Careers at SCOM – Harrison Connect

April 19, 2015woocw No Comments

Student Worker Appreciation Week: Honoring two members of our SCOM family

“Family,” a word used often by the SCOM Program Support Technician, Gretchen Hansen, has become a motif to describe the School of Communication Studies’ atmosphere and the people of Harrison Hall. As we near the end of the semester and a very busy April, it is important to recognize the members of our family that sometimes go unnoticed by the general body for their hard work and dedication to the success of our program.

In celebration of Student Worker Appreciation Week, April 13 through April 20, the SCOM family would like to honor Kelsey Evans and Logan Caldwell for their years of service in the SCOM office and their contributions to the School of Communication Studies.

February 12, 2015woocw No Comments

Meet the New SCOM Faculty

Beginning in August 2014, the School of Communications was privileged to have four new faculty members join the James Madison University team. Now, with one semester under their belts and another in full swing, they were willing to open up and share a little bit about themselves and their experience so far as a JMU Duke.

Lindsey Harvell: Dr. Harvell was born and raised in Kansas, and went on to receive her undergraduate degree from The University of Kansas in Communication Studies. She then went to Wichita State University, where she completed her master’s degree in Political Communication. She completed her Doctorate in Social Influence from the University of Oklahoma.

Dr. Harvell’s main area of research centers on using existential awareness in creating effective persuasive messaging. As part of the advocacy faculty, she is able to use her research to aid faculty and students in developing effective messaging that utilizes existential awareness as the focus of the communication.

This semester, Dr. Harvell is teaching a graduate quantitative communication research methods course (SCOM 683) in addition to the introduction to communication theory class (SCOM 240/241) for undergrads. When asked about her time here at JMU, she stated, “The transition to JMU has been flawless. Coming to work every day with colleagues and students that I adore is truly a gift.” She loves the atmosphere and the overall happiness she feels coming into work each day.

Yeonsoo Kim: Dr. Kim was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She stayed there to complete her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Mass Communication with an emphasis on Journalism at Ewah Women’s University. She then moved to the United States and received her master’s and Ph.D. in Mass Communication with an emphasis on Public Relations at the University of Florida.

In terms of research, Dr. Kim’s key areas involve tactical corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, effects of CSR communication strategies, and reputation management. Her current work studies the impact of CSR program “fit” for organizations considering their reputation and how to present its purposes to stakeholders.

For this semester, Dr. Kim is teaching survey research methods (SCOM 386), public relations campaigns (SCOM 461) and a variety of other public relations courses. She’s truly enjoyed being at JMU and wrote, “Before joining to JMU, I already had great respect for JMU’s reputation as a leading communications program. So far I’ve enjoyed every single minute here.” She views it as a place for her to grow and dedicate her time over a long period.

Jennifer Mease: Dr. Mease is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, however she attended Villanova University where she received her bachelors degree. She then went on to Arizona State to complete her masters, and finally completed her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She taught Texas A&M University and was in the consulting industry before moving to Harrisonburg to teach at JMU.

Dr. Mease educates in the area of organizational communication. Specifically, she studies how social biases can become engrained into various organization structures unknowingly. She also investigates how to change these social biases that occur.

Here at JMU, she currently teaches the introduction to communication theory class (SCOM 240/241) and organization communication (SCOM 350). She has found JMU and living in Harrisonburg to be, “great for raising my family” and enjoys working with the SCOM faculty.

Christi Saindon: Professor Saindon spent most of her life growing up and going to school in Texas. She attended the University of Texas at Arlington for her bachelor’s degree in Oral Communication, and received her masters in Communication Studies from the University of North Texas. She is completing her doctorate at Southern Illinois University in Communication Studies as well.

Professor Saindon has a wide range of interests when it comes to research, and her current research focuses on the autoethnographic and ethnographic investigation of the silent behaviors of women and girls in the classroom. Other areas of interest for her include analysis of mediated messages, communication pedagogy, and fat studies.

This semester, Professor Saindon is teaching fundamentals of human communication (GCOM 123), persuasion (SCOM 341) and communication and gender (SCOM/WMST 348). While only having taught at JMU for a short time, she stated that, “I’m fairly convinced this is the happiest place on earth”, and appreciates the dedication that she’s seen in her students.

Thank you to Dr. Harvell, Dr. Kim, Dr. Mease and Professor Saindon for your willingness to share you experiences thus far at JMU. We wish you the best in your career!

December 2, 2014woocw No Comments

The Way To A Successful Career: Internships

On every single holiday break, there’s that one dreaded question that all college students just hate to hear, making their skin crawl and the hair stand up on their arms… “What do you want to do with your degree?” It’s such a loaded question. You’re a junior in college, trying to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies.

