Keith Fox

Chris Russo CSUDH Campus Photography Archive The Bulletin Newspaper Luciano Madolina (Flickr) Russell Davies (Flickr) Pixabay (Pexels) RawPixel.com (Pexels) Chris Goldberg (Flickr) Engin Akyurt (Pexels) Kelvin Valerio (Pexels) CSUDH Profile (SmugMug) Unsplash

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Writers

Photo Credits

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Letter from the Chair

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Greetings from Carson! We have wrapped up the 2018-19 academic year, and we have many wonderful achievements to share with you in this issue of Compendium.

First, this summer we welcomed a record number of new students—more than 250—to our new degree programs: Advertising/Public Relations; Film, Television and Media; and Journalism. The university’s commitment to our students is evident, with our new crop of students attending a mandatory New Student Orientation where they learn how to navigate life in the academe.

Two of our students—Julissa James and Bria Overs—recently won the National Association of Black Journalists Los Angeles chapter scholarship, which is given to high-achieving journalism students who demonstrate a commitment to journalistic principles and ethics. Ms. James is now working for the Los Angeles Times. You can read about them on Page 5.

The Film, Television and Media faculty secured a grant from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The grant will enable us to provide students even better access to equipment, scholarships, guest speakers and field trips to film and television studios. That story is on Page 7.

This fall we welcome a new faculty member, Dr. Miriam Hernandez (advertising/public relations), who comes to us from a long career working with NGOs in Singapore and Hong Kong. A native of Mexico, Dr. Hernandez brings a rich background in both professional and academic work to our students.

Our old computer lab has finally received a facelift! Most of you recall having a class or two in that space near the gym. Last winter the room

was completely transformed with modern workstations, a new projection system, carpet, cabinets and ambient lighting.

Also, The Bulletin student newspaper has a new home on the third floor of the library. The new space looks and feels like a newsroom with workspaces, computers, a modern smart television, and lots of space for the budding journalists to hone their craft. As an alumna myself and the former editor of the student newspaper, I recall long hours spent in FH A-008, pasting together the newspaper in preparation for publication. I’m so pleased that we can offer our new students a modern, productive space where their creativity can thrive.

We held another exciting banquet this past May at the Reef Restaurant in Long Beach. We awarded several scholarships and honored outstanding students in several categories. Advertising/Public Relations alumna Claudia Uballez, the Emmy award-winning talent coordinator/associate producer for the morning show Acceso Total on Telemundo, delivered a personal and inspiring keynote address.

Finally, it is our ongoing commitment to connect and keep you informed about our programs and students, and we would love to hear about your successes and accomplishments. If you have something to share or would like to be featured in our next edition, please contact Dr. Brant Burkey at bburkey@csudh.edu. I hope to see you at a future banquet, and you can always call or email me. As always, we look forward to hearing from you and reconnecting.

Dr. Nancy A. Cheever Chair, Communications Department

COM’S ACADEMIC ADVISOR WINS EXCELLENCE AWARD her advising expertise is “indispensable to the department” and “her student advising is accessible, accurate and professional and sets students on a successful path toward graduation.”

“Penny brings a sense of calm to even the most stressful of days, for both faculty and students,” wrote Assistant Professor Dr. Ryan Bowles-Eagle. “As an advisor, she combines a wealth of knowledge about the inner-workings of the university with immense compassion and care for her students.”

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The Communications Department’s Academic Advisor, Penny Roebuck-White, was the recipient of the CSUDH 2018 Staff Awards of Excellence Student Success Award.

At the awards ceremony on Oct. 23, 2018, the university honored her with a $1,000 check and engraved plaque. Nominated by Communications Department Chair Dr. Nancy Cheever, her colleagues helped her win the award by writing letters of support for her nomination.

Among other laudable comments, faculty said

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Bulletin Editors-In-Chief Receive Consecutive NABJ Scholarship Awards

By Jaclyn Okwumabua n recent years, the Communications Department also host an annual convention and career fairs each witnessed two Bulletin Editors-In-Chief receive summer, scholarship opportunities, and promising jobs a prestigious National Association of Black Jourafter they graduate. Their primary aim is to diversify the nalists (NABJ) scholarship award. media workforce by supporting African American jourBoth African American recipients, Julissa James nalists in securing high-positioned employment. and Bria Overs are aspiring journalists who spent Before receiving the NABJ scholarship award, James their years on campus perfecting the campus newswas a COM student who was involved in the Society paper, The Bulletin. of Independent Student Their tremendous Journalists club. She efforts driven by had initially been aptheir passion were proached by a member often recognized by of that student organipeers, faculty and zation and was encourstaff. James’ status aged to join and fill in as as vice president of the club’s secretary. She the Society of Indeeventually worked her pendent Journalists way up to becoming vice (SISJ) and Overs’ president of SISJ and recognition as Edifound a sense of commutor-in-Chief caught nity among her peers as the LA Chapter a Journalism major. She NABJ Association’s then went on to serve as attention twice in a the Editor-in-Chief of row.

The Bulletin and won the Founded in 1975, Outstanding Journalism the NABJ has grown Student Award in 2017. to be the largest orIt was during her last ganizations for joursemester at CSUDH that nalists of color in James attended an NABJ the country. NABJ chapter meeting in West offers professionHollywood and introal and financial reduced herself to then sources for journallocal NABJ president, ism students, such Trevell Anderson. She as expanding job was notified about the JULISSA JAMES opportunities and training for their scholarship and was hesitant to apEditorial Assistant, Los Angeles Times future careers in the field. They ply. However, Anderson pushed her

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BRIA OVERS

works as an editorial assistant for the LA Times while continuing to write freelance for the Nob Hill Gazette monthly.

The following year, Journalism major Overs took over the mantle of Editor-in-Chief of The Bulletin. Her love of journalism went back to middle and high school, when she was a host for a school journalism broadcast. It was there she acquired editing and producing skills prior to attending CSUDH, so it was a natural move for Overs to assist in the production of Bulletin TV and manage the school newspaper for two semesters.

“I knew I was someone who loved journalism and holding a leadership position as Editor-In-Chief meant a lot,” said Overs. “It was one of those experiences of where you’re thrown into something and you figure it out as you go.”

During her last semester at CSUDH, Journalism professor Dr. Brant Burkey encouraged her to also apply for the NABJ Scholarship. After Overs graduated in Fall 2018, she was notified of becoming the second Bulletin Editor-in-Chief in a row to win the

annual scholarship award from the LA Chapter of the NABJ. Overs also won the Outstanding Journalism Student Award in 2018 and, combined with the NABJ Scholarship, she believes that after all her hard work and putting her mind to her goals, it was reassuring to know that others recognized her potential for a career in journalism and these awards were proof of what she was capable.

As a recent graduate, Overs is currently planning her future steps in the journalism field.

Communication Department Chair Dr. Nancy Cheever also offered high praise for both alumni, acknowledging what an honor it is for two of our former Communications students and Bulletin Editors-in-Chief to win this prestigious and competitive scholarship award two years running.

