A Monthly Publication of the NWC Communication Department

Upcoming Events

The Boys Next Door
February 16-19

Spring Break
March 3-13

Featured Student

Hannah Scheffler Senior

Major: Comm Studies

What are your goals for the future?: After my internship last summer with New Life Family Services, I gained a better idea of what a nonprofit organization looks like and would really like to get a job working with one after graduation. One of my long-term goals is to get my Masters and Doctorate degrees to be able to teach at a college.

What interesting things have you done while at NWC?: I have been on the forensics team the past three years, which has given me the opportunity to compete against members from other colleges and be a witness to them about my Christian faith. I have participated the past two years in NWC's Speak-Off Competition, which has been insightful in seeing what my fellow students are speaking about and how we can encourage one another. I've also been involved with NWC's chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, our communication honor society, which has challenged me to go above and beyond our coursework and to apply what I'm learning in classes to the "real world." Last summer I was privileged to have an internship with New Life Family Services assisting their PR/Communications Director with events, which gave me a good insight into what working with a nonprofit organization would look like.

What is your favorite thing about NWC?: My favorite thing about NWC has been the people I have been able to meet. The professors are knowledgeable and experienced in their fields and bring this to the classroom. They are also friendly and willing to offer advice. The students are creative thinkers and challenging to be in classes with--something I appreciate. I think God has greatly blessed me with the people at NWC.

Featured
Alumnus

Breanna Carlson
May 2008

Degree: Journalism

What have you been doing since graduation?I am currently working from home for a company called PR Newswire as a Web Researcher/Profiler.

Northwestern sweeps iNRB essay awards

NWC's Electronic Media Communication students are no strangers to winning awards from the Intercollegiate National Religious Broadcasters. Each year they return from the convention with an armful of trophies and certificates for everything from radio dramas to music videos to websites, and 2011 will be no exception.

This year is, however, the first in which all three of the iNRB essay scholarship awards have gone to Northwestern students. Senior Drew Hoekema received a $2500 scholarship for his essay, which explained why he wants to work in secular broadcasting after graduation.

"The main point of the essay," explained Hoekema, "is based on Matthew 5 and the call to be salt in the world. Christians working with all Christians would certainly not fulfill God's purpose in the world. My aim is not to 'be the hero' who is going to simply come in and change the entire industry, but instead to trust in Christ, to glorify Him and enjoy Him in whichever environment I find myself."

Seniors Erin McGregor and Micah Murray took first and second place, respectively, in the Al Sanders scholarship competition for their essays on the future of broadcasting. McGregor's paper stated that the best way to package truth for Generation Y is through storytelling, specifically visual storytelling through film.

"Story is the ideal medium of communication," explained McGregor, "due to its inherent entertainment value, fast-paced delivery, and experiential involvement of the audience. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this paper, because it crystallized my personal philosophy of Christian filmmaking."

The students will accept their awards at the NRB convention in Nashville later this month. "I'm honored that my paper was selected," said McGregor, "and I cannot wait to attend the conference and meet other like-minded Christian filmmakers."

Hoekema is also looking forward to the trip, which will be his second. "Going to Nashville for the convention last year was one of my favorite experiences at Northwestern. Getting to go on a trip to a fun place with professors and classmates from your major is a great experience."

Click here to view a full list of the iNRB award recipients.

WVOE wins third station of the year award

For the third year in a row, WVOE 97.7 FM has been named "College Radio Station of the Year" by the National Religious Broadcasters, an award presented each year to an outstanding student-operated radio station.

WVOE general manager Jon Meerdink said, "We were all excited to hear about WVOE winning station of the year for the third time. It's fantastic for everyone to be collectively rewarded for their hours and hours of hard work."

Having three station-of-the-year trophies on the shelf, though, hasn't taken the students' focus away from the mission of using their talents to glorify Christ. "Even if we didn't win anything," said Meerdink, "all of us would be no less thankful for God's blessings. Our joy doesn't come from winning awards, but from serving the one who has blessed us so tremendously. An award like this is just icing on the cake."

Members of the WVOE staff will accept their award at the NRB convention in Nashville later this month.

Kaiser receives grant for "Company Town"

The Minnesota Historical Society recently awarded a Minnesota Historical & Cultural Heritage Grant to William M. Kelley High School, the alma mater of NWC public relations professor Dr. Kent Kaiser. The grant will support a project called "Company Town," which will preserve some of the oral history about Silver Bay's days as a company town, and Kaiser will spearhead the project.

The "Company Town" project aims to preserve oral history and narratives of Silver Bay, which existed as a company town from the late 1950's through the early 1980's. Kaiser explained, "Currently, stories of Silver Bay's 'company town' history are passed down through oral histories, and we have already lost many of the people who have the stories; thus it is imperative to get the remaining stories recorded as soon as possible."

Kaiser will be working with current Kelley High students in the process of taping interviews of longtime Silver Bay area residents and former officials and employees of Reserve Mining Company. "Our hope is to secure funding to turn the transcripts into a book and to have KHS students promote and market it."

Notable Notes

December grad Kaitlyn Cox just began an internship in PR Writing at the Mall of America, doing writing and media pitching and occasionally assisting the events department.

Dr. Jackie Glenny recently participated in the National Communication Association conference in San Francisco, including the presentation of a performance interpretation of C. S. Lewis' view of the Gospel titled "The Bridge of Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time."

Dr. Kent Kaiser participated in and spoke at a New Year's Eve service at Immanuel Lutheran church in India.

Dr. Kent Kaiser has been named to the board of directors of Lutheran Inter-City Network Coalition Twin Cities. LINC-TC is a network of strategic partnerships multiplying churches among diverse communities.

December grad Lindsay Paskewitz landed an internship at PR agency Nemer Fieger in St. Louis Park.

Note From the Chair

Need an internship? Learn to tweet

The Minneapolis-based advertising agency Campbell Mithun announced last month that it would choose this summer's interns based on an application process that consists of 13 "tweets" sent between February 13 and February 25. It seems to have been a good move for Campbell Mithun, in that it generated a lot of positive media coverage even before the application window begins, and much of that coverage helped to position the nearly 80-year-old agency as a forward-thinking, tech-savvy kind of place. I can't decide if it's brilliant or stupid, but I suspect it's a bit of both. (See what kind of tweets applicants come up with by searching for the hashtag "L13" on Twitter, starting February 13.)

Is it a publicity stunt? That's probably part of it. But it's also indicative of a changing media world where old-time companies feel that they have to do something - anything - with social media, even if they're not sure what it would be and if it would make sense. The Internet continues to be a huge game-changer in the media world, and a lot of folks are scrambling to try to figure out the rules of the new game. And where's there's scrambling about, there's opportunity.

What does this mean for Northwestern's communication students? If you want to work in a media-related field, think about building some social media "street cred" now. Start a blog about a topic that interests you - something professional that you'd be proud to show a future employer. Start tweeting to support your blog. Build and interact with an on-line audience, if only to show a future employer that you can.

The odds are good that your future career will require social media skills, if only because dusty old "digital immigrants" like Campbell Mithun are looking to young "digital natives" to blaze the trail.

Doug Trouten
Chair, Communication Department