March 2009 Newsletter
Hope College Department of
Communication | 257 Columbia
Ave. | Holland, MI 49423 | Phone:
616.395.7595 | Fax: 616.395.7937
Spielvogel Takes Reigns of Lambda Pi Eta
By Elizabeth Orlando, Hope Junior
Professor Christian Spielvogel is
the new advisor of Lambda Pi Eta, the
communication undergraduate honor
society of the National Communication
Association, and as such has taken on a
lot of responsibilities.
“My responsibilities as Lambda Pi
Eta advisor include organizing events
for majors,” Spielvogel explained,
“including career nights, guest speakers,
communication day, and service projects,
recruiting new members, building
community among Communication
majors and minors, and sharing
information about graduate school and
other career opportunities.”
Spielvogel said he personally believes
that there are a lot of benefits for the
students who choose to join Lambda Pi
Eta, including feeling “a stronger sense of
connection to the communication field, recognizes scholarly achievement in
with communication faculty, and with communication studies, encourages
strong relationships between faculty
other communication majors.”
Senior Chris Lewis joined Lambda Pi Eta and communication students, and
assists members in exploring
in 2007 because he thought it
professional and graduate
would be a good idea to be
opportunities,”
Spielvogel
a part of a communication
said.
honor society.
He also said it empowers
“While the society is still
students
“to take initiative in
relatively new at Hope, it is a
identifying,
developing, and
great asset for your resume,”
promoting”
opportunities in
Lewis said.
professional
and graduate
In order to apply for
school
development.
”
membership, students must
Spielvogel
The
honor
society
offers
many
be a declared communication major, have
opportunities
to
students
and
prepares
at least a 3.25 GPA in communication and
have completed at least 16 credits toward them for whatever future they may pursue
that major at the end of the fall semester. in the communication field.
“I believe that the society has a bright
If accepted, students will have the chance
future,
” Lewis said, “and will only continue
to work closely with faculty and the
to
grow
at Hope during the years to
department as a whole.
come.
”
“Lambda Pi Eta promotes and
Alumni Q & A: Lindsay Brown (’06)
By Professor Teresa Heinz Housel
What is your job title, with what company,
and what tasks do you do on the job?
I’m a Consultant with Cushman/
Amberg Communications in Chicago. I
work with a number of different clients
in different industries. The day-to-day
varies, but always includes pitching new
stories, new products, or new executives
to media such as magazines, newspapers,
and TV stations. I also do a lot of writing;
news releases, media alerts, by-lined
articles. It never ends.
Did Hope’s Communication program
prepare you for your job at all? If so,
how?
Yes, I’d say my Print Media classes
prepared me the best of any others.
People who are new to the industry have
a hard time understanding the concepts
of the field. It was great having that
experience prior to joining “the real world.”
The classes also introduced me to a lot of
programs I use now, including programs
such as
InDesign.
Adobe
Any advice you’d
give to Hope juniors
and seniors who
are thinking more
about their career
options?
Research your
“dream job” to be sure it really is your
dream job. I also highly, highly suggest
interning as much as possible from the
get go and job shadowing people in
various fields. What you want and what
you think you want may be two opposite
fields. Also look at the career path of
various jobs.
Looking back, are there any career
development opportunities, internships,
or classes that you wish you would have
taken advantage of while at Hope?
Although I interned my junior and
senior years, I wish I would have interned
more, earlier.
Clubs, organizations,
volunteer opportunities, and internships
are the easiest, fastest way to beef up
your resume. They also make for great
future networking tools!
Thinking about your current job field in
the area of the country where you work,
how do you think the employment outlook
looks for new graduates in this economy?
Any skills that you think would help new
graduates stand out given that the job
search is now more competitive?
The economy is tough right now.
Your work ethic and skills have to stand
out amongst the competition. You also
have to be well-rounded in numerous
areas because chances are, you’ll be doing
the job of three people at some point.
Again, I think clubs, organizations, and
internships show a lot of drive and passion
and add to your experiences. Also, don’t
limit yourself to one specific region. Be
willing to venture out and explore other
areas of the world.
Professor Park Presents at
Reality TV conference in Turkey
By Chris Lewis, Hope Senior
Last September, Professor Ji Hoon
Park presented at an international reality
television conference entitled, “Reel
Politics: Reality Television as a Platform
for Political Discourse” in Istanbul,
Turkey. The three-day long conference
attracted reality television scholars from
around the world.
“The overall objective of the conference
was to bring together internationally
renowned scholars in television studies to
discuss social implications of the reality
genre,” Park said.
Topics of the conference ranged from
reality television and factual programming
to the ethics and values of reality television
itself. Park’s presentation, entitled, “Race
“ The conference was a great
success. It is very unusual
to meet people who actually
shape the field of television
studies. ”
– Prof. Ji Hoon Park
countries around the world, ranging from
Australia and China to France and South
Korea.
Professor Park was impressed with the
overall structure of the conference and
the wealth of information that he gained
in just three days. “The conference was a
great success. It is very unusual to meet
people who actually shape the field of
television studies,” Park said.
In the meantime, Professor Park will
be publishing the research he presented
at the conference. “My co-organizer,
Dr. Lemi Baruh of the Communication
department of Kadir Has University in
Istanbul, and I will publish an edited
volume derived from the conference,”
Park said.
Professor Park will also use some of
the presenters’ conference papers in his
future courses, in order to engage his
students with the knowledge he gained
at the conference. These papers may
even spark students’ interests in the
social implications of reality television
and lead them to learn more about
reality television’s role as a platform for
political and social debate outside of the
classroom.
Meanwhile, even though many people
may not realize the complexity of reality
television, Professor Park has witnessed
this complexity first hand. “Reality
television phenomena are much more
complex than one may think,” Park said.
“It is interesting to examine how diverse
cultures receive reality television shows
on Reality TV: Theoretical Debates on the
Genre’s Progressive Potential,” focused on
the racial politics of reality television.
Over the past few years various reality
television programs have triggered
political discussions. One television show
in particular, “Survivor: Cook Islands”,
premiered as a contest between races,
leading to discussions around the world
on racial inequality.
In
the
meantime,
shows like “Beauty and
the Geek” displayed
gender inequality and
stereotypes, while “The
Real World” focused on
issues like religion and
homosexuality.
The
conference
provided scholars with
an opportunity to share
their research on various
issues like gender and
racial inequality of reality
television shows to Park (second from right) and colleagues pose at
experts from numerous the conference in Istanbul, Turkey.
Housel
differently.”
This complexity has stirred Professor
Park’s interests even further, as he is
anticipating to continually research reality
television’s impact on the public’s views
of race, among other topics. “I hope to
continue to explore how reality television
mediates popular discourse about gender,
race, and sexuality,” Park said.
Upcoming Events
Women of Color Celebration
Dinner: Wed., March 4; 5-7 p.m.,
Maas Auditorium, Hope College
Registration for Fall 2009 Semester: March 20 through April 3.
Please check with your advisor
and the Hope College Registrar’s
website for more information:
http://www.hope.edu/admin/
registrar/index.html
WTHS’s iHope Program (ongoing): The WTHS iHope program
gives iPods to chronically and/
or terminally ill patients at Holland Hospital in order to provide
emotional comfort and support for their well-being. If you
would like to donate an i-pod to
this non-profit program, please
check out the WTHS website to
fill out the donation form.
WHTS website: http://wths.hope.
edu/iHopeProgram/iHope.htm
Newsletter questions or comments? Contact Newsletter Editor James Ralston (Hope senior) at: james.ralston@hope.edu