Faculty Produce Film Short

Faculty produce film short

By Amy Janowiecki

aculty and students from Eastern’s Department of Communication recently completed a short film project—theF third in as many years. This year’s film, “Our Secret Season,” tells the true story of Scott Coykendall, a man who lost his brother, Brian, in a tragic boating accident. The story follows the brothers’ tumultuous relationship leading up to Brian’s death. And also the feelings Brian began to develop for Wendy, a friend of Scott’s who is married. Assis- tant director and producer for the film, Emerson St. John, conveyed the heartbreaking details he learned while working with Coykendall. “They didn’t really speak in those four days [before the accident], so those last conversa- tions were not good ones with his brother,” St. John said. “He’s lived with this his whole life now.” The cast and crew filmed the traumatic drowning scene at Jacobson Lake in Lex- ington. Even though none of the actors had

ments been in Coykendall’s life when the tragedy occurred, they noted things were very real for them at times. See FILM, page 2 Chad Cogdill, a film professor, on the set of “Our Secret Season.”

Multimedia studio to open in Crabbe Library

Noel Studio will offer video a $1 million donation from East- and tutoring for students ern alumnus Ron Noel and his wife Sherri Lou, will be located in the working on presentations north wing of the Crabbe Library. The studio will feature an array By Kyle Samples of different educational tools for students: everything from work- In the fall of 2010, Eastern will rooms, where students can collab- open the doors to a new training orate on projects, to video rooms, and tutoring facility that will use where they can tape and analyze 21st Century technology to help their speeches, presentations or students get a leg up on their com- other projects. munication and multimedia pre- “[The studio] will allow Eastern sentations. to offer students an inspiring and The Noel Studio for Academic creative academic environment Creativity, funded in part through within the university library that is Eastern Kentucky University Broadcast Professor Doug Rogers COM See STUDIO, page 2

The Department INSIDE COMments 2010 Student visits roots in Iran...... Page 5 of Communication From the Chair...... Page 3 Halls showcase student stars...... Page 6 at Alumni updates...... Pages 3 & 5 Environmental conference...... Page 7 CMS major wins Miss Kentucky...... Page 4 Outstanding students...... Page 8 2 COMments Eastern Kentucky University FILM | $10,000 budget barely covered crew’s expenses on independent film From Page 1 everything. The department also helped with funding.” Jim Gleason, professor of With a cast and crew from public relations at Eastern, Eastern and the local area, composed and recorded sev- “Our Secret Season” ran into eral music tracks for the film. a few hurdles throughout pro- In three weeks he created the duction. emotional and melodic mu- Hiking to the top of a sic to give the audience a true mountain in Berea was no feeling of the film’s emotional easy task with about 18 peo- impact. ple carrying heavy equip- “I wasn’t thinking about ment. St. John said shooting the story as much as I was at Jacobson Lake was difficult thinking about the [next] as well. move I was looking for,” Glea- “It was important to keep son said. “This is a full blown the actors and the crew safe legitimate production. I creat- on the boat with the camera ed lots of musical pieces and moving,” St. John said. they took what they needed to After a year of production make it work.” the film premiered at the Lex- As an independent film, ington Public Library on Feb. a $10,000 budget barely cov- 18, 2010. Copies of the movie ered all the expenses. will be distributed to film fes- “President Whitlock was tivals. amazing,” St. John said. “He For more information gave us dorm rooms to use about “Our Secret Season,” and equipment to use. He visit www.girlonrockytop. was very supportive through blogspot.com. Professors Chad Cogdill and John Fitch filmed much of their movie in Lexington.

