On Friday March 6th, students from Riley High School attended IU South Bend’s first Communication Studies Day. Juniors and seniors who take part in Riley’s audio/video production class taught by Tim Richardson were invited for the day to learn about the program, meet current faculty, staff and Communication Studies students, and participate in workshops.
The students in the RHS class currently create and produce their own newscast titled, “Buzz in the Bend.” The students learn how to write scripts, film newscasts, edit footage, produce shows and more. The class is also open to students across the South Bend Community School Corporation including Adams, Washington and Clay High Schools. Students from all schools that are enrolled in Richardson’s class attended Communication Studies Day.
Communication Studies faculty that participated in Communication Studies Day.
The goal of this new event was to connect the Communication Studies department with the students of the surrounding community. The Raclin School of the Arts takes great pride in being able to be a resource for any student that needs them in the area. Communication Studies Day was created to help the kids connect with faculty and staff who they can develop relationships and networks with, if they choose to follow this path in higher education. By studying Communication at IU South Bend, the students are taught how to further develop their communication skills that are in high demand in the job market today. Another goal of the day was to let students know there is a department here at IU South Bend that can help them reach that next level, and help them prepare for a career in this field.
Students that attended were interested in journalism, public relations, news editing, newscast, photography and integrated new media studies. The students were put in 25 minute workshops with different faculty, discussing the different concentrations of the communication degree, met with the admissions department, and then shared pizza over lunch in the student lounge while hanging out with the faculty, staff and current Communication students.
For the first time running this event, the Communication Studies department were very pleased with the day, and took it as a learning experience just like the students. The hope is to have this be a yearly event where more local students can attend to learn about the program at IU South Bend and how it can help enhance their skills.
Post by Cory Iwaszewski
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