“We are extremely proud of Julissa and Bria for receiving these scholarships,” Dr. Cheever said. “It speaks to their hard work and dedication to the practice of journalism and to the outstanding professors and mentors who helped them in their academic endeavors. They make us proud!”

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to apply when he saw how passionate James was about writing.

James eventually decided to submit an essay for the NABJ scholarship, along with a letter of recommendation from Dr. Nancy Cheever, the Chair of the Communications Department. After a surprise phone interview one Saturday morning about the scholarship, her hopes were ultimately confirmed when she received a congratulatory email saying she had won the scholarship award.

“I just took the opportunity, and thought about what I did later,” James said. “That has been the theme. Do now, think later, and it ended up working in my favor.”

After graduating from CSUDH, James knew San Francisco was a good starting point for her so she took an internship opportunity to write for a monthly magazine, The Nob Hill Gazette, where she covered culture and social life in the city. But when her former CSUDH Bulletin advisor, John Canalis, contacted her about a possible opportunity working with the LA Times, she made the leap back to Los Angeles, where she now

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The New Grant that Keeps on Giving

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By Tiesha Pittman and Kelsey Reichmann

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The new Film, Television and Media (FTVM) pro- students. The partnership with HFPA also offers memgram plans to offer yearly scholarships and fellowship berships to organizations like Film Independent, a nonsupport to its majors after receiving a first-ever $30,000 profit art organization for independent filmmakers that grant from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association also runs the Spirit Awards.

(HPFA).

“They have constant screenings featuring film makThis year, three inaugural fellowships of $6,000 ers and showrunners that our students get free tickets to each were awarded to FTVM students Carrie McClain, and have access to,” said Dr. Vanderhoef. “There are so Josh Copper, and Carnel “CJ” Anderson. McClain will many additional benefits in being a grantee of HFPA, be creating a vidso we are hoping to eo graphic series, take advantage of all Anderson will be those opportunities creating an origias well.” nal television show The grant money package, and Coohelps pay for tuition per will be creating that isn’t covered by a short film. Mcfinancial aid, expensClain also says that es they incur during she was able to buy their fellowship, and a laptop and oththe fellows are given er equipment she a lot of guidance and needed to produce “creative latitude” her graphic video within the process. series about Black “We [FTVM facfemale filmmakers. ulty] work closely “The scholarship with all three of the is helping me create fellows and keep a space to where I them on a realistic can be creative and timeline that they are it is assisting in able to follow and helping me finish provide mentorship my TV series,” Anand guidance,” Vanderson said. “It has derhoef said. given me the opporWhile this is the tunity to do somefirst time the grant thing creative and has been awarded go into the learnto CSUDH CommuHPFA Fellows Carnel “CJ” Anderson & Carrie McClain ing process and see nications students, what I would do if I Dr. Vanderhoef has did this as a profession. It also gave me extra money on hopes that it will be an annual occurrence. the side.”

“The hope is that we continue receiving the grant and In order to qualify for the HFPA scholarship, students that we increase the amount each year,” Dr. Vanderhoef must be currently enrolled in the new FTVM program, said. “We hope that we can essentially support more have the required grade point average, and submit a students who are engaged in creative work and creative proposal for a creative project to the department. The practices.” proposal included a personal statement, what their projThe initial HFPA funding of $25,000 was awarded to ect would be about, and how the funding would help the FTVM program this year with an additional $5,000 them reach their project goals. endowed scholarship that will go into effect after five Assistant Professors Dr. John Vanderhoef and Dr. years. HFPA has granted fellowships to other CSU’s in Ryan Bowles-Eagle worked together alongside campus the past, however, this is the first time CSUDH students development to make this opportunity available to their have been awarded the grant.

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Department Unveils New Majors

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By Kelsey Reichmann

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By: Kelsey Reichmann

raduating with a bachelor’s degree in Communications at CSUDH has become a thing of the past.

CSUDH students in the Communications Department will instead now have the option to graduate with either a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Advertising/Public Relations, or Film, Television and Media (FTVM).

The change is in part due to the Communications faculty wanting to revise their former program options to specific majors to better meet the needs of students about to enter a transforming media landscape. Another factor was a CSU Chancellor’s office directive that required departments with emphases to have 50% of their courses shared. The Communications Department is also working on getting accredited.

According to Chair of the Communications Department, Dr. Nancy Cheever, having an accredited Communications Department will also make sure that the department is providing the best practices and standards for students.

Cheever said this move also allowed the degree programs to offer more direction towards what students will need in their respective fields of interest. For instance, each major will now have fewer core requirements for the entire department and more classes specific to their field of choice.

“I like that the program is more tailored to what I want to do,” Journalism major Jordan Darling said. “I like the fact there is a better variety of classes than before that allows me to expand on the skills I will use in my career.”

The new degree programs will provide clarification to the education that students are receiving within this department.

“Media studies can be confusing,” Dr. Ryan Bowles-Eagle, Assistant Professor in the Communications Department and coordinator of the FTVM degree program, said. The new degree program, FTVM, helps better convey what students will actually be studying and what jobs they could receive coming out of the program.

By splitting the degree programs, there are now lower and upper division and elective

specific classes available. This means that instead of having a bunch of common core requirements that everyone in the department must take, they are now classified as lower division courses. Instead of eight common core requirements, there are six lower division requirements. They are all the same between the majors except for COM 250: Writing for the Media, which is shared between Journalism and Advertising/Public Relations, and COM 200: Genre Analysis, which is only required for FTVM majors.

“One thing that changed between all of the options...all of them had a lot more of the same requirements...and less room to devote to requirements just within those options that helped form your expertise in your field and less room where you could explore your area of interest and dive in deeper,” Dr. Eagle said.

All the majors will be taking COM 106 and 107: Digital Toolkit. This will teach students skills within

multimedia interviewing practices, investigative reporting, and digital magazine production.

For Advertising and Public Relations students, the big change comes with the addition of COM 350: Culture, Gender, and Strategic Communications, which is now a required course. They will also be able to take crisis communication, social media strategies, and persuasion as electives.

The FTVM degree program is seeing the most change.

“What do we want our students to graduate with,” Dr. Eagle said when asked about how they designed their new degree program. “That’s really where we started. What skills, what knowledge do we want our students to graduate with and then we worked backward.”

FTVM students are now required to take two film history classes as well a genre analysis class. The genre analysis class is unique because the genre will

“I like that the program is more tailored to what I want to do...” vary each semester according to what the professor chooses.

The overarching theme of the new FTVM degree program, Dr. Eagle said, is “training our students in digital storytelling.”

Students will be able to take a variety of new storytelling classes, including COM 330: Emerging Media Writing.

“Students learn the fundamentals of writing for interactive media, creating decision branching narratives, like if you tried ‘Bandersnatch’ on Netflix, which is part of the Black Mirror series,” Dr. John Vanderhoef, Assistant FTVM Professor in the Communications Department, said.