October 9, 2014woocw No Comments

Career fair: An SCOM student’s experience

“JMU has so many great students! I wish I could hire them all,” said a representative from Edward Jones. Last week in the Festival Ballroom, the James Madison University Career Fair drew in students from all majors and concentrations to make a good impression any one of over 100 business, companies and organizations in attendance.

April 15, 2014woocw No Comments

Aftermath of an successful Alumni Day!

Harrison hall was filled with energy on Friday, April 11 with students, alumni and faculty enjoying an eventful day for the ‘Springboard Into the Future’ Alumni event.

February 27, 2013woocw No Comments

Taking off to New Horizons

Communication Studies Alumni Conference

March 15, 2013

Join 35 JMU SCOM alumni for a unique networking and professional development opportunity.

When: March 15, 9:05-34:45. Attend as many or few sessions as desired
Where: Harrison Hall
What: 13 panels, 8 workshops and 2 power lunches dedicated to learning more about current topics is the field of communication studies.

Please register for sessions in the SCOM office located at 1276 Harrison Hall, spots are going fast!

Please click the links below to check the even schedule and the bios of Alumni participants.

Please contact becca.melnick@yahoo.com for more information and questions.

October 25, 2012woocw 1 Comment

[OP-ED] The Importance of Internships: An Opinion Editorial of SCOM Professors and Students’ views on Internships

Students in the School of Communication Studies at James Madison University should do an internship in order to become successful. SCOM advisors and professors encourage students to do an internship in preparation for the workforce.

“Participating in an internship allows students to put their knowledge into practice and to make sense of what they are learning,” explains Dr. Pete Bsumek, internship coordinator for Advocacy Studies in SCOM. “It is important for students to experience and learn in an organizational setting.”

SCOM offers internship programs for students looking to pursue a career in the field of communication studies. According to Dr. Toni Whitfield, Organizational and Health Communication internship coordinator in SCOM, “Students should do several internships if they can. Even if that means after graduation, you never know when an internship can turn into a job offer.” According to a Forbes article titled, Odds are your Internship will get you a Job, “If you are a college graduate and you are working at a paid internship, a new study shows 60% of the time, that internship will turn into a job offer.”

Students should participate in an internship program before they enter the workforce. According to University of California Berkeley, the top five reasons to intern is because students gain real world experience which helps them make more educated career choices, become more attracted to employers, connect their classroom experience to the the real world in order to enhance performance, develop professional contacts and get their foot in the door. Both Bsumek and Whitfield say that “along with developing experience, an internship program should also help students figure out if the selected field of interest is something they want to continue.”

In order to be eligible for an internship through SCOM, students are required to have at least a 2.5 overall grade point average, completed the SCOM core classes with a “C” or better, have at least 75 hours of course credit as well as a successful completion of the courses relevant to the planned internship. Bsumek added, “It is important for students to begin an internship with as much academic experience and relevant knowledge as possible.”

Besides Bsumek and Whitfield, SCOM offers two other internship coordinators. Dr. Rozanne Leppington is the supervisor for students interested in mediation and conflict and Dr. Michael Smilowitz advises all other communication students looking to participate in an SCOM internship. Another successful way to find internship opportunities in communication studies is through SCOM professors.

Internship coordinators and professors help students find internships locally. They also encourage and help them find internships back in their hometown or other cities where students wish to work. Dr. Frank Kalupa, a Public Relations professor in SCOM, works with members of the Public Relations Student Society of America chapter at JMU on creating networks and connections with alumni in big cities on the east coast. Several SCOM students have found year-long and summer internships through agency visits and alumni events that PRSSA has attended. Kalupa says that “many students participate in virtual internships through companies they are interested in. It is a great way for students to gain the same experience as if they were participating in a face-to-face internship; the only difference is that students are creating networks and connections through an organization that can possibly be their future job after graduating JMU.”

Students should always accept an internship offer even if it is not a paid one. A Daily Beast article titled, Why Students Shouldn’t Take Unpaid Internships, say that the rising cost of academic tuition is not worth unpaid labor and that “unpaid internships don’t do as much for you in the job market as paid ones do.” What people do not understand is that students can do part-time internships while being able to work a paid job at the same time. Part-time internships are just as beneficial as full-time internships. It also does not matter if a student is doing a paid internship, unpaid internship or doing it for academic credit; Kalupa says that “an internship is about experience and working hands-on in an organizational setting.”

Along with learning hands-on, “As an intern, you learn how to understand people and why they do what they do,” describes senior SCOM major Cassie Lenski, who speaks of her internship experience through JMU Public Affairs. She says that “Students who can find an internship with an organization that treats them as an actual intern will be prepared to step into any entry-level position at top-notch firms when they graduate.”

It does not matter what kind of internship a student participates in, it is how the selected internship benefits them and what they get out of it. If a student is looking to get a job outside of college they should do an internship.