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Brian Johnson

Professor Sut Jhally

Paige Harrington

Gyuri Kepes

Ben Richman

Brianna Aubry

By Aislinn Twohig

From the moment I sat down with Senior Communication major Brianna Aubry, it was clear she was meant to be a Comm major; the Boston native is bubbly and energetic, but admits to me that this enthusiasm she carries with her did not always translate, especially when she found herself having to speak in front of a crowd. While she may exude confidence when she steps onto the stage following her true passion of singing, she used to find herself becoming stiff and robotic when asked to step in front of class for a presentation.

All of this changed for Brianna her sophomore and junior year at UMass, a time she tells me she really came into her own academically, and began to branch out socially and creatively with her music. One of the classes Brianna believes has helped her grow as a student and as a person is Public Speaking, as this class provided her the opportunity to practice speaking about a variety of topics. While she says it has always been easy for her to talk for hours about her passions, she’s found it more difficult to speak about more serious topics, or come up with eloquent arguments off the cusp. As a Comm major Brianna has not only been given the chance to strengthen her professionalism in speech, but she also values the opportunity her Junior year writing course gave her to explore and craft new ways of writing, an activity she not only has always enjoyed, but has excelled at. Even though it is largely a class that practices academic writing, this class was an outlet for Brianna to coalesce her academics with her personality, and found she was able to produce some of her best works. This strengthened confidence gave her the initiative to submit an essay she felt strongly about, entitled "The Best Skin Color," and won her first prize for Communication’s Best Piece of Writing.

When not hard at work on her studies, or binge-watching one of her favorite TV shows (Empire, Grey’s Anatomy, and Netflix’s best kept secret, Peaky Blinders) Brianna can be found lending her powerful voice to a variety of outlets, whether its in the recording studio collaborating on tracks, on her popular Youtube channel, or on stage, which is the place she feels she can truly be herself.

If you missed Brianna’s acoustic interpretation of Beyonce’s “Drunk in Love” with friend Ben Bosco at the Student Union this past Friday- you’re in luck! Brianna can constantly be found performing, and hopes to continue with her music after graduation. So stay tuned, and listen for her on the radio!

Donal Carbaugh

by Grace Gustafson

Although Professor Carbaugh has been at UMass for almost 29 years now, he got his start at the University of Washington Seattle, and then worked as part of the graduate faculty at the University of Pittsburg. After making connections with a few professors whom he admired here at UMass, Professor Carbaugh and his wife thought that the move to Amherst was a great idea, so he accepted a job at UMass, and has been here ever since. Having worked at this university since the Fall of ’86, Professor Carbaugh notes that he has made many lasting connections with colleagues and also enjoys a lot of the early contributions they have made to the area of Communication. He also loves what he calls the “cross fertilization” of the Department of Communication at UMass, in that it offers many different fields of study ranging from media studies, to social interaction, to rhetoric, etc. that not only deviate from the “traditional” divisions and perceptions of fields in Communication, but also serve as a “rich stew” of learning and knowledge for students and faculty.

Professor Carbaugh teaches multiple classes here at the university both at the graduate and undergraduate level. At the undergraduate level, he teaches Intro to Social Interaction and Culture, which is one of his favorite classes to teach because it introduces topics to Communication majors that they may not have had in mind or engaged with before taking the class. He enjoys turning students onto a new world that they may not have even considered. He also teaches the class Cultural Codes in Communication, which is the first GenEd class the department had and is also now taught by Professor Benjamin Bailey. Prof. Carbaugh also teaches a course about communication and nature, which is taught through a more ecological lens of Comm. Cultures in Conversation is an exciting class for him to teach because he enjoys seeing people come together across differences. It incorporates dialogue, issues of identity, politics, history, and economics and often ties in themes from Native American culture and Communication (which is also found in topics of his other classes). At the graduate level, Professor Carbaugh teaches Introduction to Qualitative Inquiry and Theories of Social Interaction and Culture. His specialty is in ethnography of communication and cultural discourse analysis, taught in his seminars.

