Comm Crew's new leader ready to serve
School of Communication alumni and friends (Fall 2006)

by Anna Logemann

Michael C. Aho is a name that may soon become synonymous with the School of Communication. 

Aho, a 2002 East Carolina University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in communication (concentration in public relations), is the President-Elect for the new Comm Crew.  He will serve with current Crew President Olivia Collier, also a 2002 graduate. The Comm Crew is an affiliation of alumni and friends who support the legacy, mission and growth of the School of Communication.

Aho’s daytime job is political analyst for the United States Government, for which he “provides analysis on peace operations and the United Nations for the President of the United States, his cabinet members, and other U.S. government policymakers.” 

He received his Master of Science in peace operations policy from George Mason University in 2004. He is originally from Virginia Beach. Aho came to ECU to obtain an education degree in special education (no Virginia schools offered it). 

“More than that, I wanted to go to a school that felt small, but was rather large and that had a marching band; I play clarinet and wanted to be in a band. I was sold on ECU the first time I visited and never looked back.”

Aho’s job happened to fall into his lap. “It was by luck, really. I had no intent to do what I am doing but the stars aligned and I am able to do exactly what I want to be doing and I love it. I combined my undergraduate and graduate education to create a unique expertise which I now provide for our government.” 

Aho also serves as the co-chair of the Management Advisory Group at work and his goal for the one-year term is to help his agency have better retention of its employees. “In terms of my analytic career, I want to become the go-to person in the U.S. Government on peace operations and eventually be a briefer for the president.”  He would eventually like to teach about peacekeeping at the University level.

Aho’s eagerness to make the Comm Crew succeed and to do everything he can is evident when upon e-mailing him, he responds energetically and is eager to help. He is very excited about the Comm Crew and eager to jump right in on things. 

While attending East Carolina University, Aho was well regarded by his professors. One instructor, Barbara Bullington, said, “Michael was a student of mine and he was an excellent student and thought very highly of by other faculty members as well.  He has been interested in helping to establish a School of Communication-related alumni organization for awhile and has been a very supportive alumnus. I think he'll be an excellent and involved president.”

When asked why he decided to become active in the Comm Crew, Aho responded, “Comm Crew is unique – combining students, faculty, friends and alumni – and leverages the benefits of those groups. The Crew has the potential to serve as a catalyst for the School of Communication and College of Fine Arts and Communication, and I hope it will motivate other Communication alumni and friends to become involved in the alma mater and/or affinity group. We will only be a better university (and School) if we band together and work for our university.” 

Aho is very excited about all his alma mater is set to accomplish. He feels that ECU and the School of Communication are going to do momentous things. “ECU, especially in its Centennial Year, is facing its greatest opportunities ever. The SOC is one of the largest schools on campus and has the potential to be a leader in North Carolina. I am particularly excited about the new momentum the school faces and wanted to provide my skill set and passion for ECU to help push that into the new century of the university.”

The Comm Crew, although very new, established in the spring of 2006, has many things in the works. 

“Our immediate goal is to put together a data set of all communication alumni from the past; this goal is made difficult by the fact that communication as a major has shifted between various departments, colleges and schools. We also want to create a network of our alumni so communication graduates have a resource for jobs, networking opportunities and expertise. I personally would like to see all new graduates of the School become members of Comm Crew.” 

Aho has received many awards from the U.S. Government, such as four Exceptional Performance Awards, the Director’s Award for Driving Collection in the Office of Transnational Issues, and the Honorable Mention from the director of National Intelligence “Galileo Awards” for innovative ideas. 

“I have a true passion to help people and am always looking for ways to help others succeed,” said Aho.  “I love to watch football, bike, run and am an avid moviegoer (I see almost every movie that comes out).  I also serve on the Fairfax County Tenant-Landlord Commission and am involved in various community activities.” Aho was also recently named by Dean Jeffery Elwell to the College of Fine Arts and Communication Advancement Council.
 
Communication professor organizes actors panel for students (Fall 2006)

By Anna Logemann

On Nov. 6, 2006, several actors from the play, “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial” spoke to art, theater, dance and communication students.     

The participants of the actors’ panel were J. Paul Boehmer, Bill Brochtrup, Matt Gaydos, Anthony Holsten and Grant Shaud. The actors and artists present have produced or acted in an array of shows including "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," "Judging Amy,” "Deep Space Nine," “21 Grams” Oops! Comedy Improv, "NYPD Blue," "The Lion King," "Hamlet" and "Murphy Brown."