According to Dr. Cheever, what all of this highlights is that the department now not only offers new classes and specialized degree programs but also the ability for students to concentrate their studies on specific career interests with no limitations on what 110 they can do with any of these degrees.

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the Microsoft and Adobe Suite programs that they will use in future classes.

However, the aim of this class, Dr. Eagle said, is to allow students to not be intimidated by technology that they may encounter in a professional environment.

One of the biggest changes is with COM 490 or the former senior seminar. This will now be a senior project in which students will create a portfolio of work instead of a research paper.

“The goal is for students to gain more tangible skills that are more applicable in the workplace, including creating content using a variety of media programs and platforms, while also developing a digital portfolio they can use to establish their professional presence,” said Dr. Burkey, Assistant Professor of Journalism.

Journalism students will be able to take some new electives, including broadcast journalism, sports journalism, entertainment and lifestyle journalism,

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Goodbye Thesis Paper!

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he Communications Department has collectively decided to make a few changes to the COM 490 courses for seniors in the past year as part of the rollout of the department’s new curriculum. This shift was a collective decision among the Communications Department faculty to provide students with applicable skills and a body of work to enter the workforce. The intent is to prepare students for what may come after graduation as they embark into the field of their choice, whether it be journalism, television, film, media, advertising or public relations.

One of the ways the Communications Department prepares its majors for their professions after graduation is by revamping the COM 490 Senior Seminar course from a research paper as a culminating activity to COM 490 Senior Project, where students now complete a digital portfolio that highlights their work.

According to former Assistant Professor Dr. Linda Dam, who taught the COM 490 course for AD/PR majors, part of the motivation to change the course requirements for COM 490 was a result of hearing the experiences of alumni students after they left CSU Dominguez Hills, many of whom indicated 11 that they would have been better served to have cer-

tain skills and a portfolio than a research paper for getting into the workplace.

“The thesis paper gave students the opportunity to focus on one singular project, to really work on their writing and researching skills,” Dr. Dam said. “[But] it was not as applicable as picking up more skills.”

In the COM 490 Senior Seminar class, students worked the entire semester on one research project and wrote a thesis paper. While this form of academic writing was a useful exercise, it was more applicable for students going on to graduate school.

According to Assistant Professor Dr. Brant Burkey, who teaches the senior project class for Journalism students, the Communications Department decided that more students needed applied skills to prepare them for careers in their field since fewer Communications students go directly to graduate school after graduating from CSUDH. Dr. Burkey also indicated that the new COM 490 Senior Project class provides students with a whole new range of applicable skills and experience as they create portfolios that can demonstrate to potential employers what their strengths are.

“The main idea is that students would be better suited to compete in the media marketplace with a portfolio of professional caliber work to show than an academic research paper,” Dr. Burkey said.

Hello Senior Project!

of the senior project, students also complete an exit exam and present their final projects and portfolios to professional journalists on the advisory board as part of the accreditation process.

“I work closely with my students so that they are prepared for the realities of the journalism field,” Dr. Burkey said. “I want them to know how to develop story ideas, pitch those ideas, find sources, conduct interviews, research their topics, and be able to present those ideas from different angles, using different storytelling techniques, across a variety of media platforms.”

According to both Dr. Dam and Dr. Burkey, the hope is that our majors will now be better prepared to show they are well rounded media professionals capable of producing content in different formats and prepared for whatever their industries of choice throw at them. In essence, this class is intended to be a springboard for students into the “real world.”

“Journalism students can no longer just get by knowing how to write well,” Dr. Burkey said. “They also need to be able to create podcasts, videos, blogs, and engage with their audiences via social media. But whether you’re a Journalism major or you’re in FTVM or AD/PR, we, as faculty, want to make sure you have all the tools in your belt you’ll need to succeed.”

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Students can now create digital portfolios that showcase the work they’ve done on strategic campaigns, news feature packages, or other media projects. This might include projects they work on in this class or from their internships, clubs, publications, or other organizations they may have created content for outside the class.

For example, Journalism students are expected to create for the class a news feature package that includes an in-depth article, a podcast, and a video all related to a specific social justice issue but they may also include stories they’ve written for The Bulletin in their portfolios.

Another component of the project is for students to identify companies where they might want to work and tailor their professional cover letters and resumes accordingly.

“I did not learn to tailor my cover letter in full until taking this class,” said graduating senior Esmeralda Huerta. “It is beneficial and something new, and I feel like every student should leave here knowing how to do that.”

Students are also encouraged to leverage their social media networks and develop a professional Web presence as they prepare to enter a variety of media industries. Additionally, in the Journalism section

By TIESHA PITTMAN

Preparing Students for the Advertising & Public Relations

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By TIESHA PITTMAN

ne can agree that the public relations and advertising field is becoming highly competitive. Public relations and advertising firms are seeking more than just a bachelor’s degree from college institutions. They are also seeking out applicants with previous or relatable experience in the field. This makes the hiring process a lot more challenging and raises the stakes for students who are preparing to graduate.

In order to prepare students for the “real world” of public relations and advertising, there should be hands-on experience to guide students in the proper direction. The real question is, what is our program here at CSUDH doing to prepare students in the Advertising/Public Relations major?

The department offers a COM 467 course called Integrated Communications Management that is taught by Professor Russo, who is also an alum of the CSUDH Communications program.

“This course allows students to conduct a critical analysis of Integrated Communications initiatives in the corporate, entertainment and additional arenas,” COM instructor Chris Russo said.

“Students learn how to identify strategic Integrated Communications skills while effectively un-

derstanding and using industry terms to analyze, prepare and describe Integrated Communications initiatives.” This course gives students the chance to understand the variety of different career options available in Integrated Communications and related fields, as well as the qualifications necessary for this type of career or if students wish to continue their studies in graduate school.

In the COM 467 course, students are treated as if they are working for a real PR/Advertising firm. Attendance is treated as it would be in an actual PR/Advertising firm as well. This allows students to grasp the importance of being on time, if not early, and for such things as job interviews, events, class, etc.

Students also get a chance to apply for different positions like account planning/strategy, copywriters, art direction, event planning, media relations PR, community relations, social media strategist etc. They have to apply for three positions and be interviewed by their peers. After careful evaluations, the students are placed in the chosen position where they will work for the remainder of the semester.

Students also have the chance to come up with

a campaign that is pitched in front of an actual client chosen by the professor. In this real-world format, students have to come together as a team with little assistance from the professor to collectively win over the potential client. This helps students learn the importance of working as a team player and teaches them the importance of overcoming resistance to ideas and meeting deadlines on assignments. This also gives students the chance to get a feel of what it is like to go up against other agencies to win over a client.

“I love the way [Russo] teaches!” AD/PR major Deborah Valiente said. “He teaches you like you’re really working. You show up to work every day and work. I have learned how to use Excel sheets and the proper way to respond to emails. He also teaches the importance of arriving on time and beating resistance of finishing assignments on time or before the deadline. I feel like these little things has definitely prepared me for my current internship and has changed some of my work ethics at work.”