Professor Carbaugh has written many publications, which he hopes are offerings of interest and value that captivate people and lead them to something they’ve never thought of before, or help them think about a topic in new ways. His primary interests are ethnographic work and community life, and he hopes that in writing about these issues he creates new insights for his audience; he notes that his writing goes far beyond writing for the sake of publication. One of his works focuses on the dynamics in a classroom between Native American students and a nonnative teacher. The dynamic turned out to be upsetting for both the teacher and the students. The text is written from the point of view of the Native Americans (Black Feet People) and offers the vantage point of the teacher. This particular publication took about 20 years to publish. Professor Carbaugh attended a conference after the piece was published and saw that a teacher had used it in class. One of the students had a Native American and a non-Native American parent. The student asked to meet with Professor Carbaugh and later thanked him for explaining the student’s childhood through his writing. Professor Carbaugh says this comment is invaluable to him and makes the entire project worthwhile. Professor Carbaugh’s writings are intimately tied into people’s worlds and used for knowledge for social betterment. His articles have made their way around the world, including his award winning book Cultures in Conversation. His new interest of study is intercultural and interfaith dialogue and how people across difference come together and go about doing that.

Professor Carbaugh loves to travel and has had the pleasure of lecturing all over the world, including the University of Helsinki, Oxford University in England, and Griffith University in Australia. His favorite place that he has traveled to, though, remains the rocky mountain front in Northern Montana. He mentions that the natives refer to it as the “backbone of the world.” He goes on to mention the beauty and sacredness of the site and even notes that this is where he and his wife courted before their marriage. Professor Carbaugh also adores Finland and has been there almost every year since 1992. He has done research there in the past and is currently in the process of publishing a book from this region, which should be ready for release sometime in the next year or so. He also loves Australia and Ireland, the latter being the origin of his and his wife’s last names.

Fun Facts!

When asked his favorite food, Professor Carbaugh happily notes that he adores anything his wife cooks.

Professor Carbaugh’s favorite animal is a dog. He’s always had a dog in his life, and is currently in the process of getting a new pet for the spring. He loves all animals and likes the view that Native Americans take on animals, and mentions that we can always learn something from them.

Jess Levenson

By Aislinn Twohig

So now Comm has a new building to call our own; but what if Communication had a place for students to convene outside of class and interact with each other and plan events? Now we do! And Jess Levenson, along with Lloyd Paul, Paul Michael, and Ruth Stidham, is responsible for the Comm Club.

Junior Jess Levenson, who was inspired to found the Comm Club by Communication professor Allison Butler, believes the addition of a Communication club will encourage other Comm majors to connect with each other and improve their professional development. Jess and the Comm Club hosted their first event Wednesday, November 12, with great reception, choosing to screen the movie “Her,” directed by Spike Jonze and starring Joaquin Phoenix, in the ILC Hub. Their first event was a huge success and was a great opportunity for Comm majors to meet, eat popcorn, and discuss a current film. Jess states that there is an upcoming club event after Thanksgiving, and urges all of us to stay tuned!

Hailing from Lexington, Massachusetts and an avid sports fan, Jess joined the Comm major because of its ability to provide him with critical thinking skills, which are essential to understanding the issues facing society today. Out of all the amazing classes Communication has to offer, Jess especially enjoyed Comm 260: Public Speaking. Jess found this class integral to providing him the confidence not only to speak with his peers about his views and opinions, but also to gain insight into the lives of his classmates. He hopes that Comm Club can function in a similar way; Jess hopes that his founding of the Communication Club will not only inspire other Communication majors to reach out to their peers and discuss their interests, but also provide them the agency to become leaders in the Comm community. If you would like to keep track of upcoming events with the Comm Club, make sure to like their Facebook page, (https://www.facebook.com/UMassCommClub) and follow them on their Twitter page (https://twitter.com/UMassCommClub).

