Journalism Department advising begins next week! Are YOU ready?

By Sheng Lee (@shengdanger)

The UW Oshkosh Journalism Department’s advising program is meant to help you advance toward your degree in a timely and orderly manner. However, it is ultimately YOUR responsibility to make sure you meet all the requirements for graduation. The advising program gives you an opportunity to meet one-on-one with a journalism faculty member to discuss courses, prerequisites, internship opportunities and extracurricular activities.

Still have no clue where to start? Here are some advising tips and steps:

• You will need to know your registration date, adviser, number of credits taken and have a copy of your STAR report. All of these can be found on TitanWeb.
• Note that there are only three journalism courses that do not require an adviser’s signature: Introduction to Journalism and Mass Media, Principles of Advertising and Principles of Public Relations.
• Courses such as Writing for the Media and Editing have  waiting lists for students with GPAs between 2.49 and 2.45.
• Review and fill out the department’s curriculum worksheet, which can be obtained from the Journalism main office or from your adviser.
• Review the timetable for the upcoming semester. Remember that not all courses are offered every semester. Some are only offered in the spring, and some only in the fall. Others may be offered every third semester.
• You can only take three journalism classes per semester. A fourth may be added if offered during interim.
• Lastly, sign up to meet with your adviser. Sign-up sheets are posted on the journalism advisers’ doors.
• Your advising date depends on how many credits you have under your belt. The assigned dates are as followed:

                       *90 earned credits and more AND Honor students – Oct. 6 and 7

                       *60 through 89 earned credits – Oct. 10 and 11

                       *45 through 59 earned credits – Oct. 12

                       *Fewer than 45 credits AND/OR GPA below 2.50- make an

                         appointment with Tom Bruflat at the Undergraduate Advising

                         Resource Center (UARC) in the Student Success Center, Suite 202.

• Although your registration date may be different from your advising date, it is still crucial that you sign up for advising to secure a slot in whatever journalism classes you need or want to take. Your adviser will help you fill out a registration form to secure your spot in a course. You can sign up for non-journalism classes on TitanWeb and do not need approval from the department.
• The sooner the better! Once advising starts, classes will fill up quickly and you are not guaranteed a spot in any journalism class unless you meet with your adviser to register.
• Finally, meet with your adviser and complete a registration form. Turn the form in to Cindy Schultz at the Journalism Department main office (Rm 3003).

And that’s all it takes! You’ll be like a Taco Bell crunch wrap supreme…Good to go!

Live tweets during Sage Hall dedication

Friday morning, Sept. 23, a dedication ceremony for Sage Hall, the new home of the Journalism Department, took place just outside the four-story, 191,000-square-foot building that now lines High Ave. Chancellor Richard H. Wells, state legislators, former Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, other dignitaries, faculty, staff and students were present to show their allegiance and support.

“Today, we dedicate a building,” said Wells during his remarks. “But, more importantly, we affirm this remarkable story of collaboration we have, together, written.”

Read more about the dedication here.

From 10 a.m. to noon, the Journalism Department opened its classrooms and computer labs for guests to visit. Faculty and students met and thanked community members and donors who were a part of the Sage Hall project. Dr. Sara Steffes Hansen held a live-tweeting session in Lab 3422. Check out what some of our students had to say!

Start Clubbing, Journalism Style

With the school year getting underway, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of an entirely new building, schedule and classes. In the midst of try to acclimate to everything, a lot of students forget about an important part of their journalism education: student organizations. These clubs are easy ways to gain experience in your journalism emphasis as well as connect with fellow students and professors.

Having a club membership looks great on a resume because it shows you are dedicated to your emphasis, are making the extra effort to learn more about the field and are looking to connect with professionals in the area. If you haven’t decided on an emphasis yet, joining a club that you have an interest in will give you a good idea if that’s a field you’d enjoy working in permanently.

Organizations are always looking for new members, so don’t worry if you couldn’t attend the first meetings. Listed below is all the contact information for the UWO Journalism clubs. Pick out one (or more!) that you’d like to attend regularly and get in touch with the leaders so they can add you to their email list.

Meet our new social media intern: Sheng Lee

By Sheng Lee (@Shengdanger)

“To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”

-Fred “the fog” Sherro

My name is Ntxee Yees Lis (English translation: Sheng Yeng Lee). I’m a senior here at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. My major is Journalism with an emphasis in writing/editing.

