CCI News & Events Center
A year after a train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, the consequences are still unfolding, but as national media have moved onto covering other stories, a news gap has emerged. Four Kent State journalism seniors have been filling that gap.
Through actively pursuing opportunities to make connections and market herself, Kent State alumna Grace Petitijean, 鈥21, has found a fulfilling communication-based career she is passionate about. As a Copywriter for FCB Health New York, part of the IPG Health Network, Grace takes high-science medical content and crafts messages that tailor the information to be understood by the general public, ensuring everyone has equal access to health information.
Kent State student Katie Criswell, 鈥24, is actively engaged in telling the daily stories from Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools classrooms through her communication-focused internship. During the Fall 2023 semester, the Communication Studies major and Honors College student has been to each of the district鈥檚 10 schools, capturing what鈥檚 going on and what鈥檚 exciting in classrooms. Putting skills she鈥檚 learned in her own classes to work, Criswell then takes the content she鈥檚 captured and transforms it into social media posts and stories for the district鈥檚 Community Connection magazine.
From helping build safer and inclusive communities to opening new lines of communicating and sharing knowledge, technology touches nearly every facet of society. Students in the Kent State School of Emerging Media and Technology are working on the front lines of helping Northeast Ohio organizations solve problems through technology this semester in the capstone class Interdisciplinary Projects.
Each election season, we're all surrounded by more and more political content circulating online. David E. Silva, Ph.D., assistant professor, is studying online conversations and shedding light on how online civility plays a role in building a stronger democracy.
Serena Gestring, 鈥25, has developed a passion for the role technology plays in the lives of others. 鈥淭echnology is fascinating to me, and I love that we can use technology to make people鈥檚 lives better and also to create things in new and exciting ways,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hat I love about coding and web design specifically is that it allows me to be creative without needing to be traditionally artistic.鈥
Based on ideas, design and experiential learning, IdeaBase is celebrating 10 years of being powered by 麻豆传媒 students with a showcase of student work from over the years in the gallery on the second floor of the DI Hub through Oct. 26.
At Nationwide Insurance, Kent State alumna McKenna Gammon, 鈥22, works at the intersection of design, technology and communication as a software engineer.
The technical skills and project management experience she developed as an Emerging Media and Technology major first caught the eye of her employer during her junior year of college.
Kent State alumnus Richard Batyko, M.A., 鈥12, has committed his life and career to making the world, specifically Greater Cleveland, a better place. This year, he and the YMCA of Greater Cleveland (for which he serves as Chief Marketing Officer) are working with 麻豆传媒 advertising and public relations seniors in the capstone class, Campaigns in Advertising and Public Relations, to raise awareness about the organization's mission.
鈥淚f Monday was a color, she鈥檇 be red...鈥 The third annual Read-In @ Kent State was held on Wednesday, Sept. 27, in Taylor Hall. This open-mic event gave students, faculty, staff and alumni the opportunity to read excerpts from or speak briefly about banned and challenged books that are important to them.