Alesia Brennan

by Grace Gustafson

Some of you may know Alesia Brennan as one of our two wonderful Undergrad Program Advisors in the Department of Communication. She may have helped you with questions concerning study abroad, class registration, degree paths, and much more. As a professional advisor, Alesia works with undergraduate students on issues centered around options within the major, preregistration, double majoring, courses students can take outside of the major, study abroad classes, and many other areas. She serves as a guide to students, allowing them to bounce around ideas and helping them to figure out how to best utilize their time here. As both a member of NSO work and an advisor, Alesia helps orient students to the university and helps give them a sense of direction. Alesia also partakes in aspects of administration and works closely with our second Undergrad Program Advisor Allison Butler and our Chief Undergraduate Advisor Lynn Phillips to create events for students that allow us to more actively engage in our department and areas of focus. In this sense, Alesia considers herself a “general helper for the student population.”

Before becoming a professional advisor in the Department of Communication in August 2014, Alesia attended the University of Southern Maine in Portland, ME and received her bachelor’s degree in media studies. Upon graduation, Alesia attended graduate school at UMass Amherst and received her Master of Education degree in Higher Education Administration. Although Alesia is originally from the small town of Dunstable, MA, the rest of her family hails from Maine. She likes to refer to herself as the only “non-Mainer in the family.” When Alesia first came to college, she had the idea that she wanted to become a professional writer, most likely in NYC. After 2 years of being a media studies major, Alesia realized that that dream was no longer what she wished to pursue. She became heavily involved in undergraduate programs, became a peer advisor, worked at student orientation, and more. This student experience, as well as her own advisor at the time, influenced her to pursue a track that led her to graduate school and ultimately her position today.

When asked her favorite part of being an advisor in the Department of Communication, Alesia mentioned her love of working with students. She genuinely enjoys helping people and getting to meet new people on a daily basis. She loves that her job is heavy in social activity, as she admits to being a socially inclined person. She notes that every day there is change, and she is thankful for the opportunity to get to know so many new faces on so many occasions. Alesia really loves helping students make sense of things, whether that is their degree or their place here at the university. She enjoys helping students figure out plans for their time here at UMass and beyond.

One of Alesia’s most memorable moments as an advisor was the Comm alumni event that was held this past October, which provided panels of alumni for students to connect with as more up-close and personal resources. Alesia loved seeing a large number of students turn out to the event and engage, connect, and network with the alumni. She found it gratifying to see how much it meant to students to talk to alumni who have sat in the same place and who are doing what students are currently aspiring to do.

Alesia can be found in N325 of the ILC, M-F 9am-5pm.

Fun Facts!

- Alesia has an extreme love of pizza. She loves any and all types of pizza, but specifically notes the deliciousness of the “blt pizza” hailing from Pizzeria Paradiso in Northampton (the pizza toppings include prosciutto, arugula, and tomatoes).

- Alesia’s favorite animal is a cat. Although she doesn’t currently own one, she would like to eventually.

- The most memorable place that Alesia has ever traveled to is the Carolinas. She particularly loved Charleston because it had that “perfect southern charm,” mac and cheese is an available side almost anywhere you go, the area holds a lot of historical significance, and the scenery is absolutely stunning.

- Alesia’s hobbies include binge-watching Netflix, traveling, and ensuring that she never does any form of exercise. Alesia is also a member of a book club.

Chelsea Lawson

By Aislinn Twohig

While some are intimidated by how large UMass is, senior Communication major Chelsea Lawson has loved calling UMass home for the last 3 years for this very reason. Chelsea has found that the sheer size of UMass has allowed her to discover the abundance of clubs and organizations that feed her interests, while also connecting her to a many amazing people.

Chelsea has taken full advantage of the amount of opportunities offered at UMass; as a tour guide on campus she has the fulfilling job of providing tours to prospective students and takes pride in knowing she’s helping people on the road to their college selection. Chelsea also has explored production here at UMass, working not only with UVC-TV 19 that she joined last year, but also with our on campus news show called UMass News Now. Chelsea also manages to find time in her busy schedule to give back; she is currently involved with the organization UCAN, which is a volunteer program on campus that does work with Amherst public schools. In addition, she also takes time to tutor and volunteer at after school programs in some of the local elementary schools in Amherst. She is also excited to have recently connected with TedxUMassAmherst on campus where she will be spreading the word about Tedx and contributing to the set up of the big Ted Talk conference in April.