The emcee for the evening was new assistant professor of media production, Erick Green.  The actors all come from different backgrounds with diverse resumes. The fifth panelist, Anthony Holsten, was chosen by Green because, "He is representative of the actors in the region of Eastern North Carolina who are practicing their craft locally (and doing) what others might be practicing nationally in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.”

The event was very successful, with approximately 100 guests in attendance.  Green noted, “It was very successful in that students came from many departments, including media production, journalism, public relations and theatre.  The convergence of the audience was very strong.” 

As reported in the article from the Daily Reflector on Nov. 9, Green asked the actors what their favorite roles were.  Matt Gaydos said that his favorite role was, "Playing the rabbit in Harvey," while Anthony Holsten enjoys: "the variety. It is a playground of characters out there. I dig the Shakespearian stuff though." Bill Brotchrup expressed his views by stating, "All artists are paid for their choices. I look for how to step outside of the box.  You need to manipulate and change the stereotypes because how you do show business is the art of show business."

Green’s background is a unique one, as he started out as an architect. He earned a B.A. in architecture, and worked as a archaeological architect in the Middle East. He then obtained a MFA in film production at USC School of Cinema Television, after which he worked as a freelancer in Los Angeles in documentaries, feature films, commercials and music videos, while also teaching at USC School of Cinema/Television.

School of Communication partners with College of Education (Fall 2006)

Scholars studying communication in the classroom once wrote,  “The difference between knowing and teaching is communication.” Improving the ability of teachers to communicate in the classroom, as well as with colleagues and others, is a goal that has been reached through a partnership between the College of Education and the School of Communication at ECU.

This is the fourth year that the School of Communication has been coordinating communication seminars with the College of Education’s Teaching Fellows Program. The seminars emerged from a desire to bring communication topics and issues to future teachers.

The Teaching Fellows program is a $26,000 scholarship awarded annually to 500 outstanding North Carolina high school seniors. While attending college, these students participate in seminars, committee work, tutoring, service projects and other leadership opportunities. The students repay the scholarship after graduation through service by teaching anywhere in North Carolina except private school.

Dr. Laura Prividera of the School of Communication, who has a background in both communication and education, coordinates the seminars to enhance communication skills and professionalism among future educators.

Mary Beth Corbin is director of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program.
Corbin explained that the idea for collaborating with the School of Communication came about when she and the former dean, Dr. Marilyn Sheerer, originally talked about what skills a professional educator would need.

“We believed that included professional communications, both verbal and non-verbal,” Corbin said. “Communications within the educations system needed to include administrators, colleagues, parents and community leaders. I felt like the School of Communication might have the faculty necessary to lead these seminars.”

Prividera presented a proposal to Corbin about communication topics. She then recruited several faculty in the SOC, including Dr. John Howard, to deliver these seminars, and also developed her own presentations for the program.

Topics cover a broad range of communication areas, including: interpersonal communication, listening, conflict, ethics, culture, gender, humor, verbal and nonverbal communication, persuasion, public speaking, and establishing credibility in the classroom.

The partnership seems to have been a positive experience for those involved. “Working with Dr. Prividera and other faculty has been a true asset to our program,” said Corbin, and Prividera relates that feedback from both faculty and students has been “wonderful.”

Presentations that have already been given include:
• “Culture and Communication in the Classroom” by Dr. Sachiyo Shearman and Dr. Prividera,
• “Verbal and Nonverbal Persuasion” (designed to help students overcome communication apprehension, structure a persuasive message for a lay audience, and deliver that message with confidence), by Dr. Eric Shouse.

Upcoming presentations include:
• “Steps in Listening/Obstacles in Effective Listening,” by Dr. Todd Fraley on Nov. 13.
• “Anxiety, Delivery and Professionalism,” by Pamela Hopkins on March 5. 
•“Communicating with Challenging Students, Colleagues
  and Parents,” by Pam Hopkins and Dr. Deborah Thomson on April 16.
•"Using Humor in the Classroom," (will teach future teachers how to cope with stress in their everyday lives and how to create opportunities for shared humor in their classrooms) by Dr. Shouse in Spring 2007.

For more information about the Teaching Fellows program, please visit www.coe.ecu.edu/teachfel or www.teachingfellows.org.