Another way that CSUDH is preparing students would be through the on-campus internships that they offer through school organizations.

For example, Bill Deluca, who oversees the

theatre and dance program, is taking students under his wing, allowing them to exercise their PR and advertising skills. Students have the chance to film and edit videos for social media use and post their content to social media accounts promoting shows and other footage.

The Rose Black Resource Center also provides internship opportunities for students. There, students can create new content, film and edit footage, and managing promotional content.

The Athletic Marketing Department also provides internships for students as well, allowing them to exercise their social media management skills and create content to inform other students about upcoming events.

“Everyone on campus needs PR/Advertising,” said Internship Coordinator Lisa Mastramico, who also teaches the COM 496 Internship course for the Communication Department, “so there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of especially for students who are graduating.”

The PR/Advertising field has become competitive over the years and that’s exactly why the COM Department continues to develop and implement new courses and opportunities that will prepare students for the challenges the field may bring.

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One way that CSUDH is preparing students would be through the on-campus internships they offer with school organizations.

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FOCUSING on the FUTURE sult of taking the new COM 490 course for her professional experience following graduation.

“As a Media Studies major, I had to create a digital portfolio including digital work that I had to edit and produce,” Uda said. “I feel like gaining experience in editing and creating original content has helped me get ready for a future in this industry.”

Other specialty classes that COM students have taken in recent years have proven to be beneficial beyond just the classroom, giving students the confidence and tools they need in order to be successful in their prospective fields.

For students with a focus on Public Relations and Advertising studies, courses such as COM 366 Public Relations Writing, COM 342 Advertising Strategy and Writing, and COM 467 Integrated Communications Management include content that gives students valuable tools and assignments while providing them with a wealth of implementable knowledge of the public relations and advertising industry.

David Perez, who graduated Spring of 2018, currently works as an Account Executive for a marketing and advertising company called Uptown Treehouse, Inc. Perez found the specialty courses he took were not only practical but also provided him with an indispensable understanding of the the marketing and advertising industry.

“As a recent graduate of California State University, Dominguez Hills, all my upper division courses focusing on advertising and public relations were beneficial to my cur-

rent work,” Perez said. “The practicality of courses like COM 366 and COM 342 helped build my portfolio in the space, and COM 467 made me put my work into practice. The courses kept building on each other, which in my opinion, blended perfectly, leading up to COM 467, where understanding the structure of an agency, roles and implementation was imperative. Practical work is the key to gaining confidence, and I feel the department is built for advertising and PR students looking to become professionals in that field.”

Other COM courses that are designed to prepare Communications students with the skills they need for the digital landscape include COM 106/107, which introduces students to the foundational digital editing, presentational, and organizing programs; COM 110/111, which provides necessary digital media production skills; COM 333 Digital Journalism, which allows students to develop blogs, podcasts, videos, and leverage their social media presence; and even a new digital magazine course, where students will create a digital publication Looking towards the future for both the students and the department itself, the Communications faculty continue to successfully anticipate the needs of Communications students in an ever-changing digital environment and put forth every effort to meet and accommodate those needs to ensure the future success for all of its Communications majors as they enter a variety of transforming media industries.

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he Communications Department is launching a series of curriculum changes in both courses and content with the intention of helping better prepare all Communication majors for today’s digital landscape, as it is rapidly growing and evolving into an essential component in all media industries.

Many professors in the Communications Department have been utilizing the current digital media landscape as a resource to help find new and interesting ways to educate their students. Assistant Professor Dr. Burkey, who teaches many of the Journalism courses, integrates into his classes a number of ways for students to create digital content across media platforms.

“Today’s media professionals need to be multifaceted in their skills so that they are prepared to compete in fields where new programs, applications, and platforms are being used for storytelling in a variety of formats,” Dr. Burkey said. “The more we can incorporate activities and assignments that prepare students for what they will face in the industry, the better!”

An obvious example of this is the complete restructuring of the COM 490 capstone class that senior students are required to take.

Instead of the traditional 30-page thesis paper assigned to senior students, the new assignment focuses on creating more of a digital presence, where students produce original content and a digital portfolio.

Orel Uda, a Media Studies student graduating in Spring of 2019, was one of many students who feels she is more prepared as a re-

By Suzanne Jarquinn

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Journalism Student Hopes Official Newsroom Will Foster a News Culture

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By Kelsey Reichmann

hen you ask a journalist what to do in college to get experience for a future career, they aren’t going to tell you to take Law of the Mass Media. They are going to tell you to work for the school newspaper.

The school newspaper is the first chance journalism students get to be part of a production cycle.

Instead of sitting through lectures and taking quizzes, you’re knocking on doors, doing interviews, and producing stories.

And the best part is, the cycle never stops. While in a regular class there are assigned quizzes and midterms that you know the dates of on the first day of class, in the newsroom, stories are constantly being written.

As soon as you finish one, the next one is calling your name.

Sometimes you are writing more than one. Bottom line, the school newspaper is as close as you can get to the real world of journalism at a university.

One of the biggest challenges at a school newspaper, and especially CSUDH’s Bulletin, is the turnover of staff. At CSUDH, The Bulletin is still considered a class. Only a couple of students have been lucky enough to be involved for more than one semester.

Turning a student into a staff writer or editor on the paper is a tricky process, but one thing is for sure: allowing students to feel like they are a part of something bigger than just another class on their agenda is the best way to start.

The Bulletin is taking a big step in that direction when they will be receiving their very own space to be claimed as a newsroom. And while conditions won’t be all butterflies and roses yet, considering the construction on campus and the sacrifices the campus is making as a whole in terms of space, the action of giving us our own space is a big deal.

Having a space dedicated to The Bulletin helps develop what The Bulletin really needs, which is a newsroom culture.

We will have space where we can go at any time to brainstorm on story ideas or do research for articles. The staff can also meet and collaborate on stories.

Having a room with our name on it also will give us some respect from other students, organizations, faculty, etc. on campus.

And by giving us our own space, it might even get more people to recognize who we are and read our articles. The more people who read our work, the more people who might someday decide they want to be part of what we do.

My hope is that one day, freshman journalism students can walk into The Bulletin newsroom and be inspired to one day be a writer on The Bulletin staff instead of just treating it like another class they have to pass on the way to graduation. Getting a dedicated newsroom is the first step in that journey.

That is why, starting this Fall 2019, The Bulletin newspaper will be meeting in its own dedicated space on the third floor of the Library.

Field House Facelift Communications Department finally got the chance to give itself a new look by changing the face of its Field House classroom.

During the one month-long break, the department completed a long-awaited project to renovate the campus Field House classroom, which is currently used for a variety of Communications classes taught by many of the accomplished Communications professors at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Dr. Nancy Cheever, Chair of the Department of Communications, said prior to this recent renovation, the Field House classroom had not received upgrades or modifications of any kind since it was transformed from a men’s locker room into a somewhat usable classroom in the 1990s.