Outside of her extensive volunteer work, Chelsea is really passionate about theater and music. In high school, Chelsea was always involved in theater productions, and although since college her involvement in shows has slowed, she still finds time to support the various productions showcased by UMass organizations and enjoys them immensely. Chelsea also confesses that she uses retail therapy as a way to relax. She enjoys exploring different shops and merchandise and is thrilled when she stumbles upon unique little shops where she can find special gifts for friends and family.

After arriving at UMass, Chelsea became fascinated with Communication after she saw the almost limitless options it had for future careers. She immediately liked the idea of studying the ways people communicate and how we use communication in every aspect of our lives, because as she says, communication is at the root of all social contact. She has especially enjoyed taking Sut Jhally’s Advertising as Social Communication course as a Comm major because she enjoyed learning about advertising and its effect on consumer life. She says that Prof. Jhally really helped her to view ads and consumerism with a critical lens, and what she ultimately gained from the class is a further realization of some of the major problems facing society today; this inspired her to find ways to create change.

Chelsea has a wide array of interests and intends to explore a variety of paths within the field of Communication after graduation until she discovers the very best fit for her. She plans to start in the Public Relations and Marketing field, as she is drawn to thinking about the ways we’re able to communicate messages and images to people through advertising products and ideas. Chelsea also loves to travel, so finding something that would allow her to travel while also working in the PR and marketing world would be her dream. Chelsea is thankful to Comm for enabling her to develop analytical and critical thinking skills and giving her the ability to analyze problems ,which has opened up her world to the vast and complicated society we live in.

Other fun facts about Chelsea:

Chelsea’s all time favorite color is red, and her favorite food is a toss up between Italian and Seafood - yum!

Henry Geddes

For those of you who don’t know Professor Geddes, he is not only a brilliant teacher here at our university, but he is also a talented musician and scholar. Professor Geddes has been teaching in the Department of Communication for almost 24 years now, and has taken part in many research projects and publications.

Professor Geddes is currently working on a project pertaining to tourism and socio-cultural and environmental change in Quintana Roo, Mexico, which “looks at the way tourism and forms of communication mediate local society, culture and nature along the Caribbean coast of Mexico.” Prof. Geddes mentions that the region is very “rich in terms of biological and cultural diversity; however it is besieged by rapid economic and social change.” His work examines, “how this unfolds, particularly as it impacts local people and the environment.” He is currently writing a book based on research done over the last six years of this project. Professor Geddes has also participated in other projects including “an article coming out in the spring of 2015 on ‘Media Strategy, Networks at the Margins of Biodiversity.’ This is based on recent research on a Worldwide Views initiative (based out of Denmark) to involve ordinary people around the world in decision-making about global warming and biodiversity.” This approach “combines environmental literacy and democratic deliberation to arrive at policy recommendations that are then presented at United Nations forums. His focus was on “their attempts to attract media coverage and to build their reach via social media.”

Professor Geddes has also had much of his work published, but a publication that he holds in particularly high esteem is his work titled, ‘Tourism, Mass Media, and the Making of Visual Culture in the Greater Yucatan Peninsula.’ He is particularly proud of this piece because it “reflects some of [his] ‘ultimate concerns.’” He also notes the challenge of creating this publication because it needed to integrate different theories and methods, including coloniality, semiotics, political economy, and geography.

Here at UMass, Professor Geddes teaches material both at the undergraduate and graduate level. The classes look at information surrounding international communication (Theories and Issues in Global Communication, Global Culture and Communication, Introduction to Global Communication), “which looks at the political economy and cultural aspects of global media and information technologies.” He also teaches a course on Music, Culture and Communication at the undergraduate level, “which takes an interdisciplinary approach to music involving neuropsychology, musicology, biology and communication.” Professor Geddes recently began teaching an “undergraduate and graduate course on Communication, Ecology and Sustainability that looks at the way communication mediates our relation to nature and to conflicts involving nature.”

