Category Archives: COM Spotlight

COM student competes on TD Garden basketball court

Beyond the Classroom, BU Comgrad, COM Spotlight

By Keiko Talley
MS Journalism ’16
BU College of Communication

On November 16, Boston University Men’s Basketball team competed in the Coaches vs. Cancer triple-header at the TD Garden. UMASS, Holy Cross, Boston College, Northeastern and Harvard University all participated in the two-day tournament, which marked the start to the BU Men’s Basketball season.

A week ago, I wrote a post explaining the significance of this event (check it out here). Each participating school chose one representative to raise at least $1,500 for the American Cancer Society (ACS). With great success, each school reached their goal days before the tournament even took place.

BU chose College of Communication student Connor Lenahan to be the school’s representative and spearhead all fundraising (if you didn’t get a chance to read about Connor’s story in my last post, make sure you check it out here).

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Although BU lost their game to Northeastern, players and fans still felt like winners, especially Connor. ACS donations were collected right up until the start of the first game at 1 p.m. on Sunday. During the second game’s halftime, the two schools who raised the most money were announced—Harvard University and Boston University. BU came in first raising a total of $1,835 and Harvard second with a total of $1,830.

As the winner of the ACS fundraising competition, Connor was invited to center court to live out a lifelong dream of playing basketball on an NBA court, despite his disability. Connor participated in a shootout against a Harvard professor and superfan.

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Although he did not win the shootout, Connor was still excited that he played basketball on the same court that Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have played on… something he will forever be able to brag to his friends about. But above all, Connor felt humbled to have been blessed with the opportunity to give back to such a great cause like the American Cancer Society—something he hopes to continue with in the future.

 

Public Relations COM grad student shares his success in the communication industry

BU Comgrad, COM Spotlight, , , , , , , , , , , ,

By Iris Moore
MS Broadcast Journalism '15
BU College of Communication

Check out my interview with BU College of Communication alum Paul Kresge, who is now an Account Manager for Centro, an advertising tech company in Chicago. Kresge talks about how he’s been able to use what he learned at COM to help him become successful in the communication industry.

Kresge received his Bachelor’s degree in Communication at Boston University. He went on to earn a MS degree in Public Relations at BU’s College of Communication.

Recently, Centro was ranked No. 1 on Ad Age's 2014 list of best places to work in advertising, media and ad tech. Centro makes software that helps companies better engage with their audience.

Have any questions for Paul that we didn’t cover in this interview? Feel free to ask in the comment section below.

Interested in attending one of BU College of Communication’s graduate programs? Check out our website to get more information on all the programs here at COM.

 

 

 

 

COM student represents BU at this year’s Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader

BU Comgrad, COM Spotlight, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By Keiko Talley
MS Journalism '16
BU College of Communication

“It’s the word we all never want to hear. “Cancer.” Not a single person on the planet looks forward to hearing those six letters spill out of the mouth of a doctor or a loved one. Not a single person wants to go toe to toe with one of the most villainous diseases known to man. Unfortunately many of us either will directly deal with the disease or be close to someone that has to. There are no statistics necessary to back this up, as everyone alive today has already been impacted by cancer one way or another “ (Connor Lenahan – Lets Beat Cancer www.connorlenahan.com).

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has teamed up with colleges and universities all over the country to help raise money for the fight against “The Big C”. This year, for the season home opener, Boston University Men’s Basketball will compete in the Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader at TD Garden with Boston College, Harvard, Holy Cross, UMass, and North Eastern.

Since October 16, these schools have been trying to raise the most money for the fight against cancer. Each of the six schools has nominated one person to be their representative for this event. The top two fundraisers will be announced at the end of the first game of the Tripleheader on November 16. Winners will have the opportunity to compete in a shoot-out against each other during the event.

Boston University chose junior, Connor Lenahan, (@connorlenahan) to raise awareness and money on their behalf. Some of the other representatives include former Celtics player Togo Palazzi (Holy Cross), American Idol contestant Ayla Brown (Boston College), and former Piston’s player Lou Roe (UMass).

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According to the guys on BU’s basketball team, Connor is considered “the least narp narp of all time” (a “narp” is a non-athlete, regular person). The terriers think of Connor as a member of the team, although he would never be able to physically play as a member of the team.