Prior to the updates, the classroom had several rows of desks, each of which had its own Mac desktop. A small aisle in the middle of the classroom served as a walkway for professors and students to move around but, due to the small size of the classroom combined with this type of desk layout, mobility was somewhat limited.

Fast forward almost three decades, the students and staff who regularly use the classroom have anxiously awaited the day when the Field House would receive a much-needed makeover. The renovation included the removal of a sink that sat in the back

corner of the classroom, leftover from its former locker room days. Even more drastic and necessary, the plans also incorporated a completely new layout of the room, including the installation of new grouppod-style desks and replacement of electric strips.

In addition to the already existing smartboard, a second projector was installed along with a new instructor’s podium, new lighting and cabinets.

Dr. Cheever indicated she is pleased with the improvement and ease of mobility in the newly updated learning environment because it is designed with both students and staff in mind.

“It makes it easier for the professors to teach because they are able to move around more and connect with students oneon-one, which was difficult to do before,” Dr. Cheever explains.

Communication students that were fortunate enough to experience the new classroom setting during the Spring Semester of 2019 also agreed that the new layout has several academic benefits. As a transfer-student in her senior year majoring in Public Relations and Advertising, Breanna Serafin finds that the renovation has improved her overall classroom experience.

“I love that the room is in pods. It allows me to see around the room easier than before,” Serafin said.

“I get a better experience as a student with the style instead of always having to fight with a desktop to see the board.”

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his past winter break of 2018, the

The IMPORTANCE

By Kelsey Reichmannn

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he 2020 census will be one for the record books, and not because a citizenship question might be added to the list. The 2020 census will be the first conducted by technology, moving away from paper for the first time since 1790. While filling out the census may seem convenient, it is also bringing to light many questions and concerns about false information infiltrating a system that could have major effects on society and politics for the next decade.

The number one concern about internet responses and technology being used for the census is hacking and the security of the electoral system.

While officials are worried about malicious online interference, they are also worried that the American people aren’t media literate enough to know if they are actually filling out the real census and not a fake one.

However, the issue of media literacy also has broader implications than just filling out the census.

Commonsensemedia.org defines media literacy as “the ability to identify different types of media and understand the messages they’re sending.” But before dismissing media literacy as oversimplistic, like this definition, consider how many media messages people consume a day. Do most take the time to carefully analyze each message that comes their way or do they mindlessly consume anything and everything thrown at them?

The answer for most people is no.

Media literacy is essential for many things, including voting. The United States saw this in 2016 when the Russians interfered in the presidential election. Their Facebook campaigns targeted Trump supporters and even got campaign officials, such as Kellyanne Conway, to share things the Russians had posted. If these officials, and voters,

had been media literate, they would have been able to evaluate these posts before sharing them and realize they were not from credible sources.

It’s hard to know what would have happened if these Russian disinformation campaigns had not been part of the election, including a possible different outcome, but there is a strong possibility that U.S. citizens would have at least been able to make more informed decisions at the ballot box.

Disinformation is so high and media literacy is so low that schools are now actively focusing on teaching their students on how to be more media literate, something they have never had to do before.

According to an NPR article titled “Students In Ukraine Learn How To Spot Fake Stories, Propaganda And Hate Speech,” Ukrainian schools have already started implementing media literacy lessons into their curriculum and are seeing results.

According to the article, IREX, a global education organization, conducted a report that said, “students were twice as likely to detect hate speech and 18 percent better at identifying fake news than students who missed out on those lessons.”

Interesting enough, the report further found that girls were more media literate.

“The girls did better at separating fact from opinions, on news media knowledge and on analysis skills,” says Mehri Druckman, IREX’s country representative in Ukraine.

Dr. Nancy Cheever, Chair of the Communications Department, said the whole communications program at California State University, Dominguez Hills involves teaching media literacy. “Everything that we do is geared toward media literacy and ensuring that students are well aware of how to practice media, how to evaluate it, how to synthesize it, and understanding all of the nuances that go on, not just the nuts and bolts,” Dr. Cheever said.

This starts at the very beginning of their education in the department.

“In a general way, what we provide the students with is a solid foundation in the areas of history, technology, forms, and stories that have been told in media,” Dr. John Vanderhoef, Assistant Professor in the Communications Department, said.

Beginning with the course Media and Society, most COM majors are exposed to a revised curriculum of lower and upper division courses that help students develop their critical thinking skills for creating, interpreting, and analyzing media.

This includes studying media creators, forms, messages, effects, and audiences. As Communications students progress through their respective degree programs, their courses also become more specialized and increasingly focus on media literacy.

For example, all Communications students are required to take the Digital Media Tool Kit course, which allows them to learn the basics for producing content using an array of digital media platforms and programs.

“It puts all the students on the same page,” Dr. Vanderhoef said.

But that is only the beginning. In the FTVM degree program, students are required to take two media history classes. In the Journalism degree program, students are required to take a news and information literacy course. Journalism students then progress to working on the school newspaper, The Bulletin, where they learn firsthand how the messages they produce are interpreted by their peers.

In the Advertising and Public Relations degree program, students take a media analysis and research methods class, where they study the different effects media have on people. Students in the Film, Television, and Media degree program take

a media and representation class, where they can learn the implications of media messages on society.

While all of these classes cover different subjects and are tailored to each degree program, they all involve media literacy.

“Teaching students how to read media critically,” Vanderhoef said. “Teaching them the foundations of cultural media studies. To be able to look at any media text, from an advertisement to a picture to a film to a video game, etc., and sort of read it critically for the way dominant ideologies have been embedded in the text, either purposefully or not purposefully.”

Dr. Cheever explains that media literacy is especially important now when there is such a large emphasis placed on fake news.

The implications of not being media literate are quite severe. Take the aforementioned 2020 census. If citizens fill out phony censuses, not only will the census be inaccurate, but those inaccuracies could cause reapportionment or redistricting.

This translates into who and how many people are representing communities. It could be the difference between having your voice heard on local or national issues or being silenced.

Media literacy can also impact how informed people are about other significant issues facing society, including global warming, institutional racism, gender inequality, or even basic news stories. That is why having a strong focus on media literacy is so important to aspiring media professionals because it will be their responsibility to create media messages that are authentic, accurate, and ethical so that the rest of society can be adequately informed to make their most important decisions, whether they are filling out the census or filling out a ballot.

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of Media Literacy

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FTVM Students Get in on the Action

By Jaclyn Okwumabua

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n December 2018, six CSUDH students took a weekend-trip to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) enabled by Hollywood By the Horns. They attended screenings, panels and interacted with filmmakers and Academy Award nominees.

The SBIFF is a non-profit organization with the aim of bringing people together through film. After 34 years, this has been one of the most populous film festivals with an average of 95,000 attendees in the United States. This experience includes almost two weeks of playing over 200+ films from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. and panels for aspiring media influencers to connect with Oscar nominees who contribute to the art of storytelling.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association covered the expenses for this opportunity. They grant similar events to expose students to the film world and heightens their chances of increasing their network pool. This gives students a sense of direction of what it takes to be successful and revamp the industry.