MTV News Correspondent, Gideon Yago, Speaks at ECU (Fall 2006)

By Shauna Naylor

A small selection of East Carolina’s communication majors gathered Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006, at Mendenhall to meet highly proclaimed MTV news correspondent Gideon Yago during a reception before his speaking engagement at 8 p.m. in Hendrix that evening, during which he discussed how the war in Iraq is portrayed by media.
    With no formal speech prepared for the reception, Yago took questions from the 18 individuals present. This question-answer gathering stemmed into a web of stories that helped everyone in attendance get a better idea of his life, his work and his future aspirations.
    Yago conveyed strong wisdom to the students in attendance.
     “Always do you! Do you as much as you can.”
    He advised students to pick their battles with their employers and become judicious observers. Yago touched on disappointing times during which his ideas were dismissed by employers and magazine editors. Yago believes that getting the proper stories to the public is a “craft, not a science,” so each individual needs to find the right angle that will catch the attention of the public. He continued by saying, “If you’re willing to get your heart broken, then you have a chance of truly affecting people.”
    Yago also spoke passionately about his most prided work, his documentaries of the war on Iraq. He believes his pieces were “new and innovative for MTV,” and gave viewers an opportunity to see something meaningful and relevant.
    Throughout his speech, Yago cracked jokes about the direction in which MTV was headed and the shows they aired. He claimed that more people wanted to see “Date My Mom” than news stories about war, soldiers and their families they left behind.
    Yago, who graduated from Columbia University with a major in history, began his career working for Spin Magazine and MTV’s Choose or Lose Campaign. He’s been afforded the opportunity to interview many prominent political figures such as George W. Bush and John Kerry, soldiers at war, families in Iraq and Afghanistan, many celebrities, and countless musicians. In addition to his documentaries dealing with the war on Iraq, Yago has contributed to documentaries on hate crimes, sexual health, Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 attacks.
    After the reception students thanked Yago for his time and insight.
 “It was really cool to talk to him in person,” said student Jennifer Zmina. “He gets to do what I’m trying to do as soon as I graduate. Just from hearing his stories and advice I’m ready to start looking for a job. I hope MTV is hiring!”
     Professor of communication at ECU, Dr. Cindy Elmore, said, “It’s terrific that the Student Union paid for an event that was specifically for our top students in the Basic Reporting, Advanced Reporting and some other journalism classes. It gave us the chance to sort of ‘reward’ and showcase our best students in a way other than with grades.”

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Communication grads enjoy the exciting world of event planning

By Kathryn Bullard

In the words of Scottish essayist, poet and novelist Robert Louis Stevenson: “Talk is by far the most accessible of pleasures. It costs nothing in money, it is all profit, it completes our education, founds and fosters our friendships, and can be enjoyed at any age and in almost any state of health.” 

Communication is a vital aspect to the world we live in; therefore, a college degree in communication offers graduates an array of different job opportunities. One that has dramatically grown in the last decade is the meeting/event planning business. 
According to www.powerhomebiz.com, the Bureau of Census Service Annual Survey found that the convention and trade show organizer business was a $10.13 billion industry in 2003. 

Many college graduates are enjoying the exciting and dynamic business of meeting/event planning. Two in particular are East Carolina University alumni, Jami Sheppard and Heather Quast.

Sheppard graduated from ECU in 1999 with a B.A. in communication, concentration in public relations, and minor in psychology. Last year, she graduated with a M.S. in administration and a concentration in leadership from Central Michigan University. Today, Sheppard lives outside Fayetteville, N.C., where she holds office on the Spring Lake Board of Aldermen; works as an event planner for town and civic club festivals/fundraisers; and freelances graphics, writing, editing and marketing/business plans. 

“The most valuable thing that I learned at ECU was how to apply what you learn in classes to ‘real life.’ It is fun to take the basics and adapt them to projects and other ventures,” says Sheppard. “What I learned in my classes at ECU are easily the foundations of everything I have done as far as communications, from public relations to journalism to marketing.”

Sheppard advises college freshmen to “take your classes seriously. Give everything you do your best. Take this time to find out what you want to do in life and prepare for life after graduation. Get involved in student organizations and begin to build a resume.” 
Sheppard explains that she enjoys her job because it allows her to meet new people as well as come up with new creative ideas to keep festivals and events fresh and well attended.  

Like Sheppard, a more recent ECU alumni Heather Quast loves every day of her job as the catering director for Capital One. Quast graduated in December of 2004 with a B.A. in communication, concentration in public relations, and a minor in business administration. She now resides in Richmond, V.A., and explains that “the best part about being a catering director is that I get to plan every aspect of a meeting or event. Whether it is a simple corporate lunch meeting, an elegant high-end reception or a family fun BBQ, I take care of the client from start to finish…Every day is different, with new challenges and more fun!” 

