Computers enable long-distance interview for Media Writing students

(posted Jan. 12, 2009)

By Whitney Sessoms

    Through video conferencing software, an interview took place between Barbara Bullington’s Media Writing class at East Carolina University and officers from different branches of the military at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. 
    The interview took place in October 2008. The week before, Bullington gave each student a profile with general information about an interview subject, including name, rank, years of service, branch of service, marital status and hometown.  Each student in Media Writing was asked to prepare questions for their individual interview subject. 
    When the interview took place, every member of the class was encouraged to stand near one of the computers in their class and to observe and take notes about what the interviewers and interview subjects said. 
      The ECU student interviewers asked a variety of questions. The questions asked ranged from the factors that encouraged the subjects to join the military, to adjusting to being away from families.     
    According to Major Mark Hearns, who has been in the service for 25 years and is married with one child, the most difficult part about being in the military was balancing family life.
    Major Mark Donar, who has been in the service for 13 years and is married with two children, said that he has had to face at least one challenge. 
“Continuing integrity in all you do is a great challenge,” Donar stated.
    A student asked Major Rex Phillips, who has been in the service for 20 years and is married with three children, about whether he would encourage  any of his own children to serve in the military. Phillips admitted that the question was a “tough one.”
    The students of Bullington’s class also learned that life in the military is not as bad as the media makes it out to be.  According to Major Kenneth Frey, who has been in the service for 11 years and is married with one child and expecting another, “Good news does not make national news.”