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Connor suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), often called brittle bone disease. It’s a rare disease that leaves Connor with fragile bones. OI affects somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 people in America. It is a caused by a genetic defect that doesn’t allow the body to make strong bones, causing many breaks and fractures in the body. The bones of a person suffering from OI are so fragile that putting a blanket on them can cause a fracture. All of the breaks and surgeries that Connor has had leaves him walking with a limp on his right side and needing a wheelchair to get around for most of his day. Although he has never been able to compete in organized sports, Connor has never let his disease hold him back from his one passion; sports. In fact, you might know him as a PA announcer for Boston University.

Despite never being able to play organized sports, Connor’s love for sports grew making him a die-hard sports fan. He uses a wheel chair to get around campus, but is not bound to his chair. Overall, Connor remains positive and open about everything. He is most known for his blog (www.connorlenahan.com) where he discusses a variety of topics from his condition and surgeries to Toy Story 4.

I had the pleasure of sitting down and speaking with Connor about being chosen to represent Boston University. He explained to me his rare condition and his passion for being able to give back to people and make some sort of difference in peoples lives. He explained to me how he wouldn’t be as passionate and excited to compete if it was just a regular shoot out, but the fact that he gets to be the person in charge of asking for donations and creating a difference in so many people’s lives makes the experience more exciting. “It would give me bragging rights with my friends-- I got to play against a former Celtics player while being 5’3” and in a wheelchair forever,” said Connor when telling me about the possibility of him winning and competing in the shoot-out.

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I will be following Connor in his race to raise as much money as possible, until we get him on the court on November 16. I encourage everyone to follow Connor with me and help donate and spread the word for an amazing cause. Connor has set a goal of raising $1,500 for The American Cancer Society and the Coaches vs. Cancer event. In the short time between when I first met him and when I wrote this story, Connor and Boston University went from $200 in donations to $1,705, which is more than his original goal. However, with your help, we can raise even more than that.

Please donate here, and help Connor compete in the shoot-out this weekend at the TD Garden, proving to everyone his disease is not holding him back from doing what he truly loves.

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NYT Columnist David Carr talks about his first semester as a BU professor

BU Comgrad, COM Spotlight, Inside COM Classrooms, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By Michelle Marino
MS Journalism '15
BU College of Communication

For those lucky enough to attend BU Professor David Carr's now sold out Fast Forward event at the Tsai Performance Center on October 20, he says it's one he can genuinely recommend. "We're both very honest and direct people," says Carr of himself and event guest Jill Abramson, former Times executive editor. "She doesn't mince words and I don't really beat around the bush either." Carr places most of the spotlight on Abramson, calling her a "ferocious" journalist and anticipates the event being not much different from a talk between the two on the train (Abramson currently teaches at Harvard, just across the river).

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The event will focus on new media and its impact on the field of journalism, both good and bad. Carr, who is currently testing out his first class "Press Play" this semester, teaches BU students the art of making and distributing content. He says the title of professor still hasn't grown on him, but he trusts it will eventually. "It still kind of freaks me out," he says. The class is small, with only 16 students and requires a writing sample and selection to get in. Carr says he cast the class to include students with varied backgrounds and expertise, since a lot of focus is placed on co-editing.

He thinks he's done pretty well so far, and is pleasantly surprised by the students, who he calls "deadly serious." Although he explains the sunk costs of starting a class are extremely high, he is learning and tweaking as he goes. Some challenges encountered have been balancing great guest speakers with other class activities, and sounding off on ideas that may take longer to implement in reality than in theory.

When asked what the most valuable skill a journalist today can have, Carr says it used to be just about resumes and clips, but now it's about what can you make with "your own two dirty little hands." He goes on to explain what he calls the "atomic skill": "Can you write me 400 clean accurate words in a limited amount of time and find a way to distribute those words?”

In terms of the economy and journalism employment, he says there's a lot more bounce than there used to be. At a recent event, he saw several companies hiring, something he wasn't seeing a few years ago. Journalism is a field that's always been difficult to get into, but Carr feels BU does a good job of exposing students to the waterfront of what they'll encounter in the real world. "The world doesn't tolerate tardiness or mediocrity," he says, which is why he holds his students to a very high standard.