One of the most rewarding parts of Quast’s career is what she calls “the smile.”  “It is the unspoken ‘thank you’ from clients as they are watching their event unfold without error…It is the immediate satisfaction of seeing a happy client that makes my career worth while.” 
Quast remarked how she was “elated” to be given the opportunity to work in her preferred field so soon after graduation. The research, interview, portfolio, computer and customer service skills she acquired from her classes at ECU have allowed her career to thrive. “I was told by my current company that out of all of their applicants I was the only one to show up with a portfolio…they found it quite impressive. Even though there was not much in it at the time, it still showed the effort and my quality of work and drive to succeed,” says Quast. She related that every class she took at ECU taught her a skill that she uses everyday.        

Quast would advise freshmen at ECU to work hard and play hard. She explains, “It is not impossible to work, go to school, and go out and have fun on the weekends. It is all about everything in moderation. Take as many classes as you can handle, not any more. Get involved in school; before you know it, it’s over. And party, as long as your homework is done!”

As for advice to an ECU senior shortly entering the “real world,” Quast says to “be patient. Don’t take the first thing that comes along just because it is a job. Find a career in what you want to do, not what you need to do. When you have a passion for your career is when you will succeed and strive to move ahead.”

Assistance, experience and advice available for soon-to-be
and not-so-soon-to be School of Communication graduates

by Allie Moore

The resume is written, the cover letter perfected and the references are ready with good reviews. So what's the next step? This is the bothersome question on every college graduate's mind. After receiving the final reading assignment, the last e-mail from an academic advisor and the diploma, the soon-to-be college grad has the whole world to explore.
    Kristen Monte was once in this same predicament as student in the School of Communication at East Carolina University at the turn of the century. Full of much ambition and hope for the future, she blended with the other 20,000 ECU students in a number of ways, including an uncertain outlook on a direct career path.
    “I started out at ECU as a nutrition major, thinking I was going to go pre-med,” said Monte. “However, after two years, I realized that was not what I wanted to do. So I went through career counseling and landed on journalism.”
    It is quite typical for students to change their minds, majors and main goals in college. In a time where so much is changing for a young student, different ideas, environments and events can have an adverse effect on a so-called “definitive” life plan. Although students may settle for a degree in a specific field, the question of the actual career is still up for contemplation.
    “I really had no career plans when I started in journalism,” Monte said. “I knew that I loved writing and that I enjoyed investigative journalism. My only plan was to write for a magazine...and that I wanted to eventually write a book.”
    Although classes aid in preparing students for their futures, extra curricular activities also help in developing communication skills, responsibility, discipline and social abilities. ECU offers many organizations that allow students to take charge of important projects or publications, thus enabling them to practice for real world situations.
    Students in the School of Communication have the options of writing or editing for the student university newspaper, “The East Carolinian,” performing or producing with WZMB radio station, and gaining valuable and professional abilities as members of the National Broadcasting Society or the Public Relations Student Society of America. All of these student-run organizations offer excellent experience, career previews and advantageous networking opportunities.
    “I worked for 'The East Carolinian,'” said Monte. “I wrote features and I did copy editing so I could experience different aspects of the newspaper world.”
    Although this job showed Monte that she did not want to work for a newspaper after college, it was an important step in her ladder of her career search.
    Among the hundreds of stirring thoughts that invade a future graduate's brain, students can neglect to realize that there is a plethora of accessible sources of guidance right on college campuses.
    ECU's Career Center has many counselors available to meet with students to discuss possible paths. Jim McAtee, assistant director of the Career Center, has extensive experience in helping students find their passions and decide on a wise route to follow.
    “We help students with career searches in a number of different ways,” said McAtee.
    The first step for students is to call and make an appointment with a career coach. The coaches specialize in different career fields so that each student has a mentor who can point them in the right direction based on their interests.
    “We do an assessment to find out their preferences, and then we talk about the salaries, educational requirements, job outlooks and a number of other issues regarding those careers,” said McAtee. “We direct students regarding how to get experience that will fit well with what they are interested in.”
    Monte found answers from the Career Center when she lost her interest in nutrition and recognized her love for writing.
    “I had professors who would discuss certain routes to take or areas of concentration to focus on, but most of my career advice came from the campus Career Center,” Monte said.
    Even when she graduated from ECU in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in print journalism, Monte was not 100 percent sure of her immediate plans. She sent her resume to as many media publications and outlets as she could locate, such as newspapers, magazines and publishing companies in Philadelphia, Pa. For the much needed post-college income, she began substitute teaching and freelance writing for a small weekly newspaper. After a year, she was able to strengthen her portfolio with worthy writing samples, and the beneficial experience helped her prevail over other job hopefuls once the interviews started.
    Now, as an associate editor of Printing Impressions, an editor for the North American Publishing Company and the managing editor of In-Plant Graphics, Monte still continues to write for magazines and says she will be happy as long as she is writing.
    “In the business, you constantly have to learn, you constantly have to evolve,” said Monte. “As long as you are able to learn something from where you are and parlay that into something grander in the future, you are doing well.”
   
