Kenna Griffin

I am Kenna Griffin. I am a professor of journalism and director of student publications at Oklahoma City University. As such, I teach courses in the journalism sequence. I also advise the student newspaper, yearbook, newspaper Web site, and yearbook DVD. I also am a writer for The Oklahoman. I am interested in studying the effects of covering violent events. Specifically, I want to know if journalists are bothered by the things they cover. I am taking courses in JMC in hopes of being accepted into the doctoral program.

All About Ashley

Hello! I am Ashley Bower. I'm 30 years old and currently teaching theatre at Choctaw Jr. High School. I've always wanted to go into the Public Relations field, but with bills and life it just seemed to be a distant dream. I finally decided to take the chance and was excepted into the OU program.

My undergraduate degree is in Acting and Directing a Texas Woman's University. I've been in several stage productions but ultimately fell in love with the directing side of the art. I have directed many producations and have also written several plays and one musical. I feel this background will help me to excel in my goal of becoming a large scale event coordinator. I don't just want to be perceived as a "party planner" but rather a coordinator of conferences and grand events such as festivals.

As for my personal life, I'm single and have a mut, Houdini, a basset hound, Huckleberry, and a long hair tuxedo cat,Mucha. I'm an avivid world traveler. I spent the past summer backpacking in Europe and I plan to roam around Eygpt this coming summer. So far I've traveled throughout the States, Central America, Brazil, Australia, England, the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Austria, New Zealand, Brussels and many points in between. I hope to one [day] experience the Great Wall of China.

Josh Rogers

Hello! I'm orginally from West Fargo, ND. I have a B.A. in Speech Communications with a concentration in Film and Telecommunications from Minnesota State University Moorhead (formerly Moorhead State University). I am just old enough that our film classes shot our projects on actual film instead of video.

I am currently a graduate assistant for Dr. Carstarphen and Professor Tarpenning. On the weekends I work part-time at the local Blockbuster video store making sure that there are enough copies of Wild Hogs on the shelf to rent. Before that, I was an executive for the Boy Scouts in San Diego and Oklahoma City. At various other times in my life I have also: worked at a scuba supply warehouse, been a Chinese food cook, temped at a TV station, worked in the blackjack department at the largest casino in Minnesota and hauled hay during the summers in high school. I've also been an arcade attendant, a manager at another video store, and was briefly a carny for a travelling fair.

I am interested in the topics that touch the entertainment industry. I've always been interested in film and film studies so part of my studies have been a continuation of that interest. Studying in the mass communication department has allowed me to explore television, gaming, and internet entertainment as well.

Right now, I am still undecided if I will work on thesis or work on a project. I am taking the core classes for both options right now. Hopefully this class will help me to decide which track will be the right one for me.

Hi! I’m Emily Lile. I’m originally from a tiny town called Vinita, Oklahoma. I am a second semester graduated student and my focus is strategic communication. I graduated last May from OU with an advertising degree and decided to come back for more. I wasn’t planning on graduate school, but during the summer between my junior and senior years at OU I interned at a small advertising agency and noticed that several of the people who worked there were back in school working to get their master’s degree. I began to consider continuing my education and many professionals I know advised me to do so. So here I am.

I also work full time as a media analyst at Direct Effect Media. Direct Effect is a media buying advertising agency. What that means is that we place ads into newspapers, television, radio, etc… We don’t do creative, account coordinating, or public relations; we have a parent company in Kansas City, Plattform Advertising, that handles all of that. I have been working at Direct Effect for about six months and I really like it.

I am doing the project option. Though I am still undecided on the topic I would like to study, I want my project to be something that I can use to gain experience in the professional world. I am interested in consulting with businesses in order to create or mold their business/brand into a cohesive image taking into consideration every aspect. I studied advertising as an undergrad, but I feel that I was too single minded and that is why graduate school is so important to me. I want to study more public relations while continuing to learn about new media advertising. I am also interested in working with non-profit organizations, therefore learning more about PR is essential.

So My Life (Taylor N) Doohicky via Gigglewhazzit

I'm Taylor Newcomb. I am originally from Jackson, MS and graduated from Mercer University in '04 with a degree in political science and in '06 with a degree in journalism. The first degree got me a part time job at a bookstore in Athens, GA. Therefore I went back to school. The second degree got me a job at the Rankin Record. I am trying to erase that experience from my memory.

