On Wednesday, March 19th, from 9:00 am – 1:30 pm Alcorn State University’s (ASU) Mass Communications Department held its annual Mississippi Association of Broadcasters (MAB)/Media Day. This event took place in the Gold Room on the second floor of the Dr. Clinton Bristow Jr. Dining Facility.
The event was created to educate students within the Mass Communications Department about the numerous nuances in the field of Communications from professionals throughout Mississippi.
The MAB/Media Day began with an induction ceremony for the Alpha Chi Alpha Chapter of Lambda Pi Eta. Graduating Senior Cameron McCoy was the lone inductee into the chapter. Lambda Pi Eta is a national honor society that recognizes outstanding student scholars within Communications. Next, Tyarian Carson presented the Welcome and then the moderator of the event, Larissa Chillous, began the panel discussion which featured members of the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters (MAB). The panel consisted of Amanda Fontaine (MAB), Kandi Murphy (Mississippi Army National Guard), Ericka Jones (iHeart), Lance Fuller (iHeart), Chris Larum (WGBC TV), Keaundria Milloy (WDAM), Michael White (WLBT), Regina Thomas ((WAPT), and Brett Schutt (WAPT). The group spoke about their experiences within the Mass Communications field and offered the attendees insight on how to enter the field.
After an intermission for lunch, the program resumed with the introduction of the guest speaker, Melanie Sanders. Sanders, who is a Public Relations professional at LuxeLife Public Relations Firm, advised the students to be diligent and go after what they wanted within the Communications field. She stated, “While you all (the students) are in college, utilize your Department’s assets and build upon that to create the type of candidate that’s extremely viable in the workplace.”
After the completion of Sanders’ presentation, a Question-and-Answer session was held by the panelists. Afterwards, awards were presented to the students.
Jaimee McCullen, a Mass Communications student, stated, “Ms. Sanders’ speech showed the good and the bad of the Mass Communications field. As someone who wants to be a working participant within this field, I think that was good for me to hear.”
If you’d like more information about Alcorn’s Mass Communications Department, you may contact Dr. Eric Dogini at (601) 877-6613 or edogini@alcorn.edu.
(The last two pictures are courtesy of @alcornstateu)