Outside of the classroom (and if you’re one of his lucky students, within it as well), Professor Geddes finds pleasure in the realm of music. He mentions that he’s been a musician ever since childhood when he realized that he could sing along to songs. As he got older, he learned to play guitar and became taken with music from all over the world. For Prof. Geddes, music “is a way to connect with who [he is] and with [his] relation to the world. It lends itself to dealing with the things that divide us.” Professor Geddes performs as frequently as possible and hopes to do “more recording in the future.” He has also composed “over 200 tunes over the years,” which is quite impressive.

As a faculty member at the university, Professor Geddes notes the greatness of our institution, especially the Department of Communications and the faculty and students within it. Professor Geddes can be found in the beautiful, new ILC building, room N362. His office hours are Tues, Thurs, 1-2pm, 4-6pm.

Fun Facts!

Professor Geddes’s favorite color is Green.

His favorite food is “ceviche,” which is a food derivative of Peru and contains raw fish, onions, hot pepper, and lime.

His favorite place that he’s traveled to is Brazil because the people are extremely and friendly and “the music is fantastic.”

Alex Giampapa

By Aislinn Twohig

Alex Giampapa has been cracking jokes since birth, and running the Comedy Nights at the UPub since he and former Comm student Thomas Bachman got it up and running last year. A year ago, Alex and Thomas started small at the UPub, just telling some of their own jokes to a little crowd— since then their weekly lineup (now run by Alex and Jordan Liff) has catapulted to a popular and often overbooked success. On any given Tuesday evening at the UPub, you can now find a lineup of 10 comedians from all over, many who have gone on to win competitions, and have even been featured on America’s Got Talent. However, Alex highlights that they always leave two reserved spots for students to try out their material. He feels that it’s a great opportunity to make comedy accessible for kids who want to give standup a shot and, as he says, “everyone’s a comic” in their own way.

Alex has loved comedy for as long as he can remember, but was originally drawn to Communication when he transferred here from UMass Lowell due to his love of writing (he’s been writing jokes his whole life.) However, many other classes have broadened Alex’s love of the Comm department, like his screenwriting class with Martin Norden, which allows him to write creatively, Public Speaking, because it is a vehicle for practicing his comedy, and has found Studying Everyday Talk with Benjamin Bailey to be eye opening about human interaction as well. Alex says he’s even incorporated some of the topics discussed within his Comm classes as material for his standup. Standup, for him, has been a great way to reveal interesting observations about the media or advertising effects to crowds, in that he gets to share his knowledge with them in a more relaxed, unorthodox and hilarious way. This intersection of Comm and comedy has allowed Alex to develop his skills in communicating with people, while also getting to make them laugh.

Comedy is not just a hobby for Alex; he has a true passion for it. Alex first caught the comedy bug in the 7th grade when he decided to add humor to an oral presentation, but his career officially hit the ground running at 19 when he was discovered by comedian Dick Doherty at an open mic night in Boston. The rest, as they say, is history. Alex says he fell in love with the feeling that occurs when you first get someone to laugh; he describes it as a feeling where the walls come down between two people, or in his case, he and the audience, and people start to feel more comfortable.

The Tuesday Comedy Nights have given Alex the opportunity to explore his passion, while also getting to meet and book successful comedians for his show from all around New England, and beyond. His role in the UMass comedy community has also given him the chance to collaborate with other UMass groups; currently, Alex is working with the improv troupe “Toast” on an exciting live comedy show which they plan to be streamed to students via UVC-TV later this year.

Alex’s dream is to be a professional comedian, but tells me that whatever his future holds, he hopes to be the best that he can be. Though he acknowledges that the world of comedy is extremely competitive, Alex isn’t discouraged by the prevalence of great comedians, but rather he chooses to let that competition light a fire in him to be the best comic possible. Though Alex owes much of his success to his comedic skill and love for standup, he has deep appreciation for what he’s learned as a Comm major, and for the audiences coming back week after week to the to laugh with him.

April Tidlund

By Grace Gustafson

If you’re a Communication major here at UMass Amherst, you’ve had the pleasure of having April Tidlund as your Scheduling Officer and Undergraduate Secretary within the Department of Communications. As Undergraduate Secretary, April takes part in administrative work as well as working with students. She notes that over the years, her job has shifted from a lot of typing and copying to a more administrative role with both her colleagues and the students. April has been the Undergraduate Secretary at UMass for just about 50 years (49 ½ to be exact), but unfortunately has to leave us this coming spring. So what do we know about this wonderful woman who has been so crucial to our department for the last five decades?

