Communicating the benefits of an IU South Bend education

By Cassidy Martenson

The Communication Studies Department at IU South Bend hosted its first Communication Studies Day for potential students on March 6. This event allowed students to gain a better understanding of how the department functions within the university, familiarize themselves with professors in the department, and have a taste of key educational concepts in each major.

This day of outreach was created by Cory Iwaszewski, media and community outreach manager for the Raclin School of the Arts, and it was inspired by the Fine Arts Department’s Fine Arts Day, which also allows local high school students to have one-on-one interaction with the department and professors.

The day brought in juniors and seniors who take part in Riley High School’s audio/video production class taught by Tim Richardson. The students in the RHS class create and produce their own newscast titled, “Buzz in the Bend.” The students learn to write scripts, film newscasts, edit footage, produce shows, and more. The class is also open to students across SBCSC including Adams, Washington, and Clay high schools. Students from all schools that are enrolled in Richardson’s class attended Communication Studies Day.

The goal of the event for the Raclin School of the Arts was to connect the Communication Studies Department with interested high school students from the surrounding community. The School of the Arts takes great pride in being able to act as a resource for any student that needs them in the area.

By studying communication at IU South Bend, the students are taught how to

further develop their skills that are in high demand in the job market today. However, most importantly the day was created to let the students know there is a department at IU South Bend that can help them reach that next level and help them prepare for a career in this field. The event began with faculty and student introductions before leading into breakout sessions that focused on each concentration of a Communication Studies degree. The groups were broken up into journalism, media and society, public relations and organizational communication. These breakout sessions allowed the students to get the core feel of the individual concentrations. They participated in games, case studies, and interactive discussions with the Communication Studies Department faculty to further their knowledge of the department, and what life in college is like. For that presentation, the faculty called on the Admissions department to aid the discussion.

“It felt like, overall, it went really well. The students had a lot of energy and it felt like it kind of resonated really well with us, faculty, to be more energetic to match their energy. It was a really great experience overall to interact with them in a different way than we do with our traditional students,” Diona Eskew, Visiting Lecture in Communication Studies, says.

Students then learned more about the admissions process at IU South Bend and asked current students questions. While questions about the department were common, students also asked questions about college life in general. One student asked the panel, “What is the most stressful part of college?” To which the panel got into a discussion regarding the stressors of a college education and ways to navigate it.

“I had a pretty good discussion with one [student]. He said he was definitely coming here, and he had a good amount of questions,” says Eric Goodzey, Communication Studies student.

The Communication Studies Department at IU South Bend is dedicated to helping students navigate the twists and turns of a college education. As the panel discussed, college can be very stressful for students. However, the faculty in the department is always there to assist students. Students have access to one on one advising, office hours, and classes led by experienced faculty.

“We are living in a very special era where everything is changing,” says Brett Labbe, assistant professor in the Communication Studies Department. The community at IU South Bend excitedly awaits the changes that the next generation of young scholars will bring to the field of communication.