Assistant FTVM Professor Virginia “Toddy” Eames in the Communications Department developed the idea and chaperoned the students. She collaborated with the FTVM Assistant Professor Dr. John Vanderhoef to make this possible.

The selection process was based on those who proclaimed their interest for the film industry. In addition, these driven students completed a scholarship application where they expressed their passion for filmmaking. Those who took part in the trip were Carnel Anderson, Jennifer Caballero, Joshua Cooper, Rachel Dantzler, Carrie McClain, and Kevin Turf.

Eames said the students researched the films they wanted to see prior to the trip.

Upon arrival, students either paired up or went all together to view screenings and panels. Each morning, they would gather to debrief their venture.

“They had five or six different venues,” said Eames. “They took over the whole downtown Santa Barbara and all day you’re just going from screening to screening or lecture to lecture.”

Another attendee, FTVM major Jennifer Callabero, particularly enjoyed, among all the events, the Women’s Panel discussion.

“They had amazing advice for their work methods and the industry in general,” said Callabero.

“Seeing so many powerful women seated together really gave me faith that maybe one day I can be seated there with them. I think this trip was incredibly helpful because it really exposed me to how many careers you can look forward to in the film industry.”

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described this as her first film festival. McClain said she absorbed everything in her surroundings confidently. She had many highlights where she heard from director Betsy West, Ai-Ling Lee, actress Marina de Tavira, and met production designer Hannah Beachler on a women’s panel.

“These women were present, happy to be there, hilarious and dropped so many quotables,” said McClain. “I was so inspired and loved hearing about their experiences and upbringings and work.”

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The importance of these events includes hearing how successful filmmakers progressed and the difficulty in doing so. Eames said it helped break down barriers for students to achieve their goals when they enter the industry.

“Sometimes it seems like these people are far away,” said Eames.

“But the reality is that these people are just going to work and to be able to sit in a room and hear them breaking down their stories makes it feel more achievable.”

FTVM student Carrie McClain

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ward-winning cinematographer, writer and director Ramell Ross recently came to CSUDH to have lunch, host a master class, and showcase his 2018 documentary, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening.”

According to Filmmaker Magazine, Ross attended Georgetown University with a basketball scholarship but soon realized he wasn’t going to the NBA after one too many injuries. Ironically enough, he was spotted by ESPN after he took photos and they told him he had “a good eye” when it came to taking pictures. Ross’s passion for photography grew and was soon published in The New York Times and book covers for his striking photos.

Filmmaker Magazine also mentions that he made short films as a hobby and crossed paths with two individuals, Daniel Collins and Quincy Bryant, who later became featured in his documentary.

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By Jaclyn Okwumabua

Ross’ visit to CSUDH this year was sponsored by Hollywood by the Horns, which provides connections for Communication students with industry professionals.

The students had the privilege of first enjoying lunch with Ross, who then facilitated a master class where Assistant FTVM Professor Virginia Toddy Eames said he presented his work and uncovered the process of film and media making.

“With a firsthand conversation of how something gets made, it just deconstructs the process,” said Ross during his visit. “That’s encouraging because when you can see how something is made, you can see the steps taken, and hear the troubles that went into making it. That’s encouraging and stirs the confidence.”

After the master class, Ross showcased his award-winning documentary, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” that took viewers into the Black community in Hale County, Alabama. This was an exclusive viewing for CSUDH students and the film

“With a firsthand conversation of how something gets made, it just deconstructs the process.”

- RAMELL ROSS

was later nominated for an Oscar as the “Best Documentary Feature” and an “Audience Award” at the Americana Film Fest this year.

Students appreciated a person of color talking about their journey in the film industry as it motivated them to make their dreams a reality of working in an industry that historically marginalizes the representation of people of color.

“I like to think that my fellow classmates and I left feeling special in a sense, feeling seen, feeling like we mattered,” Carrie McClain, Media Studies, said. “It meant the world to me, especially that our COM Department is working hard to get creative from the industry to meet and have events on campus for us--especially people of color, people who look like me. I do hope in the future CSUDH can have more creatives of color, folks who work in the industry, who come from marginalized backgrounds, who all of us POC students can see being living, working examples of doing what we want to do.”

World Press Freedom Day Offers Students Real-World Connection his year’s World Press Freedom Day event was filled with great stories and helpful information for CSUDH students.

There were four special guests in attendance: Keynote speaker and Pulitzer Prize winner from the Los Angeles Times, Ruben Vives; Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, who previously worked for the Los Angeles Times in 2017; Kevin Modesti from the Daily News; and Brooke Staggs from the Orange County Register.

The event began with Vives sharing his life story. He spoke about the murder of his uncle, his first encounter dealing with racism at the high school he attended and dealing with “corrupt” police officers.

Vives also spoke about a past LA Times news story dealing with Martin Luther King Jr Drew Medical Center and how medical errors resulted in people dying. This investigation resulted in the Los Angeles Times winning a Pulitzer Prize for public service.

“I wanted to make a difference like the reporters at Los Angeles Times. They turned something so ugly and turned it into something so hopeful for a community. It was the reporters and journalism that shed light on these things,” Vives said.

Vives himself later won a Pulitzer Prize for his investigative reporting on the City of Bell scandal, where Bell city officials had been receiving some of the highest salaries in the country and were eventually found guilty of misappropriating public funds, graft, and corruption.

Modesti talked about the different experience one gets while reading an actual newspaper opposed to receiving news through an online news source. He also shared his experience of being a columnist and how he worked his way up into that position.

Staggs shared an interesting story about a Korean American reporter who came across an interesting story that was broadcasted in Korean. She discussed the importance of using diverse voices and how they

help to pick up stories to report on.

Reyes-Velarde discussed the importance of reporting on different topics such as the disabled and doing research. She says to interview a source that is not familiar because we tend to go to the same groups of people.

Toward the end, students were able to ask questions of their own.

One student asked, “What would be some advice you would give a student in journalism who is unsure of the path they want to take after graduating?”

“Always start with writing,” Modesti said. “If you wind up in broadcasting, you will have to write it before you speak it. Writing will always be the basic form so do not stray too far from that. Work for something you enjoy.”

This special event, which focused on the challenges of reporting in the current political and media landscape, gave students networking opportunities and a chance to gain knowledge that would help them long after their journey at CSUDH. 24

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By Tiesha Pittman

By Kelsey Reichmann Photos by Dr. Ana de la Serna

TEACHING ACROSS CULTURES

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I saw history in the making.

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t may be easy for students to see their professors as being one dimensional, only existing in the classroom with no outside lives, but students should also recognize that some professors bring a wealth of personal and professional experience to the classroom.

This is particularly true with the newest hire of the COM faculty, Assistant Professor Dr. Ana de la Serna, who once served as a photographer for the president of Mexico.

