By Erin Roberts, roberte1@ohio.edu

Tang Tang, Ph.D. '08, second from right, now of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, participated in the doctoral panel discussion during Media School Day at Ohio University May 7.

Mike Chase, BSC '91, of Fox Sports, gestures while speaking to students at the Media Studies panel on May 7. / Photos by Maisie Crow

ATHENS, Ohio (May 12, 2009)—The faculty, staff, students and alumni of the School of Media Arts and Studies celebrated Media School Day May 7. The event included panels throughout the day and a special screening of “I Heart Hip Hop in Morocco” at the Athena.
School Director Roger Cooper said the day is about students connecting with others and celebrating the discipline.

“This was an invaluable opportunity for our undergraduate and graduate students to learn from successful alumni,” Cooper said. “I saw numerous connections form within the Media Arts and Studies family and that was very gratifying to witness. I felt like it was a great day.”

Topic panels included the merits of a Master’s degree, a look at the industry from the young professional perspective, success in the industry and the early academic career.

Heather Warnecke, BSC ’07, now works as a program coordinator for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in Columbus. She returned to campus to participate in the Media Studies afternoon panel as a way to pay her dues to various alumni who did the same for her when she was a student.

“Ohio University is a family,” Warnecke said. “I got my first job through an Ohio University alumnus, and I think it’s my job to return the favor.”

Warnecke said her job includes planning, marketing and promosting fundraising events, spending time on the phone to interact with donors and scripting and producing the organization’s local telethon.

“My Media Studies focus in the program really gave me the well-rounded experiences I needed for a job like this,” she said, also noting her gratefulness for experiences gained as a student worker for the WOUB Center for Public Media.

Scripps College of Communication Internship Coordinator Tina Stewart, in her first year at Ohio University, said Media School Day gave her the opportunity to better familiarize herself with the school and to understand what the various majors in the school can do for graduates.

“I like to attend these types of events to meet faculty I haven’t already met and to share in the accolades and experiences of our alumni and their crooked paths to success,” Stewart said. “I gain visibility with students and alumni, make connections and form relationships on many different levels.”

Stewart says she also gains education by hearing what the alumni tell students are important: to read trade magazines, to learn how to write well, to learn another language and to diversify their options by taking basic business and public speaking courses.

“A general theme seemed to be ‘If you’re interested in a variety of things, you’ll be interesting too,’” Stewart said. “Alumni encouraged students to maximize their adaptability for various career opportunities.”

To learn more about the school and its programs, visit www.mediaschool.ohiou.edu.