Alumni Newsletter - November 2022

School of Communication Alumni Newsletter

We hosted our fifth annual Multimedia Journalism Career and Internship Fair in the middle of October. Our students impressed the media professionals in attendance!

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Fall is my favorite time of year in Blacksburg. The leaves change colors and remind us all that maroon and orange are a natural combination and a beautiful backdrop for our campus.

In my first few months as director, I’ve been pleased to see our faculty and staff hard at work making this semester a success. Our students are excited to be back on campus, and it is energizing to see them gather in Shanks Hall and the broadcast studio in the Moss Arts Center. Here’s a quick update on some of the exciting happenings so far from the fall semester.

We invited a number of media professionals and alumni to campus for the fifth annual Multimedia Journalism Career and Internship Fair. It was a great opportunity for our students to engage with them and have the opportunity to craft their interviewing skills. Many of the visiting media and industry professionals remarked about how impressed they are by our students. It’s exciting to see the students shine!

I’ve enjoyed connecting with prospective students and their families to show the value of a School of Communication education and a communication degree. The school’s leadership team and our professional advisor helped host prospective students at open house events and major fairs. These events are important recruitment tools for the university each fall and they offer the school a rich opportunity to share excitement about our majors and the wonderful employment opportunities our students are receiving after graduation.

We welcomed 108 new transfer students to the school this semester. It gave us a great chance to celebrate National Transfer Student Week at the end of October and spotlight some of our transfer students on social media. Transfer students constitute a sizable portion of the school’s student population, and they continue to make important contributions to our classes, clubs and organizations.

We’re beginning the uphill climb to the end of the semester, but we are looking forward to seeing everyone finish this semester on a high note. In the meantime, please enjoy the sights, stories, and sounds of our School of Communication community below. Go Hokies!

John Tedesco
Director, School of Communication

Hokie's internship with Emmy Awards show leaves him starstruck

Ryan Paul, a junior in the School of Communication, worked with the Emmys this summer in North Hollywood as a talent and public relations intern.
Read More >

Robert Denton honored with emeritus status

Denton is a widely recognized analyst of Virginia and U.S. politics, and he served as host of public affairs programs on Blue Ridge Public Television. He was the W. Thomas Rice Chair, a professor of communication, and the founding director of the School of Communication.
Read More >

One giant leap: School of Communication student intern lends marketing acumen to NASA

Anthony Cusat, a senior in the School of Communication, landed an internship with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center this summer. He’s continued his role as the branding new vision intern during the fall semester.
Read More >

WSLS Visit

Jaimie León (vice president and general manager) and Margaret Ashburn (news director) of WSLS-10 visited campus to see our students in action inside our state-of-the-art multimedia center.

Several guest speakers have visited Anthony Amey's Sports Journalism class via Zoom to provide insights to our students. Pictured is Ernie Johnson Jr. of Turner Sports.

Open House

John Tedesco shares about the School of Communication programs with a prospective student at October's Open House event.

It was so fun having so many alumni, inlcluding Izzy Post '17 (left) and Logan Ross '19 (right), return to campus for the Multimedia Journalism Career and Internship Fair.

Alumni, Students, and Faculty Highlights

Michelle Gabe, a 2013 communication graduate, was named to Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 list for work as the marketing director for TRUFF.
Katie Dillon, multimedia journalism senior, was featured on WFXR and in the Roanoke Times for her summer internship with Getty Images.
Tech Sideline launched a bi-daily show covering all things Virginia Tech athletics. It is completely run and operated by eight sports media and analytics students: Jack Brizendine, Nick Brown, Jake Lyman, Giovanni Heater, Katie Adams, Abby Neilson, Carter Hill, and Chris Hirons.
Stephanie Smith, associate professor, received the 2022 Business Communication Impact Award from the Association for Business Communication for her article titled “Communication and Teleworking: A Study of Communication Channel Satisfaction, Personality, and Job Satisfaction for Teleworking Employees.”
Robin Reed, professor of practice, was inducted into the Silver Circle of the Capital Emmys to honor 25+ years of service to the broadcasting industry.
Megan Duncan, assistant professor, shared her research regarding the similarities between our identities in politics and sports teams with VTx.
Cayce Myers, associate professor, published an article about intellectual property and requests for proposals in PRSay.

Follow us on social media!

There is always so much happening in the School of Communication. We hope you will consider keeping in touch with us via social media. We love to hear from our alumni!

Submit content for the School of Communication newsletter or social media by emailing Cory Van Dyke, communication and marketing specialist, at coryv9@vt.edu.