SOC Media Fellows Program Ramps Up

The first cohort of Loyola’s new Media Fellows program is active on campus. The program comes to life through Loyola’s School of Communications (SOC) Dean Virginia McDermott, Program Director Eleni Prillaman and administrator and professor of foundational communication courses John Slania. 

First-year SOC students were chosen by McDermott and Prillaman and placed in a cohort of 27 this year. The students will lead community engagement projects in Chicago and abroad, culminating in a capstone project which will be completed in their fourth year. 

During their third year, media fellows will collaborate on a meaningful project abroad to push them out of their comfort zones, McDermott said. Rome is a strong contender as John Felice Rome Center is accessible with connections and support for the students McDermott said. 

“They have to be able to see what they can accomplish when they are in a new environment with new people, with new challenges,” McDermott said. “That’s where travel becomes really important because they will have to make it work in an entirely new system.”   

Within their four years, the media fellows will be able to connect and grow with other members through foundational courses, career opportunities and the chance to study abroad, of which McDermott said the details are “still up in the air.” Instead of a traditional curricular pathway such as Loyola’s Interdisciplinary Honors program, students will participate in hands-on experiences with the goal of preparing them for professional field work. 

“When flipping through applications for the media fellows program with Dean McDermott, we look for the student who wants to take it to the next level, demonstrates passion, drive and the desire to get hands-on experience in the field immediately,” Prillaman said. 

“The excitement that the students have brought to the program, the new ideas, their collaboration and how they enriched it is really inspiring,” McDermott said. The variety of perspectives the media fellows bring to the program and their willingness to take the initiative to suggest ideas for the program has made her proud.

“I walked into the classroom the first week they were all talking, interacting, and in a typical classroom, it’s usually pretty quiet that first week,” Slania said. “When I go into the classroom, there’s just an energy that inspires you as a teacher.” 

Rambler Round Up, a media fellow produced newscast of the weekly Loyola events, has provided media fellow and film and digital media major Sophia LaGalbo with valuable experience. Producing graphics for Rambler Round Up has been very informative for her and learning the process of newscasting that prior she was inexperienced in, LaGalbo said. 

Multimedia journalism major Ava Brooklier said the program was partially why she came to Loyola. It appeared to be a great opportunity to gain experience right away and make connections towards her career.

“I didn’t really expect to be able to have this experience anchoring on Rambler Round Up, the second month freshman year,” Brooklier said. “It’s really cool, they kind of threw us right into it, and we get experience anchoring on the desks and learning aspects of what goes on behind the scenes.” 

Students on Oct. 15 visited the well-known comedy club, the Second City, where they learned about improv and ad-lib skills. Hands-on experiences such as creating podcasts, anchoring at the news desk and outside trips provided by the Media Fellows program builds an extra layer of confidence which only the fellows can receive McDermott said.