I have no graduate assistantship or an internship at the current time. Not through a lack of trying. However, I plan on trying to be one of the media relations interns next year for the OU athletics program.

I am at OU in an effort to get a Master's degree that will open up more opportunities for me. Even with my degrees right now, I only have a future in newspapers, a dying medium, or magazines. Through my time at the Rankin Record, I discovered that my real desire was to be on the other side of the news gathering process. As such, I wanted to get into a career in media relations/public relations. My main desire is to get into the sports side of the business, since I am rather a sports fanatic and know entirely too much about the various sports. I want to be able to be that person that the media and the various sports shows and radio talk shows come to for the story.

My research interests include sports, and more specifically crisis communication in sports. I found the Vick, MLB, and various other sports crises very intriguing and was glued to ESPN to learn what new information came out and how those at the other side of the crisis dealt with it. For instance, I found that it was a huge mistake for Clemens to wait so long to finally talk about the Mitchell report. At the center of my crisis communication interest is W. Timothy Coombs and his SCCT (Situational Crisis Communication Theory). The theory gives a guideline about how to deal with a crisis that is being hardly used or misused by the various sports leagues, teams, and stars.

So that is me.

This Ibrahima

My name is Ibrahima Ndoye and I’m from Senegal, West Africa. I have been a resident of Oklahoma for six years. I ‘am a graduate student at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, specializing in strategic communication.

My interest in Mass Communication was triggered off by my experience in the wireless industry while working for Cingular. This job has allowed me to understand the importance of communication; and how interactions are handled in general, within one of the fastest growing business sectors. In fact, I had the opportunity to be involved in three strategic mergers within this company. Cingular bought former at&t Wireless and Suncom; a local wireless company in Virginia. Now, as we all know Cingular has become the New AT&T.

Each of these mergers involved particular elements as far as communicating with the customers and at the same time setting their expectations are concerned. This undertaking required skills; all the more that customers do not prefer to change providers. The task was to make it seamless at all levels. The first merger was when Cingular bought at&t Wireless. It was more than twenty million customers that were involved. Our duties were challenging as we had to convince all these customers to join the new company regardless of their contracts. We had to take classes every week to sharpen our communication skills as the company could not afford losing those customers. With a new structure, we had to make it seamless so that nobody would be lost in the changes in pricing, contracts and the way calls were to be handled by customer service.

Strategic Communication is, however, my preferred branch because it includes nearly all the major elements of the field. I’m keenly interested in acquiring theoretical knowledge and practical skills in this area and especially in persuasive communication. I would hope to learn a great deal from the diverse faculty of the Gaylord College. One interesting element is that the scope of the discipline turns broader and broader as we take the core classes. Just to say that possibilities are growing with the different choices I’m coming across.

I’m also interested in research in the field of communication. This would later allow me to indulge in the PhD program. It might be appropriate to mention that I’m reasonably familiar with research. My experience in previous studies has allowed me to acquire the material that I need for research. I have two graduate degrees; and each of them gave me the opportunity to sharpen my skills. The first one was in English (American Literature and Civilization). As English is not my native language, I had to study it as far as I could in order to manage the specificities of the language.

I’m familiar with Afro-American literature. Novels such as Sula, the Sisters of Brewster Place and Song of Solomon from Toni Morrison have a great influence on my perception of the difficulties facing minorities. I would not forget Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sing, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man and many more. My second degree was in Political Science-International Affairs.

My thesis in English is entitled Poetry and Democratic Nationalism in Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. The reason why I did my work on Whitman was that he was an advocate of democracy and inclusion in a period when America was in turmoil right at the beginning of the exclusion of women, blacks and other minorities. His poetry is universal and embraces the cosmos. In my international studies I attempted to probe the Dynamics of Political Instability in Subsharan Africa.

In my country I was in a pre-doctoral class in English and got involved in research and teaching. My knowledge of several languages, mainly English and French, which I can teach at higher levels, has shaped my career as I ended up being a translator and interpreter right before coming to the US. I worked with the US Army Special Forces. They came to Senegal to give instructions to a Senegalese battalion that had to go to a peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone. My job consisted of translating military classes and conversations from French to English and vice versa.