We know that April began working at the university in 1965, when the Communication Department was still referred to as Department of Speech. She has two cats, named Snooki and Poppy, her favorite food is pasta, and if she could vacation anywhere in the world, she would vacation in Australia because the pictures and stories she’s been exposed to make it seem like an extremely alluring place. After almost 50 years in the Department of Communication, April has many wonderful stories and experiences to share about her time here at UMass.

April mentioned that when our department was still called the Department of Speech, it encompassed Theater and Communication Disorders. Mass Comm and Interpersonal Comm did not yet exist. Ronald Reid was hired as the head of the department, at which point he started introducing Mass Comm and Interpersonal Comm into the curriculum and helped move Comm Disorders and Theater into colleges other than SBS. There have also been many technological changes over the years. When April first started working at the university, there were no copiers and no computers. April started off working in Bartlett Hall with only one other secretary where there were only two desks in the office and an old, standard, electric typewriter. She recalls typing 1000-1500 Speech 101 exams and having to spend hours on end collating these exams. April is thrilled to see how the Comm Department has evolved during her time here at UMass. She really loves her job as well as all of the people she has had the pleasure to work with throughout her time in the Comm Department.

So how did April become a member of the Department of Communication? The answer seems to trace back to a long lineage of her family here at the university. April attended school in Hadley before being offered her current job at UMass. April wished to attend college after high school, but that wasn’t an option for her at the time. As a result of this, April went into secretarial studies in high school because that seemed like the best alternative for her. Interestingly enough, all of April’s relatives work or worked at UMass. Her sister works in Human Resources, one of her grandfathers was a head Shepherd and the other a power plant worker, April’s mother worked as a cashier in The Hatch, and her father worked in the dining commons. The Tidlund lineage seems to stay tried and true to UMass Amherst.

Although April will be leaving us in the spring, she will take away so many wonderful memories and experiences from working in this department. Show notes specifically the amazing students she’s had the chance to interact with while here at UMass. She feels so fortunate to have a job that has taken on variation over the years and allowed her to work with such remarkable people and students. When asked what she would take away from her job specifically, she mentioned how fortunate she feels to work in a department that treats its faculty, staff and students so well. Although being secretary can be a demanding job, she genuinely loves what she does and feels extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to work with such wonderful people. She especially thanks a former colleague of hers, Mr. Brown, for all that he has taught her over the years.

We’ll miss you April. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done over the years here at our university. Good luck in all of your future endeavors. You will be dearly missed!

Kara Zoni

by Aislinn Twohig

Kara Zoni is a senior Communication major who plans to graduate in 2015, and if you think you’ve seen her on campus before, you’d probably be right. Hailing originally from Cape Cod, Kara came to UMass in the fall of 2011 unsure of what direction she wanted to take, but quickly felt at home and fell in love both with UMass and the Communication Department, and has been busy contributing to both communities ever since.

There have been many classes, internships and other experiences that have shaped Kara’s love for the Comm Department, which have allowed her to give back to the community, and have also helped her to discover her career aspirations as well. One experience Kara found very enriching was her work as a former peer advisor last year, where she and her fellow peer advisors helped current and future Communication majors with questions ranging from course registration, academic requirements, and general navigation through the major. She also is a member of the Dean's Student Advisory Council, which is a student organization that works in cooperation with interim Dean of Social Behavioral Sciences, John Hird. The goal of The Student Advisory Council is to meet monthly to discuss how students and the administration can collaborate to continually improve our college, SBS, and UMass as a whole. This is an amazing program, as it ensures that we as students are given a voice via students like Kara.