Media elite meet and greet at School of Communication banquet


Dodson

Renowned author and ECU alumnus James Dodson spoke at the School of Communication’s first Comm Crew Reunion Banquet on Oct. 6, 2006.

Dodson’s “A Golfer’s Life—the autobiography of Arnold Palmer,” was a New York Times bestseller. Among his previous books are “Final Rounds” and “Faithful Travelers,” both of which were also best sellers.  “Final Rounds” received the International Network of Golf’s industry honors award for Best Golf Book of 1996. Both books are currently being produced for film. His latest book, “Beautiful Madness—One Man’s Journey Through Other People’s Gardens,” is in bookstores now. Dodson was also an award-winning regular columnist for Golf magazine for almost two decades.

“Jim Dodson is the perfect speaker for the first-ever Comm Crew Banquet,” says Tim Hudson, Director of the ECU School of Communication. “An English major, Jim was a student reporter for The East Carolinian (ECU’s student newspaper). The Comm Crew is made up not just of ECU journalism, communication, speech and broadcasting majors from the past 50 years or so, but also of alumni who worked for the paper, the student radio station and the yearbook.”


Hudson

According to Hudson, Comm Crew membership also includes professional advertisers, journalists, public relations practitioners, film/television/radio producers, and other professional communicators who may not have attended ECU but who have an interest in the success of School of Communication.



Hannah Allam, Middle East Bureau Chief for McClatchy Newspapers, also spoke at ECU on Oct. 6. She discussed her experiences reporting on terrorism, Iraq and the Middle East.

Media elite to meet and greet: School of Communication banquet set for Oct. 6

Renowned author and ECU alumnus James Dodson will speak at the School of Communication’s first Comm Crew Reunion Banquet on Oct. 6.

Dodson’s “A Golfer’s Life—the autobiography of Arnold Palmer,” was a New York Times bestseller. Among his previous books are “Final Rounds” and “Faithful Travelers,” both of which were also best sellers.  “Final Rounds” received the International Network of Golf’s industry honors award for Best Golf Book of 1996. Both books are currently being produced for film. His latest book, “Beautiful Madness—One Man’s Journey Through Other People’s Gardens,” is in bookstores now. Dodson was also an award-winning regular columnist for Golf magazine for almost two decades.

“Jim Dodson is the perfect speaker for the first-ever Comm Crew Banquet,” says Tim Hudson, Director of the ECU School of Communication. “An English major, Jim was a student reporter for The East Carolinian (ECU’s student newspaper). The Comm Crew is made up not just of ECU journalism, communication, speech and broadcasting majors from the past 50 years or so, but also of alumni who worked for the paper, the student radio station and the yearbook.”

According to Hudson, Comm Crew membership also includes professional advertisers, journalists, public relations practitioners, film/television/radio producers, and other professional communicators who may not have attended ECU but who have an interest in the success of School of Communication.

The Banquet will include a Social at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m. To purchase banquet tickets, contact Mary Jane Gaddis at 252-328-1268.

Hannah Allam, Middle East Bureau Chief for McClatchy Newspapers, will also speak at ECU on Oct. 6. She’ll discuss her experiences reporting on terrorism, Iraq and the Middle East. Allam’s presentation is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Room 244 of Mendenhall Student Center, and is free and open to the public. Space is limited. Allam will also be a special guest at the “Comm Crew” Banquet that evening.

The Comm Crew is an affiliation of alumni and friends who support the legacy, mission and growth of the School of Communication. In addition to alumni, communication and media professionals—including non Comm Crew members-—are encouraged to attend the banquet. Tickets are $35 each.

New flat screen TV used to showcase students’ work
by Jessica Creson
The School of Communication now has an LG, 50-inch, high - definition plasma television greeting everyone as they walk into the lower entrance of Joyner East.
   
The television will provide the opportunity for students and faculty to view other students’ projects. Most people in the School previously never have a chance to view many of these projects unless directly involved, but now they will.
    
SOC students have a chance to record a variety of pieces in the studio for classes in media production, public relations and broadcast journalism, such as documentaries and public service announcements, according to Irvin “Butch” Saul, the SOC broadcast technician. 
    
General news about ECU and the SOC will also be presented, as well as breaking news and alumni information.