Another important element that has driven me to study communication is the opportunity to draw comparisons on how individuals communicate within different cultures. This will involve advertising, for instance.

The challenge would be to consider doctoral studies in the field as there is a need to bring the expertise to our countries in Africa to help in teaching and training the future actors in the communication field.

Dan Hardwick

When I began my undergraduate career, I didn't have a clue what "going to college" meant. The social stuff and extracurricular opportunities were obvious parts, but in hindsight, I never actually thought of college as an endeavor of which the ultimate goal was learning. It seemed to me that college was something that, given the chance, you accomplished, because that's what was expected of you. Therefore, I chose a course of study not based on a passion to learn, but on a somewhat vague idea of what would be the "best" choice: finance.

Toward the end of my five year struggle to get my finance degree at Texas A&M University, I realized that my skills, my talents, my passion, and most importantly my potential could best be utilized in a much different discipline. That's why I started looking into public relations and in the end, that's what lead me to OU. I already had friends here, even a girlfriend, and I was highly impressed by the Gaylord College. All in all, OU seemed like the perfect place for me to go and up to now, it has lived up to expectations.

Most importantly, my time here has taught me a very essential skill: critical thinking. Thinking critically is something that I believe everyone has the potential to do. Being able to refine and expand upon that skill has opened parts of my brain that I didn't know existed, and consequently, I see the world very differently than I used to.

To get to the point, I guess I should mention that I hoping to begin a thesis exploring corporate social responsibility and the corporate image through the prism of investor relations. I look forward to getting feedback from all of you as we begin to nail down these thesis/project ideas!

WHO AM I: SARABDEEP KOCHHAR

“A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means.”

-William Hazlitt

If I were to describe my life’s philosophy in one word, it would be passion. Self-belief, inquisitiveness, hard work and strong will power, then, become but natural necessities and outcome. I come from a liberal, upper-middle class Indian family. My working parents have always encouraged us, four siblings, to be independent and take responsibility for our actions and decisions. Strong values and principles being the basis of growth have always guided us.

I did my bachelor’s in English. By the time I finished my college, I realized that the breadth and depth of communication was impossible to cover in such a short time. Most important was the discovery that I, myself, wanted to spend more time in this intriguing field. So, I did my masters in mass communication. For my thesis, I picked up 'Political Ad Campaigns of General Elections 2005', and made in depth study of the ad campaigns and the communication differences amid the political parties contesting the elections.

I interned with ‘Radio Buzz’, a leading radio program production house. My work included conceptualizing, researching and writing for radio shows.

After my masters, I taught in the university for two years and then worked for some time with the Government as a Public Relations manager. But my love for academics and desire to learn bought me back to school. I am currently in the second semester of my masters program. I am working with Dr. Charles Self as his research assistant. I am learning a lot and experiencing new things. I am still going through the process and exploring my opportunities.

I like to read religious scriptures and also listen to Indian music. I am interested in studying and understanding publics in the broad field of public relations.

About Jaimie

Like many of you, this is my second semester in the master's program. I'm from Houston, Texas and I came to Oklahoma as a meteorology major. I slowly realized that I didn't want to know as much as I thought I wanted to know about weather, and actually wanted to report on the affects of weather on people's lives and various other things. So, I switched my major to journalism and graduated in May 2007.

I am a graduate assistant in Housing and Residence Life. I coordinate the Housing Learning Center tutoring facility in Adams Tower. I have been employed with Housing since my sophomore year in undergrad. Unfortunately, my boss passed away during Summer 2007 from a long bout with cancer. Because I was returning for grad school, I was asked to move up in position because of my experience and commitment t0 the HLC.

My research interests stem from my strong aversion to BET programming. I don't think BET does enough to enlighten its core audience through its current programming structure. Instead it provides programming that is degrading to the people in the graphic "rump-shaking" videos and to its audience who spends their leisure time learning every dance move in the videos instead of picking up book. I think this travesty has a lot to do with BET's ownership; BET sold its soul to Viacom.

