Students got the opportunity to learn from professionals about the journalism and public relations industries by attending a watch party for an online seminar held by a Hall School of Journalism and Communication alumna.
The watch party, which was held in Studio B of Wallace Hall, was a live panel presentation that included HSJC 2021 graduate Amya Mitchell.
Mitchell is currently a producer at Nashville's number one news station.
“It’s really nice to hear from a fellow alumna like herself,” said Kaleb Powe, a senior broadcast journalism major from Montgomery, Alabama. “Hearing her perspective on TrojanVision as well as her aspects and hours of work was very helpful.”
During the presentation, the panelist answered a few questions regarding the everyday work life in the journalism media industry, balancing multiple roles at a news station and embracing the community while building rapport with them.
Mitchell shared her insight on working in the media industry.
“Sometimes the bigger the city, the higher the market,” Mitchell said. “I knew I really wanted to do this and succeed in this.
“So, with that said, sacrifices had to be made while also finding a happy medium. Wearing ‘different hats’ and doing anything to better serve the community and the people is mostly the goal for me.”
Another panelist who joined Mitchell for the live presentation was San Diego State University alumna Aleah Jarin.
Jarin is a digital account executive at Fenton, a social impact focused public relations and communications agency. The panelist shared a few tips on how student journalists can get their start in the journalism industry while looking for a job.
“Definitely connect and get involved with things on your campus,” Jarin said. “LinkedIn is definitely a good source.
“You also want to utilize your platforms and resources because people can help you a lot with where you want to go.”
Both panelists encouraged all who were in attendance and wanted to be part of the journalism media industry to find different approaches to news stories, be ambitious while being willing to learn and branch out to other roles.
“Feed back really helps with improvement,” Mitchell said. “Have check-ins with people so that you can talk about your goals and what you can do a better job on.
“Be open, since a job doesn’t have to look a certain way. It’s going to be great regardless.”
Students spoke about what they enjoyed hearing from the panelists.
“It was nice to hear from diverse people where they started from and how they came from the bottom to different areas such as radio, news and even school stations,” Powe said. “I like how Aleah mentioned about speaking up when you are passionate about something because nobody’s going to know unless you speak up.
“Of course, closed mouths don’t get fed.”
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