Last year I started my first internship working at the Alumni Pollock House as a writer. It was a great opportunity to meet tons of unique alumni and get to hear their success stories. My favorite would have to be the one-man band, “Schizoid Johnny.” He’s a traveling music act who also is a high school band director. Being a band geek myself in high school, I had a lot of fun talking to him.

Besides writing for UWO’s Alumni Relations office, I am a social media intern for Career Services here on campus. I manage all the Facebook and Twitter posts as well as try to communicate to students all the great opportunities available to them. The last event I attended for my job there was a presentation entitled “Interviewing: the moment of truth” by Chris Czarnik. I got the chance to meet him as well and learned more info than I though I could have in two hours.

I’m a busy gal, but my ambition is the gasoline that fuels my fire. I would encourage all students to immerse themselves in whatever field they’re interested in during college. It’s a great way to meet new people, network and learn about the industry.

Other than dedicating myself to building my career as a journalist, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I’m one of seven children and have tons of nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles. Family is a huge part of my life (literally) as a Hmong-American. Nowadays, it’s rare to find young Hmong adults who can still fluently read and write Hmong, a tribal language, but thanks to my uncle, I am able to do both.

One of my greatest passions is music. I like to look at stages of my life in terms of soundtracks.  I play acoustic guitar and sing occasionally. However, my real passion is discovering new and unique musical artists. Right now, I’m hooked on CocoRosie. They’re a little weird, but I find their music and style to be so inspirational.

Other things I enjoy: cooking, wine and beer (my fiancé is German), animals, fashion, sewing, kids (I plan to have at least 10 kids…maybe) creative writing, the outdoors, film, good TV and reading.

Meet our new social media intern: Lindsey

By Lindsey Noack (@LinzCnoack)

 ”Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind is written large in his  works.”
 - Virginia Woolf

 I love this quote for two reasons:   

 1. I think it’s absolutely true and a great way to define the essence of good writing.
 2. I feel like this is a perfect description of who I am: a passionate writer, a deep thinker and lover of new  experiences.

Writing has always been extremely enjoyable for me since I started elementary school. Most people dreaded doing research projects and class presentations; I got excited for them. My motto is that you can never learn too much. Plus I got to demonstrate my creative side in presentations. I once did a four-foot wide poster on the Revolutionary War and cut out colored paper to make the American Flag for the background, including all 13 stripes and 50 stars!

You can call me a nerd, but I prefer to call myself an academic perfectionist. No one ever got hurt by over-achieving.

Because I am somebody who likes to do things properly, I need to see all my options before I can decide on anything. Yep, I’m that person you see standing an hour in the toothpaste aisle looking at every plaque-fighting, whitening, and fluoride formula available.

Anyway, choosing to stay undecided at UW Oshkosh was the best decision I could have made because when I finally chose journalism/public relations I had tried enough other options to see that it was the perfect major for me. It involves writing, communicating and creativity. The professors and graduates of the program are incredible and I feel so grateful to be in a major I’m passionate about and have fun with.

Journalism Department Chair welcomes students to Sage Hall

Welcome to our new home

The chair of the Department of Journalism, Professor Mike Cowling, would like to welcome all students to our wonderful new classrooms and offices in Sage Hall.

“I hope that students are adjusting well to the new building and are able to find their way around here, because it’s sort of like a maze until you get used to it,” he said.

As students explore the new journalism facilities, they will see that the department still has three fully equipped computer labs dedicated to journalism classes, a scanning room, a newly furnished reading room, and a new digital photo lab.

“The photo lab is a great addition to the program,” Cowling said. “It includes a new digital camera for use in the studio, new lighting and a new display table, among other features. The lab should greatly enhance our visual media courses.”

Sage Hall is a green building with the latest technology. Cowling said the faculty will work hard to ensure that as the technology continues to evolve the department will be able to keep up with the latest developments.

For now, here are some things to look forward to as we settle into our new academic home.

Alumni and student Homecoming events

During Homecoming weekend, the journalism department will host an alumni reunion, its first in several years. On Friday, Oct. 21, the department will host a social media event in the afternoon. That will be followed by a panel discussion featuring two of the three journalism alumni who will receive awards at a dinner that evening.