As the end of the week rapidly approached, Mass Communication students all over campus were eager to see what the Reunion Conference had in store. The Department of Mass Communication held a two-day conference for its students and alumni. The conference was held March 19-20 in the Washington Johnson Complex. The conference highlighted Graduates speaking to students about the experience they had in their particular fields and any advice students could use to help benefit them in the future. Thursday consisted of graduates who came early to speak to students in their classrooms, about the experience they’ve had so far being in the field of Mass Communication.
Tessie Sanders spoke to one class about the importance of being on time, and how vital that would be in the workplace. She expressed that no employer would want to hire an employee who was constantly late and never on time to a job or for an assignment.
Therefore, she made it clear that being on time to class everyday was something needed to be taken very seriously, because what students do now, will predict how they will act when given the opportunity to get in the field of their choice.
The second speaker was Lance Davis Jr., a 2005 graduate who works in public relations as a civilian employee of the Army who is working at the Pentagon. He gave insight on what qualities mass communication students should have in order to have a successful and bright career.
He started off by giving a brief detail of what his profession included, and the aspects of what his job consisted of him to do. Next, he went from student to student, asking them their concentrations and what they expected to benefit from when choosing their concentration.
One student in the class, Bayonne Gresham, stated how she had chosen news-editorial as a concentration and had recently added public relations. She informed us of how fashion was really her passion and that she wanted to work that in with her knowledge of the skills, experience and education she is receiving now as a student at Grambling.
Friday, there was a panel discussion that consisted of alumni speaking on different topics being addressed by the students. It also gave students another opportunity to hear from speakers who they might not of had the chance to speak with in their classrooms the day before.
After the discussion was over, classrooms were set up by the different concentrations offered, for speakers to talk more in detail about what it was students could expect when it’s time graduate and get into the workforce. I sat through the discussion with the Rev. Donald Lee, who was a journalist before getting started in the path he has chosen today.
He had a tremendous amount of experience, which was really amazing. He had the opportunity to intern with four different newspapers before graduating from Grambling. The experience he got after graduating was even more interesting. He has been across the world and back, working on various papers.
His last eight years were spent working at The Advocate in Baton Rouge. Even though he isn’t working for the paper anymore, he still freelances for various papers or journals when he gets time.
Overall, the Reunion Conference was a hit among the Mass Communication students. In the years to come, they hope to have the next conference during Homecoming, which would result in a greater turnout of alumni to return to speak to the students and share their professional experiences with GSU students.