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Having a professor like David Carr at BU's College of Communication is a real asset to the school, faculty and most of all students. His focus on new media is in the thick of where journalism is right now, and will continue in the future. If you're interested in being placed on the waitlist for the David Carr and Jill Abramson event on October 20, click here.

Already have your tickets? Tell us in the comment section what you hope to gain from this event!

Interested in learning more about graduate school at BU's College of Communication? Tell us what program (s) you are interested in and why. Also be sure to visit our homepage to learn more about what COM has to offer! 

COM grad students share their experiences from BU’s Washington program

Beyond the Classroom, BU Comgrad, COM Spotlight, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By Michelle Marino
MS Journalism '15
BU College of Communication

There is no shortage of opportunities available to BU COM students seeking an internship. Between the rock star faculty, the countless Boston-based news outlets and publications, to the BU-run programs, you'd be hard-pressed to run out of places to send your resume. BU's Washington, DC Internship Program is one of the invaluable resources available to us, allowing students interested in a number of different disciplines to study and intern in one of the world's most influential capital cities. From health to public relations, politics to the arts, program participants are able to base their internship on a targeted field of study and take complimentary elective courses.

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I spoke with two graduate students currently enrolled in the Washington, DC program, to get an inside look at their internships. Dian Zhang, a third semester Business & Economics Journalism student originally from China, strives to be an international business reporter. Having completed her undergraduate degree in Business & Economics at BU, she has a solid business foundation that she wants to combine with her journalistic skills and multinational background. She has currently been with the Washington Program for one month.

dsc_0316"A lot of people come to Washington because they want to be involved in think tanks or politics. You see a lot of undergrads majoring in political science - they want to intern on the hill to work for a senator, but for me it's not like that... I'd like to integrate my experiences to be a correspondent for Chinese media in the U. S. or go back to China and work for a U.S.-based journalism outlet...It's really hard as an international student to find an internship, that's the reality. If you can come to DC sponsored by the school and do an internship, it's a good way to accumulate work experience. The program has been extremely helpful for me," she says.

Dian is working at The Bond Buyer, a national trade newspaper focused on municipal bonds. Although her background is more general business, she says she's been dealing with "a lot of numbers, reports, and statistics." "I really enjoy it because it's great to have the opportunity to get things published on a real, professional website and write stories with the help of editors and senior reporters. It's been really rewarding," she says.

10609420_341562349327303_7974710522429730936_n"The best thing about the program is that you're not learning things you can get from a textbook. There's a lot of practical professional training...We're encouraged to meet a lot of people, go to conferences, and practice being social and professional. There is a class here every week based on the internship, and you also keep a journal about your work experience. If it weren't for this assignment, I probably wouldn't have taken the challenge to talk about my future goals," says Dian. She goes on to say, "It's important to step out of your comfort zone. I have a lot of friends that want to come here but they're reluctant because they don't want to leave Boston. It's hard, but it'll be great when you come to a new environment and learn new things."

Jonathan Riley, also a third semester Journalism graduate student specializing in Political Reporting, has been in Washington, DC since August working for CNN's Investigative Unit. "I’ve been interested in politics for a long time and DC is the place to be if you’re into politics," he says. Although he can't talk much about the specifics of his job, he explains: "Just being in Washington is a learning experience in itself. You can follow politics in the news but you don’t get a real sense of how the federal government works on a day-to-day, practical level until you’re here. When you’re here, no matter what you’re doing really, you’re in the middle of it."

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"I think the Washington Program is a really great opportunity for BU students that a lot of other schools wish they could have. Particularly for grad students, and communication students in particular, I think it’s a terrific opportunity. DC is a huge journalism market. The federal government is here. National and international politics happens here, so there are great opportunities for people on the PR side of things as well. If you’re into politics, or even if you’re not sure and want to see if politics is something you could get interested in, I would definitely recommend the program," he says.

If you're interested in learning more about the program, an information session will be held Thursday, October 9 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in COM 317. Evening snacks will be provided, so if you're in the market to grab a quick bite, you might gather some useful intel as well. Have you thought about a semester with the Washington Program? Do you plan on going to the information session? Comment below!