Dr. de la Serna grew up in Mexico and didn’t move to the United States until pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky in 2014. As an undergraduate student, she studied photography, eventually leading her to land a job as a photojournalist for the president of Mexico.

“That was a really intense job,” Dr. de la Serna said. “It was a 24/7-every-single-day-of-the-year kind of thing. You always had to be ready for anything to happen.”

While working in this official capacity for the president, Dr. de la Serna was constantly traveling and covering multiple events per week.

“It allows you to see all the events that are happening on a global scale firsthand,” Dr. de la Serna said. “So that, I think, was the best part. I saw history in the making.”

However, it was not all glamorous. When being away from home became too much for Dr. de la Serna, she decided to change careers and start working for the minister of the environment. It was there that de la Serna decided she wanted to go back to school.

“I realized that I couldn’t just have that practical knowledge,” Dr. de la Serna said. “I was learning a lot from a lot of different people but it wasn’t the academic knowledge that I wanted. So that’s why I decided to do my master’s.”

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Dr. de la Serna accomplished this by working during the day and attending school at night, eventually earning her master’s degree in Political Analysis and Media from Tec de Monterrey in Mexico City.

“I wanted to understand what I was doing,” Dr. de la Serna said. “Not just know how to do it, but really understand all the background. Why people were making certain decisions?

What is happening in the country?”

But after finishing her master’s degree, she still wasn’t satisfied. She found she really liked school and research and wanted to pursue both of those while furthering her education.

However, Mexico doesn’t offer studies in Communications outside of Journalism and Public Relations. So, Dr. de la Serna decided to find somewhere

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Not just know how to do it, but really understand all the background.

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that did.

Leaving behind everything she knew, Dr. de la Serna moved from a large city in Mexico to a small college town in Lexington, Kentucky, to pursue her Ph.D. Being an international student comes with obstacles, so Dr. de la Serna made quick friends with other international students who understood what she was going through.

“We were all in the same boat,” Dr. de la Serna said.

“We were trying to adjust and learn pretty much everything.

Learn about the immigrant culture. Learn about social norms.

Learn about the educational system because everything is different. It’s starting over.”

While many people may think that language may be the biggest barrier to international students, they sometimes don’t consider mundane everyday things they take for granted, like getting a driver’s license or credit card.

“I wanted to get a driver’s license,” Dr. de la Serna said. “I’ve been driving for 16-20 years and they said, ‘No, you have zero driving record.’ You have to start over. Or a credit card. You have no credit history. So you’re kind of starting a new life.”

And while this experience was challenging, Dr. de la Serna sees it as a way she can connect to her students.

“I think that all of that experience, that process that took me a couple years, I think that helped

Serna, another goal is to better prepare our Spanish-speaking students to better understand Latino culture in the news. To do this, she points to the COM department’s plans to add a Spanish-language component to the Journalism program, whether that be a class or certificate, as part of the accreditation process.

“I think that students here would benefit a lot from not just doing Spanish language but from really understanding Latino culture in the news,” Dr. de la Serna said.

The intent would also be to further prepare the Spanish-speaking students for careers in the burgeoning field of Spanish-language media, particularly here in the Southern California media marketplace.

“We wanted to add Spanish-language journalism, so we sought to hire someone with expertise in that area,” said Chair of the Communications Department Dr. Nancy Cheever, explaining why Dr. de la Serna was the perfect fit for this goal.

As a native of Mexico, who brings both professional and academic experience in journalism and public relations, Dr. de la Serna brings a valuable voice to the faculty that she hopes will also help Journalism students better understand Latino culture in the news.

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me understand a lot of my students,” Dr. de la Serna said.

This is why Dr. de la Serna is particularly fond of and qualified to teach the cross-cultural journalism class. She describes a large portion of this class as students sharing their experiences with each other.

“I love teaching that because we get to share a lot of our experiences,” Dr. de la Serna said. “I find that students really like participating and talking about what they’ve gone through and how that shapes their own identity, their own perception of the world.”

A lot of what Dr. de la Serna teaches comes from her experiences, not a textbook.

“I am teaching what I know,” Dr. de la Serna said.

“I try to teach my students so that they don’t make the same mistakes that I made when I was starting out.”

As a new professor in a changing department, Dr. de la Serna has a unique perspective on the direction that the department is headed.

“I am trying to emphasize diversity and inclusion in everything that happens in this department,” Dr. de la Serna said. “Whether it’s professors or students, everybody needs to question how they are doing things so that they can do a better job of teaching our student population.”

According to Dr. de la

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CSUDH Alumni Iris Hosea

By Jaclyn Okwumabua

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n 2018, the Gardena Chamber of Commerce recognized CSUDH alumni Iris Hosea as an “Outstanding Woman” at their annual awards ceremony. As the conversation deepened, it wasn’t hard to see why she was granted this title.

Hosea, a former Communications student in the Public Relations option, appreciated her involvement working on The Bulletin newspaper because of its professional setting. She also thought her writing skills improved because of the valuable feedback she got from then advisor Professor Donn Silvis.

She saw internships as a “training ground” because they helped her transition school lessons and apply them to the real world. This was a safe place to make mistakes, learn from them, and ask questions without judgement. After several internships and a lot of networking, Hosea eventually secured a PR job with the firm Lagrant Communications.

After four years at Lagrant, Hosea submitted a campaign to the Public Relations Society of American (PRSA). Shortly after, the energy company Edison recruited her and she has been there since. She began working in the corporate communications department and her PR background came in handy when it came to strategizing campaigns. The skills she brought to the job also helped her plan out methods to exceed yearly objectives.

“I roll it out as a PR campaign,” said Hosea. “This means I put together events that celebrates and recognizes the completed goals that were set in place.”

Hosea also reminisces about when she first spoke to then-president Barack Obama in 2009. After he made an appearance at an Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona, California, five Edison members (including Hosea) got a chance to meet him. As she watched 29 him pass her colleagues, Hosea prepared to talk to him

10 Years Later

but her nerves only allowed her to say, “Thank you for coming.”

Hosea also took an opportunity to partner with her aunt in creating a travel agency called Sankofa Excursions, where they partnered with an agency in Ghana, West Africa, to provide vacation packages and local tours there.

“Renting the van and hiring a local tour guide is how we were able to take the clients around and absorb the culture,” said Hosea. “We also adopted a local orphanage and all our clients brought schools supplies for the kids. We visited the slave castle on Ghana’s Cape Coast (St. George’s Castle - Elmina Castle), the famous one Obama visited a few years ago with ‘The Door of No Return.”’

Hosea also got Edison to sponsor a work-study program at Verbum Dei High School in Watts, California, where they mentored two students from each grade level. They spent the school year preparing a presentation that recounts what they learned from the mentorship. Hosea conducted activities for students like assisting in research for their final projects and practicing public speaking skills.

“When I say practice, I placed them in a conference room with a projector and they went over and over their lines,” said Hosea. “I critiqued their hand movements, eye contact, word choice, inflections in tone, etc.”