So, I plan to study African American images in broadcast, especially local television news. I am on the Mass Comm Management track, and I hope to use the concepts I learn in a local or national news management setting.

This is Deb

Hey there, this is Deb Wallevand. I'm in my second semester as a master's student. I work as Ken Fischer's grad assistant and also help out Dr. Rosengard with the production of OU Nightly, the live student newscast. I'm originally from North Dakota and continue to find myself moving further and further south, perhaps to get away from the cold weather.

I graduated from Kansas State University in 2004 with my B.S. in electronic journalism. Throughout my time there I was 99% certain I was going to pursue a career in sports broadcasting. However, the more time I spent in the video editing bays the more my passion grew for being behind the camera instead of in front of it. Not knowing exactly how to break into the televised sports industry I figured the best place to start would be local news. KSNT 27 News in Topeka, KS hired me as a producer.

After about two years at the station, I had my daily routine down and I found that I wasn't being challenged anymore. I couldn't see myself spending the next 40 years covering city council meetings, crimes, and fires. I decided it was time to go back to school and start pursuing that dream of working in TV sports.

Last semester I discovered my dream could encompass much more than just pointing a camera at people running back and forth. I have a great interest in studying gender inequities in the sports media. I'm also interested in how race and nationality are depicted by the sports media. In Conceptual Issues I read a lot of gender articles by Michael Messner out of USC. I also read a lot about critical theory, as well as framing theory. Now I find myself getting more frustrated rather than entertained when I watch sports. The differences in the amount of coverage and the kind of language used for men's and women's athletics are glaring to me. Ultimately after graduate school, I would like a career in sports production where I could have some influence on how women's sports are presented on air. I think for the most part female athletes are accepted by society, but I 'd like the media to reflect it as well.

This Is Me

My name is Jordan Kinley and I am in my fourth semester at OU working on a M.A. in Strategic Communications. I grew up an hour north of San Francisco, CA in a city called Santa Rosa which is located in the heart of Sonoma County's wine industry. After high school I moved across the country to Providence, RI to attend Brown University. In 2006 I received a B.A. in International Relations from the Watson Institute for International Studies.

During my time at Brown University most of my course work was centered around diplomacy, international negotiation, and terrorism. I do not have a background in journalism, public relations or marketing and advertising. However, I have been quick to learn about the new disciplines offered in the Gaylord College. I am currently most interested in the account planning side of marketing and advertising, but have recently focused my energy on sponsorship as a form of strategic communication. In the future I would love to have the ability/opportunity to combine the philosophies of both of my degrees. Perhaps it would be possible with work on a political campaign.

My decision to leave the coasts and come to Norman, OK was made rather hastily. After graduation I spent a summer not knowing what I wanted to do next. Much of my time was spent in San Francisco's Union Square where I was surrounded by tourists from all over the world snapping digital pictures. I would "people watch" for hours while drinking tea or coffee that I had brought from home. I enjoyed trying to figure out where the people were visiting from and why they had chosen San Francisco as a destination. Being aware of the way other cultures eat, drink, dress and socialize was always prevalent in the center of San Francisco.

In addition to teaching me a bit about other cultures, Union Square sparked an interest in advertising. It was difficult to not notice the time and effort put into the creation of ads when you are in the midst of some of the most glamorous stores. Along the Post St. store front you can find Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co., Levi Strauss, Armani and Nike Town. Turn right at the corner of Stockton St. and Lacoste, Brooks Brothers, and Neiman Marcus are present. Continue back on Mason St. and there sits the Westin St. Francis hotel, art galleries and Macy's. Everywhere I looked I could find a successfully branded store or product.

I came to the University of Oklahoma seeking to learn more about why and how consumers choose to spend their money. I did not feel adequately prepared to pursue an MBA, but found marketing and advertising were great alternatives. Upon completion of the program I would like to return to one of the west coast's major cities (except Los Angeles). Being from Nor Cal there are certain principles that you have to maintain, and living south of Sacramento is not one of them.

About Me (Leslie Cermak)

This is my second year as a graduate student in journalism, and I have found that although this journey has gotten no easier, it has gotten more fascinating, which almost makes me wish I could begin it again.