In terms of her future after graduation, Kara has set her sights on the marketing and events industry, but also has taken an interest in working in broadcast as well. One of her experiences that heavily influenced her interest in marketing and events is her work with UMass’s Career Services. Kara’s internship at Career Services and her work as current Student Administrative Assistant has not only provided her with hands-on experience in the field of marketing and event planning, but has also given her the skills to network, collaborate, and develop professionally. Currently, Kara is preparing her highly anticipated Internship Fair with local Employers from the Amherst and Pioneer Valley Community, expected to be a gigantic success. This event, to be held in the Cape Cod Lounge, will give students the opportunity to chat, network and give their resumes to local businesses, with the chance at a spring or summer internship with these companies. All majors are encouraged to attend this event on Wednesday, November 11 from 11AM to 1PM, but Kara encourages Communication majors to attend especially, as many of the employers in attendance will be geared towards their prospective career fields. If interested in attending this event and future events, start checking in on the Career Services website to stay up to date on upcoming events that will can to develop your networking skills or kick start your internship/career search.

While Kara has done extensive work with marketing and events, she would also love to work in the broadcasting field. She discovered her passion for this field here at UMass after taking some production courses, and more recently the seminar in Countercultural Films she is taking this semester, which delves into the countercultural movements that occurred within film during the 1960s and 70s in America and Europe. She hopes to land an internship in broadcasting in either the winter or spring to further her professional development in this field.

Kara is a perfect example of the successes that can occur when students get involved on campus; through her busy schedule Kara has been able to network, develop professionally, realize her career aspirations and create great experiences and memories of her time at UMass along the way.

Brian Paris

By: Danielle Hecht

Brian has been an intern at the non-profit organization, Soldier On, since 2010. The mission of Soldier On is to offer support to returning veterans who often come back to a structure that makes it impossible for them to help themselves. A lot of returning vets are homeless, have mental health issues, drug problems, and do not know how to get resources. Soldier On takes the homeless veterans and puts them into safe and supportive housing, while also providing financial support and psychological counseling until they can be independent again.

Getting involved in service clubs and philanthropic organizations has always been an interest of Brian’s. Although he did not know much going into interning at Soldier On, he was immediately enamored with their mission and knew that this was the kind of work he hoped to be doing.

Currently, Brian balances working three days a week at Soldier On while also being a student at UMass. His job at Soldier On involves writing marketing and Public Relations material, expanding public policy, identifying key community members and groups, and creating a network of service to help with funding for building projects. Brian emphasized that one aspect he loves about working for Soldier On is that they choose never to turn people away. If Soldier On cannot directly help someone who approaches them, they network with other services in the area to get that person the help they need. This philosophy has helped Brian to build his networking skills.

Brian’s advice to other students looking for an internship: Just do it. He recommends to just start somewhere, you don’t have to know everything, and it’s better to take every opportunity possible even if it just means figuring out one more thing that you don’t want to do. Interning at Soldier On has helped Brian to demystify the scariness of post-college life by allowing him to see how an organization works from the inside.

Brian’s success emanates from the fact that he always pushes himself by asking “Am I doing enough?” In the future, Brian is sure to be up to great things as he will continue to do what he loves.

J. Kyle White-Sullivan

By: Danielle Hecht

[J. Kyle in the Studio]

[Leading a General Body Meeting]

During his freshman year, J. Kyle White-Sullivan played around with the idea of having his own radio show, but did not know too much about how to get one. As a sophomore, he attended a New Persons Meeting at UMass Amherst’s own collegiate radio station, WMUA. J. Kyle saw that the fastest way to get on the air was by having a news show. Every Tuesday of his sophomore year, J. Kyle co-anchored a radio show where he read the local news which he got from different newspapers. As a team, he and the News Director worked together to write scripts which was a great start to J. Kyle’s budding radio career. However, he had a vision of a better news radio show that he could give to listeners. Instead of just regurgitating news that people could get anywhere, he decided to start using WMUA equipment, going into the community, and covering local news stories.

J.Kyle White-Sullivan became News Editorial Director at WMUA during his junior year. He worked extensively alongside Lisa Creamer who served as News Operations Director whose support and drive allowed the station to work as a team and improve the news cast.. As News Editorial Director, J. Kyle made a strong push for the production of original content, which would involve having students going out into the community, just like he had previously done, and editing and airing their own content. He realized that pushing to break the mold could be a big mess, especially since he had never been in a position where he had managed anyone. However, he was excited about the opportunity to get students truly involved, to connect and build relationships with other social and media groups, and to produce great stories that had not been previously considered.

