Communication News

Senior Grace Clark is enjoying her internship at WJZ-TV this summer, as a general newsroom intern who has been learning a variety of jobs.

Most recently she has been working on stories for the CBS Baltimore website,  authoring or contributing to eight pieces so far. Grace notes that the station works on Wordpress, so having similar experience with The Villager has been very helpful.

Grace has also worked on the station's assignment editing desk, sifting through potential stories and deciding what is newsworthy, as well as assisting the editors setting up photographers and reporters for the day.

In the next couple of weeks, Grace will begin working with reporters by going out with them in the field and conducting interviews, a task that interests her greatly.

Internships in the School of Design are supervised by assistant professor Sonya Lawyer.

Congratulations, Grace!

Master's in Communication Studies alum Michael MacFee is thrilled to be putting his degree to use in his work as a communications associate at Maryland Public Television in Owings Mills. He focuses on internal communication in the office of the president and CEO. In addition, Michael serves as an adjunct in the business communication department, teaching undergrads a variety of communication courses. To learn more about his success story, click here.

(Photo from SUOnline)

The department of Business Communication is thrilled to congratulate the three female inductees into the Dick Watts Athletics Hall of Fame for 2018, its fifth class. All three women were Business Communication majors! GoMustangsports gives us the following information on the three inductees:

Tonia Cristino '08, '10 Masters (left), was a four-year standout for both the Mustang women's soccer and basketball programs from 2004-08.  In soccer, Cristino totaled 45 goals and 23 assists for 113 points and is the program's all-time leader in assists and ranks third in goals and points.  She had 16 goals and six assists as a sophomore in 2006 as the Mustangs advanced to the NCAA tournament.  In basketball, Cristino averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 assists in 105 career games and ranks second in program history in assists with 325. She now serves as Director Of Admissions at Stevenson University Online.

Jaime (Hershner) Elwood '01 (center), was a four-year member of the women's lacrosse program from 1998-2001 and totaled 45 goals and 18 assists for 63 points over her career, including 15 goals and eight assists as a junior.  A defender, she also picked up 79 ground balls as a junior in 2000.  The Mustangs won 27 games over her four seasons, including an 11-3 mark in 1998. Jaime is now the chief marketing officer at Terra's Kitchen.

Cara Hill '07, '10 Masters (right), played for the women's basketball program from 2004-07 and wrapped up her career as the program's all-time leader in scoring (1,389 points) and rebounding (903 rebounds) and still ranks second in both categories.  As a senior, Hill averaged 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.  She was a three-time All-NEAC selection, including NEAC First Team honors as a senior in 2006-07 as the Mustangs went 19-10.  Cara works as a government contractor in information technology,

The induction banquet and ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 20 during Homecoming weekend. Joining the three women will be three men -- baseball's Anthony DeFrancisco '05,  men's soccer's Steve Montalvo '02, and Dan Velez '03 of men's lacrosse, as well as former coach Jeb Barber '02, who will be inducted as a contributor. In addition, the Hall of Fame will also recognize the 2006 women's soccer team as a Team of Tradition.

From Stevenson University president, Dr. Elliot Hirshman:

To the Stevenson University Community,

Today, as the full impact of the events in Annapolis touch so many people throughout our state, they touch our Stevenson community as well. Rebecca Smith, a Villa Julie College alumna who earned her degree here in 2005, lost her life in this terrible tragedy.

Rebecca was a business communication major who also played as a forward on our field hockey team in 2002. Faculty member Chip Rouse, who taught journalism to Rebecca, remembers her as “an incredibly cheerful and industrious student in the business communication program. She was very outgoing, had a lot of friends, and was always planning some funny kind of event to help build community or raise money for a cause.”

As a community, we honor her memory and offer our deepest condolences to her family, fiancé, and colleagues at the Capital Gazette. You can read more about Rebecca’s life at the Capital Gazette newspaper.

(Photo from the Capital Gazette)

The department of Business Communication is on top of its game when it comes to classes being offered in fall, 2018. In addition to the ever-popular Interpersonal and Intercultural Communication classes, the department will offer several sections of Communication Ethics, Conflict and Negotiation, and even a fall section of Organizational Communication, typically offered only in the spring. An Event Planning and Publicity class filled up fast, but there's still room in Principles and Practices of Public Relations. The ever-popular Advertising Campaign class is still open, and a section of Travel Writing is sure to appeal to anyone who's been bitten by the travel bug and wants to share a story. Students can try their hand at Feature Writing or Advanced Public Speaking, or join The Villager staff for credit. It's sure to be an exciting semester!