I graduated from Oklahoma City University with a B.A. in English in 2001. At that time, I thought that I only wanted to teach for the rest of my life. I found the perfect outlet for my embarrassing interest in English grammar and love of teaching at OU's Center for English as a Second Language. I loved working with some of the nicest and most dedicated students I have ever met. However, by 2005 I found it impossible to believe that the first job I applied for after graduation would be the same job I would retire from. I wanted to consider opportunities out of the classroom and in the newsroom as an editor.

My choice to study journalism may seem strange because I had never been interested in it before, but at OCU I had the opportunity to be the co-editor of the school's writing anthology and I interned one summer as a copy editor at a very small but local publishing company. Whenever I would grow tired of recycling the same lessons about grammar, I would think about how much I enjoyed those two experiences in college, and as I've gotten older, I've become more interested in the news and how that news is gathered and packaged for print.

For my entire first year as a graduate student, I thought I would never find a thesis topic, but last semester that I finally realized that I was most interested in the libertarian and social responsibility theories of the press and how these theories perhaps reflect how professors teach ethics or shape journalism students' perceptions of the press. Although I don't have a favorite scholar, much of the research I read last semester in Dr. Craig's ethics class about journalists' responsibilities and codes of ethics have helped shape my ideas, as have conversations about these theories with Dr. Gade. Ironically, my ideas for a thesis moved away from those concerning copy editing to those involving teaching.

Who I am (Beth Nalewajk)

I am 35 years old with 3 kids and have been with my husband for almost 14 years.  I have a certificate in video production from Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts, a broadcasting "trade school" in Michigan.  I have produced several commercials and disc golf documentary projects.  My two youngest children were born after I graduated from Specs and by the time I was ready to return to the business, digital had taken over the industry.  

I had to get a Bachelor's in order to get a job in Michigan because the job market has nearly disappeared.  There used to be a time in Michigan when a person wanting to earn their needed experience had to relocate to the Northern or less populated areas of the state, stay on the job for 6 months to a year and then be able to begin looking for employment back in the Metro Detroit area or elsewhere.  However, all of the experienced people began to take those jobs and left those of us still trying to break in or needing more experience with no options.

I have a B.S. in Mass Communications and one in Business Communications from Rochester College, a small Christian college that is really working to make their mark in the academic world.  I served as Opinions Editor for the school newspaper and staff writer for the alumni magazine for 3 semesters, but found it hard to be asked to write more soft stories. 

The program is very tough and we had to complete a Senior Project to graduate.  I began to study race in the media and became interested in what is occasionally called "the young, pretty, white girl syndrome."  As a mother of 3 kids, I find it wrong that any one person or persons would be given more media time than another in a case like this.  A missing individual is a tragedy to family members, friends, classmates, etc.  My research began almost 2 1/2 years ago and I am still very passionate about my subject.

I am interested in history, researching and some day sharing my knowledge and experience with other students.  I currently work with Dr. Park as his research assistant and Dr. Chavez as his T.A. for Journalism history.  I am a geek and I love doing this stuff!  I hope to continue to explore my research topic and others related to race and the media in the hopes that someday a change can be made that treats every person equally.  

Who am I? --- Amber Theinert

I'm Amber Theinert, a 2nd year graduate student in Strategic Communications. I am most interested in public relations, especially how they are used within higher education institutes and collegiate athletic programs.

Upon receiving my BA from SWOSU in December 2003, I worked at the state capitol covering the legislative sessions. Feeling a draw to working with college students, I took a job at Navarro College as the Director of Student Activities. After I had my first child, I wanted to move back to Oklahoma to not only be close to my family, but also to begin seeking my Masters degree. Currently, I work as the Assistant Communications Director at the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism in downtown Oklahoma City.

One scholar that I have really enjoyed reading has been James E. Grunig, especially since he is the premier scholar on public relations. I really enjoy articles on sports public relations, but it is very difficult to find any stand out authors in that field since there is not much scholarly work there.

As far as my project goes, I'm still not sure what it will look like. I think I would like to do a PR campaign in some version of sports PR, but I'm not sure where to start on everything. I know the field is not studied very much, so there are so many areas that could use the research. I'm hoping to really get a better feel for what goes into a project after completing this course.