On Track: Conversations with CWA Faculty

This episode of “On Track” was recorded live at the second annual Student Research Conference at Metropolitan StatecUniversity in St. Paul, Minnesota. On Monday, April 24th, attendees gathered in the Great Hall to view the academic efforts of students from various Majors including: Computer Science, Gerontology, Nursing, and Gaming. For more information, please contact the conference organizers: alex.layne@metrostate.edu, thanaa.ghanem@metrostate.edu, faisal.kaleem@metrostate.edu

Haute Dish, the arts and literature magazine of Metropolitan State University, is seeking submissions for their Fall issue! In this episode of "On Track" we sit down with Sarah Fjellanger, one of the editors for Haute Dish. She informs us about the magazine’s submission requirements, the benefits of getting published in the magazine, and how Metro State students can also become an editor of Haute Dish. For more information on Haute Dish please visit http://hautedish.metrostate.edu/

The Gordon Parks Gallery, located in the Metro State Library, is currently hosting new work from Studio Arts majors in CWA. The Student Salon (March 23-???, 2017) features work by a number of artists, including Kimber Starnes and Bryan Starry. On Track sat down with these two artists to discuss their work, how they became interested in art, and how they’ve been able to successfully sell their artwork through the Metro State Art Buy. For more information on the Studio Arts program, please contact Erica Rasmussen at erica.rasmussen@metrostate.edu

Film Space is a state-of-the-art movie theater located on the St. Paul campus. James Byrne, Coordinator of Screenwriting department, joins the podcast to discuss how Film Space aims to serve the filmmaking community in the Twin Cities. Also included in this podcast are the specific technical details of the theater as well as information concerning local film makers on how to get their films screened at Film Space. For more information on Film Space please contact James Byrne at james.byrne@metrostate.edu

Internships offer students the opportunity to gain precise, real-world experience in the career field of their choice. In this episode, communication faculty members Fred Carpenter and Suzanne Walfoort discuss which type of internships Metro State students should consider pursuing. They also discuss strategies for finding an internship, the benefits of on-the-job training, the differences between mentors and hiring managers, and how to use time wisely as a student intern. For further information on Internships at Metropolitan State, check out the Academic Internships web page: http://www.metrostate.edu/student/student-services-support/student-services/institute-for-community-engagement-and-scholarship/academic-internships

As part of the Video Games Studies minor at Metro State, Dr. Alex Layne teaches a class called "Writing for Video Games." This is Part 2 of our series on that class and features a brief discussion with a student about his final project. For this project, the student is attempting to reimagine a classic video game, while applying the new principles he has learned in the class. For a more comprehensive look at the class itself, check out episode 16.

Video games have a lot more going on behind the scenes than you might expect. As part of the Video Games Studies minor at Metro State, Dr. Alex Layne teaches a class called "Writing for Video Games." We sat down to discuss the class, the minor and the art of video game storytelling.

Metro State student Jamie Crowson is participating in an internship at Minnesota Premier Publications (mnpubs.org). She stopped by the CWA studio to share her insight, and to discuss the art of editing as well as the internship process.

Student journalism is an important aspect of the education experience for many students. Kevin Miller and Brayden Mann, staff members of The Metropolitan, stop by to discuss their work and what it's like to be a journalist in college.

User experience is a broad field involving the study of human behavior and interaction with computers and other products. In this interview, our guest, Kat Jayne, sits down to discuss her job as a user experience consultant. She shares about the day-to-day work of planning and facilitating usability studies and looking through data for ways to improve design.

INFO COMMENTS In this episode, On Track attends the inaugural Research Colloquium at Metropolitan State University. The Research Colloquium is an opportunity for students from all departments and academic programs to share the work they have completed in the course of their studies at Metro State. Many students use posters to show off their projects, and others read papers they’ve written.

Part two of a two-part interview with professor Becky Omdahl. Professor Omdahl shares how messages about health can be targeted toward specific audiences. She also describes some of the racial inequities present in healthcare communication and the consequences such disparity can have for public health.

This is the first installment of a conversation with Professor Becky Omdahl. Professor Omdahl teaches Organizational Communication at Metropolitan State University. In this portion of the interview, she delves into the ways that the culture and climate of an organization can influence the communications it produces.

This episode contains an interview with Nothando Zulu, the president and director of the Black Storytellers Alliance. Ms. Zulu has been a member of the alliance since 1976. In this interview, she talks about the history of the Black Storytellers Alliance, discusses the importance of author Zora Neale Hurston, and shares some storytelling tips.

In this episode, Rose McKinney and Fred Carpenter discuss personal branding and the role it plays in creating and presenting portfolios. Rose and Fred are community faculty members in the CWA Department. Rose teaches public relations and Fred teaches document design and digital tools. Resources mentioned in the episode include: The Society of Technical Communication Public Relations Society of America The American Marketing Association The Minnesota Internet Marketing Association Make a Name for Yourself by Robin Fisher Roffer Be Your Own Brand by Carl Speak Lynda.com can be accessed for free by Metropolitan State University students and Hennepin County Public Library card holders.

In this episode, Rose McKinney discusses the Public Relations track of the Professional Communications degree offered by Metropolitan State University. Learn more about this program and others at choose.metrostate.edu. Rose is a community faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences. She teaches public relations principles and advanced public relations. Rose is also the founder and CEO of Pineapple RM, a Minneapolis strategic communications firm focused on reputation management, including public relations.

In this episode, Anne Aronson and Warren Harmon discuss their new course, WRIT 599 - Digital Storytelling. Digital Storytelling is open to undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning the technology and techniques involved in crafting a digital story. To learn more about this course and others in the CWA Department, visit choose.metrostate.edu. Anne is a long-time professor in the CWA Department. She teaches multigenre writing, rhetorical theory and gender and sports. Anne also coordinates a major in professional writing and a minor in digital media. Warren is a community faculty member at Metropolitan State and he teaches Social Media in the Enterprise. Warren is also the director of media operations for Mayo Clinic support services in Rochester, MN.

Professor and program director Gail Smogard discusses Metropolitan State's Theater major and minor.

Associate Professor Quan Zhou discusses Metropolitan State's new Design of User Experience graduate certificate. The program, one of the first of its kind in the US and founded by Zhou, prepares professionals to design compelling user interfaces and digital experience.

Alison McGhee is a creative writing professor in the Communication, Writing and the Arts Department. She's also an author of children's picture books and novels for adults and young adults. In this episode, Alison reads an excerpt from her novel All Rivers Flow to the Sea.

In this podcast episode, Erica Rasmussen, professor of Studio Arts at Metropolitan State University, talks about the brand new Studio Arts major. A key feature of this new major is an exciting plan to share some of the studio space at local two-year colleges.

Fred Carpenter is an adjunct faculty member in CWA, who teaches document design and digital tools. In this podcast, she talks about cybersecurity: why you should worry about it and what you can do to avoid unwanted surveillance.