Combined, Hosea took the lessons she learned from CSUDH and has been applying them in the real world ever since. Hosea says she loves every minute of working at Edison, where she recently got promoted to Strategic Planning, Senior Advisor, and she doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

Shaking Things Up with Alumni Stephanie Chavez

By Tiesha Pittman

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lumni Stephanie Chavez reflects on how being part of the CSUDH Communications Department steered her in the right direction, allowing her to reach the level of success she has today.

Chavez graduated from CSUDH with a degree in Communications in the Advertising and Public Relations option in 2016 before continuing to graduate school, where she earned her master’s at USC in December of 2017.

“The CSUDH CommunicaThe CSUDH tions Department was one of the best experiences I’ve had Communications during my educational career,” Department was Chavez said. “The faculty was one of the best supportive, responsive, experienced, and prepared me for experiences I’ve graduate school. All the prohad during my fessors that I had played a huge role in teaching me all of the educational material that prepared me for career. the next level of my education.”

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Chavez expresses particular appreciation for CSUDH professors Dr. Ryan Eagle and Dr. Karina Kim, both of whom she says had a large impact on her graduate studies.

“Both professors prepared me for the level of research skills that would be required throughout my entire time at USC,” Chavez said.

“Dr. Eagle and Dr. Kim had faith in not just myself but all the students’ abilities to handle graduate school’s level of research, analyzation, and writing, which I was immediate re-exposed to during my first semester at USC.” Chavez went on to graduate from USC’s Masters of Communication Management program and currently works as a Development Manager in the non-profit health sector at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She has also recently been accepted as a board member for the USC alumni group, Society of Trojan Women, serving as the Orange County Social Chair and interim Social Media Chair.

But it was the Communications Department at CSUDH that Chavez credits for preparing her academically and teaching her the importance of interpersonal communication skills.

“Most of the classes required group work and projects, which was also heavily included during graduate school,” Chavez said. “CSUDH Communications Department teaches the students to plan and execute a successful project as a team.” 30

Reflections of Being a Toro

By Tiesha Pittman

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SUDH Alumni Leah Nesje says that her experience as a Toro paved the way to a successful career as a Senior Copywriter at a pharmaceutical advertising agency.

“My route to college and my career was not a straight road,” Nesje said. “There were many turns and twists along the way that helped shape the person I am today. After ten years in retail, the 2009 economic crash, and the constant frustration I felt when someone with less experience and more education was hired above me, I decided it was time to go to college.”

She declared herself a Communications major in the Journalism option because she felt writing had always been a strong suit and she had written for the school newspaper in high school. But after taking Professor Russo’s Advertising Strategy and Writing course, she quickly switched from Journalism to AD/PR. “Journalism inspired my curiosity, but advertising inspired my creativity,” Nesje said. “Since then, I’ve found myself in a career that satisfies both my curiosity and creativity.”

During her senior year at CSUDH, Nesje got an internship at an advertising agency, where she expressed her interest in copywriting. Although she did not have a portfolio to present at the time, she still worked hard to land an internship in the copywriting department. Nesje

Leah Nesje was eventually hired as an official copywriter before finishing her senior year.

Six years later, Nesje is now a Senior Copywriter at Precision Effect, a pharmaceutical advertising agency in Orange County, California.

“The Advertising/PR program has given me a leg up in advertising as a copywriter,” Nesje said. “That conceptual thinking skill that I learned at CSUDH has allowed me to excel. My time studying journalism helped me a lot, too. I learned how to tell a great story, and I know my way around an interview. These specific techniques combined with Professor Russo’s common-sense career tips (Don’t show up late to a meeting with Starbucks in your hand!), has made me one proud Toro!”

“ONE PROUD TORO!”

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P ROUD A LU M N I LAUREN ORDAZ Lauren Ordaz is a 2018 CSUDH alumna who majored in Public Relations and Advertising, and minored in Marketing. In the Fall of 2018, she completed an internship at Universal Pictures Home Entertainment doing global brand marketing for live-action, new release movie titles.

In March 2019, she accepted a full-time position at NBCUniversal as a Marketing Coordinator for the NBC Broadcasting Affiliate Marketing Department. Here, she coordinates promotional delivery;

provides production support; assists with digital projects; manages delivery of primetime television, theme music and radio spots; analyzes ratings data to deliver performance reports; and maintains and updates programming calendars, among other responsibilities.

Her future plans are to increase her marketing knowledge while at NBC, and eventually get her MBA so that she may obtain a higher management position within the entertainment industry.

CRYSTAL HERNANDEZ Since Spring 2018 graduation, I’ve worked as an Assistant Media Planner at Garage Team Mazda, an advertising agency in Costa Mesa. I ensured all of our campaigns ran correctly on our partner platforms.

In December, I accepted an amazing opportunity at The Walt Disney Company as a Sales

Assistant in the Marketing & Sales department.

I book and manage all the linear and digital advertising on Freeform.

There’s a lot to learn in the entertainment industry, so I have a couple goals: 1) Be fluent in all the networks we offer and 2) become a rock star Media Planner.

JULISSA JAMES After graduating from Dominguez Hills with her Journalism degree in 2018, Julissa moved to San Francisco where she worked for a monthly print magazine called the Nob Hill Gazette, covering culture and social life in the city.

She returned to Los Angeles three months ago to work as an Editorial Assistant for the Los Angeles Times, in addition to freelancing for the Nob Hill Gazette on a monthly

basis.

At the Times, she’s written about immersive entertainment, feminist authors and continues to pitch Calendar and Features editors relentlessly.

She’s working toward someday becoming editor of a cool, creative magazine, and hopes to write extensively on obscure electronic music, art, style and subcultures along the way. Caffeine and bylines sustain her.

JUANITA “JANIE” CARRASCO Since graduating in May 2018, I’ve been working as a Marketing and Administrative Consultant with various dental providers in Orange County.

However, in November I found what may become my dream career.

I now work for a non-profit agency, Healthy Smiles for Kids of OC, which helps underserved population of children get dental screenings and treatment within their school.

I am able to use skills learned at school and mastered in the workplace to help educate parents and students, as well as colleagues. I work in an office setting but also out in the community, engaging with parents, students, and dental and education professionals.

I am in the middle of helping to launch a call center that will allow us to have a broader reach within Orange County and hopefully beyond.

DYLAN MILLER worked with various professional sports teams on sponsorship deals ranging from the NFL to the MLS. In the future, Dylan hopes to grow his skills and progress his knowledge of media planning while continuing to work in agencies.

COMPENDIUM

Dylan currently works as an Associate, Regional Strategy at Canvas Worldwide. He helps work on the media strategy for all five Hyundai regions throughout the U.S. In his time at Canvas, he has overseen the development of multi-market media plans and has

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COMPENDIUM

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COMPENDIUM

COM M U N I C AT I O N S BANQUET 2019

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COMPENDIUM CSUDH COMMUNICATIONS ALUMNI PUBLICATION

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