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Tim Coennen wants to fly jets for the U.S. Air
Force after he graduates.
Dana Curcio wants to work for a magazine or newspaper.
Although they have different career goals, both are involved in
student media at Kent State, and neither is a journalism major.
Student media offer opportunities for journalism and non-journalism
majors to gain real-life experience that can help them in the future
— an aspect that attracts many of these students.
Coennen, sophomore flight technology major, said working as an operations
manager for TV-2 will help him achieve his career goals.
“It could help me if I choose to work for a news helicopter
company,” he said. “And (the Air Force) looks for diversity
in skills. They’re always looking for different things to
use.”
Coennen anchors the weather for TV-2 on Wednesdays and directs production
on Thursdays. He has been working at the station since he started
at Kent State two years ago.
He said one reason he wanted to get involved in student media was
to meet more people.
“My major is so small,” he said. “And I’ve
learned a lot about how the media work.”
But Curcio, editor of the Daily Kent Stater, went about things a
little differently.
She came to Kent State as a journalism major in the fall of 2000
and began copy editing at the Stater soon after. Although she changed
her major to English by the next year, she continued to work in
student media.
“I found that I was learning what I needed to in journalism
through my experience (at the Stater),” she said. “With
the English major, I was able to take classes I enjoyed, in addition
to enjoying my experience in student media.”
Curcio became editor of the student magazine, The Burr, during the
fall of 2003 and now works as the first non-journalism major editor
of the Stater since 1970.
“Working for both publications has opened up the fields I’ll
be able to work in (after I graduate),” she said.
Carl Schierhorn, who has been the adviser for the Stater for the
past five years, said he has noticed a recent increase in the number
of non-journalism majors involved in student media.
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Dane Curcio, Spring semester editor of the Daily
Kent Stater, jokes with Glenn Luther, photo editor, in the office.
Tim Coennen, a director
of the evening news for TV2, prepares to instruct the crew moments
before the broadcast.
“It sort of starts with one (non-journalism
student) who knows other people,” he said.
“Especially in the English department, we’ve started
to pull in copy editors and writers for the entertainment section.
Those sections attract more than the traditional journalist.”
Read more:
Non-journalism
students reap benefits of working for student media
Student media benefit
from non-journalism students' involvement
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Story by Meghan Moravcik
Videos by Carrie Young and Krista Gesaman
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