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NAZ Today, The Lumberjack, KJACK Radio and UTV Studios are vital to a thriving communication department, because it means the school is serving its students and maintaining an interest in each and every one of their futures.And you don’t need me to tell you:Tresa MarieThe NAU MIC was where I spent every waking second of my college career. I would not have the ability and skill set that I do now had it not been for the MIC. I was involved in KJACK Radio and was the first female sports director for the station. I broadcasted live hockey games and from my experience there, I landed a radio internship with a local station, KVNA Yavapai Broadcasting. My heavy lifting was in NAZ Today. I spent five days a week working in sports and news. I learned how to shoot, write, edit, anchor, report, and produce all starting with my time at NAZ Today. By the time I was 23 years old and pursuing my masters degree, I landed an internship at KPNX Channel 12 NBC in Phoenix right out of school. I am now a weekend sports anchor and sports reporter at 3TV/CBS5 in Phoenix. I cannot stress how imperative it is that we do not cut funding from a facility that teaches real-life, hands-on experience in an industry that is still relevant. Video skills, public relations, social media and marketing are all jobs outside of journalism that are developed within the MIC. Please find a way to consider allocating money back into the broadcasting department.Lauren WyattI cannot even express how much these programs have contributed to my professional career. From a television perspective, I have learned more in the Media Innovation Center/ Student Media Center than I have learned in any of my classes. These programs provide incomparable hands-on experience!Xavier RangelWhen I heard about the effects these budget cuts would have on the MIC and the programs within, I was shocked. I spent all four years of my college career involved with NAZ Today and landed a job with NBC Network News in New York City right after graduation because of the hands-on experience I received while completing my undergraduate education. I was incredibly frustrated to learn the programs that have gotten me where I am today, are being scaled back.But this goes beyond learning how to produce, write and edit a good television news story. In my four years with NAZ Today, I learned how to think differently. The daily grind of producing a live broadcast five days a week taught me to be resourceful, strategic and most importantly, cool under pressure. I have interned and worked with other people who have gone to bigger institutions, with more robust journalism programs, but none have had the same amount of hands-on experience that I was provided in the MIC and the difference is clear.In this industry especially, learning before doing is crucial, but learning without doing is unacceptable. This is true for any field of study. Would you trust a surgeon who had never completed their medical residency? Or a lawyer who had never stepped in a courtroom? To those who approved the decision to cut this budget, and are perhaps considering more cuts, I ask: when did you feel confident in your ability as an educator? Was it when you passed your last college final? Or did it come after years of experience in the classroom?By taking away the financial support behind the programs in the MIC, you are robbing students of unmatched experiences and learning opportunities, you are undermining the School of Communication’s potential for growth and you are giving up on your commitment to give students at NAU the best education possible. I owe my entire career to the MIC faculty who have mentored me and the programs that have given me so much, and so I beg you not to quit.James MaxcyNAZ Today and my experience working for one of the faculty as a Student Broadcast Engineer have created the foundation for my professional career. I graduated from NAU with a Criminal Justice degree and minor in Electronic Media and Film. However, it wasn’t until I was a police officer for a few years that I realized my heart was still in video production. With my MIC experience several years behind me, no professional video experience and my demo reel from college, I beat out 60 candidates and got a job as a video director for a virtual reality police training company. Recently, I switched jobs and am now a project manager and producer for a nonprofit organization that does seaplane medical evacuation operations in Papua New Guinea. In this job, I will spend a portion of every year overseas in remote villages shooting aerial video and documenting the locals’ way of life. I guarantee my life would look nothing like it does today without my experience at the MIC.
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Mon, Jan 01, 0001
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Scottsdale P.
AZ, USA 28 Sep 2024
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