Due to J. Kyle’s enthusiasm and determination to producing original content and the collaboration between members of the WMUA team, WMUA hit its stride in becoming one of UMass’s best sources for campus news. Now, as a senior, J. Kyle holds the position of Program Director where he is responsible for going through all of the applications for shows, setting the entire schedule (which runs 24 hours a day), making sure that all programs meet FCC standards and WMUA regulations, dealing with internal operations, and meeting with an executive committee to talk about job performance, among a multitude of other duties.

Working at WMUA provided J. Kyle with an outlet to get hands on experience in the field of Communications while still maintaining his studies. He believes that while the theory-based comm. classes teach him to be a well-rounded thinker, working at WMUA was the real core of his education. J. Kyle believes that people being able to produce their own media and getting their voices out there, whether it changes somebody’s mind or just gets someone thinking, is huge because those people are really engaging with the world through activism.

From all of his time at WMUA, J. Kyle is most proud that he was able to take an average 5:30 news cast and turn it into something new and original, which broadcasts to a 45 mile radius. He was able to see the change through the station, from regurgitating old news to connecting with the community and producing their own content. According to J. Kyle, having that kind of authority as a student is empowering, especially getting away from the day-to-day grind of just going to classes, writing papers, and doing homework.

In the future, J. Kyle White-Sullivan hopes to be working for non-profit or independent media companies where he can get away from mainstream content by asking provocative questions. With his dedication to activism and his innovative thinking style, look for J. Kyle White Sullivan in the future as a voice of the people.

Listen to one of J. Kyle White-Sullivan’s radio casts by clicking here.

Natalie Grillo

By: Danielle Hecht

Over the past three years, Natalie Grillo has been making a name for herself in the field of Media Communication. Most recently, Natalie interned at a digital marketing company, ArtsPromo, which is a company that helps musicians and artists with publicity on social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter. About the experience, Natalie said that she “never expected making a career out of Facebook and Twitter.” Her internship at ArtsPromo includes running the Twitter pages for several musicians, artists, and bands. Although each day is different, generally 3-5 interns sit at a computer every day and update posts for all of the clients. When the clients have tours or other events that require more publicity, Natalie and the other interns must plan the posts that will get published at least two weeks in advance. Some clients are very specific on the type of language used in the posts, thus, Natalie has become very detail-oriented and adept at checking and rechecking the posts that she submits as they are being published to the public.

Before she interned for ArtsPromo, Natalie spent a semester at WGBY and then a semester at Broadwayworld.com. WGBY is a public television station for western New England. At this internship, Natalie was in charge of the camera and getting text onto the teleprompter. At the time, Natalie was not sure if she wanted to go into television or film, she was just excited to get her hands on something.

Natalie’s internship with Broadwayworld.com was more geared toward her interests since it connected communication with theater. During this internship, Natalie saw every theater show possible on the UMass campus, conducted interviews with the cast, and wrote up a review which was then featured each month on the Broadwayworld.com website. Throughout all of her internship experiences, Natalie was most proud that she could say her name was associated with Broadwayworld.com. For years, she had been visiting that site, and it had in fact become a dream job. Being able to type in her own name into the search box and have her articles pop up as the result was a feeling like no other for Natalie.

From her various experiences at these three internships, Natalie has taken away the importance of networking and building relationships. She says that without her faculty advisor, she would not have been able to get the experience she needed before going out into the real world after graduation. Natalie highly recommends that all students approach a professor that does work that interests them in order to build a relationship with them. According to Natalie, it has made a significant difference on both her academic and professional experience to have someone who knows her, and knows all the things she has done. Natalie also credits her professional success to her ability to ask questions. She recommends to any student with an internship, “Ask as many questions as you can while you are there to learn as much as you possibly can.”

After graduation, Natalie hopes to be able to build on the professional relationships that she already has established and land a job working in New York.

Check out one of Natalie’s articles on Broadwayworld.com by clicking here.

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