STUDIO | Communication professors play role in center’s development From Page 1 both high-end technologies, such as touch-screen monitors, as well uniquely conceptualized beyond as traditional communication traditional research services typ- tools, like mobile whiteboards, to ically offered by academic li- help them in their classroom and braries,” Eastern President Doug career pursuits. Whitlock said. Everett said these tools will The project will be a huge prove useful for students who are boon to the Department of Com- developing written or oral pre- munication, giving students an sentations for a class or for those assortment of new ways to hone who want to improve Powerpoint their skills and get real-world slides with graphics or other de- feedback, said Dr. Renee Everett, sign elements. the department’s chair. “A student might be assigned Several of the department’s a speech in a CMS 210 (Public faculty members played signifi- Speaking) class, and the student cant roles in its development. might go to the studio to get help Jayne Violette and John Strada, from a library consultant focus- both communication studies pro- ing on a topic and doing the re- fessors, served as advisers in its search to write the speech,” Ever- ett said. conception. Emerson St. John, The Noel Studio for Academic Creativy is slated to open in the fall of 2010. the department’s technical direc- “The student might return tor, likewise offered technology to get help from a writing coach input. And Jim Gleason, a public in writing and structuring the Gleason said he believes the in terms of applicant skills and relations professor, helped with speech and then again to actual- studio will help the Department experiences,” he said. “The stu- the studio’s website and its search ly perform the speech in front of of Communication’s mission to dio will help communication ma- for a director to serve as the stu- a camera and work with a com- prepare students for life after col- jors broaden and refine both their dio’s steward. munications consultant to perfect lege. “The marketplace is becom- skills and the quality of their port- The studio will offer students the delivery.” ing more and more competitive folios.”

2 COMments Eastern Kentucky University COMments 3 Department chair bids goodbye ALUMNI UPDATES Kasey Mills, BEM ‘03, is a news producer of LEX 18 News after 29 years at Eastern in Lexington. very time I sit down to write one of Katherine J. Shepherd, BEM these, I am always amazed another Renee ‘05, is a news producer for academic year has slipped by. The de- LEX18 in Lexington. partmentE continues to grow, change and move Everett forward. Rachel Park, BEM ‘05, is the We hosted our annual Careers Day in the assistant director of athletic fall 2009 semester on Dec. 4. The event was planned and executed by the Event Planning public relations at the Universi- PR class. They did a wonderful job and we had ty of Richmond in Richmond, a great turnout. Chuck Creacy, the CEO of Va. Smiley Pete Publishing in Lexington, was our keynote speaker and we had numerous panels Communication and Media Studies at Zayed Adam Baker, BEM ‘06, is a re- and workshops for all majors. See related cov- University in Dubai. As some of you may reporter at LEX18 in Lexington. erage in this issue of COMments. call, Dr. Ron Wolfe (former department chair) Tiffany Jarvis, BEM ‘08, is the We lost Dr. Angela Cooke-Jackson in the has been at ZU for a number of years, most re- summer of 2009 as she took a position at Emer- cently as the assistant dean of the same college. studio director/assistant direc- son College in Boston and Dr. Mike Branstet- It will be exciting and a bit intimidating at first! tor for WKYT in Lexington. ter left as a result of the completion of his three I hope to start a blog about our adventures and (actually four!) - year stint as a visiting instruc- will put a link to that on the department web- Andy Pollard, BEM ‘05, is a tor. Newcomers in the fall ‘09-spring ‘10 year page. ground cinematographer for included Eric Meiners (tenure-track position) Dr. Liz Hansen will be taking over the reins NFL Films and an investigative and Krista Kimmel (one-year visiting instruc- of the department as interim chair for 2010- photojournalist for KSHB-TV, tor). Both were teaching in the communication 2011. I wish her much luck and success in this NBC Action News in Kansas studies area. new position. We’ll be spending a lot of time City, Mo. We had one faculty search going on during together the remainder of the summer “transi- this past academic year (2009-2010) to fill Fer- tioning” as I leave 11 years as chair! Amber Ungaro, BEM ‘08, is rell Wellman’s broadcasting and electronic me- It’s hard to believe we have been in the the morning news editor for dia lectureship that he is vacating after 3 years. Combs Building for more than three years Fox 41 News in Louisville. After an exhaustive search, we will be re-hiring now. It feels like home and we are especially Dr. Branstetter into this position to start in the excited about the new “Communication Stars” Brian Keith Burba, BEM ‘05, fall of 2010. It will be great to have Mike back posters. The posters are displayed on the third is a presentation director for on board. floor of Combs and highlight some of our suc- SKY Television in Auckland, I also have some news about retirement! I cessful graduates. New Zealand. will be retiring from Eastern after 29 years of We hope the next year brings you much suc- service in June 2010. Charlie and I will be mov- cess and happiness. We will be thinking of you Justin Allen, BEM ‘04, is the ing to Dubai as I prepare to start a new chapter and hope you think of us as well as we move producer and director of the in my life as the associate dean of the College of forward to a wonderful new year in 2010-2011. Distance Learning Program for Kentucky Educational Televi- Department welcomes new CMS instructor sion in Lexington. Brad Nally, BEM ‘97, is a video Eric Meiners joined the faculty of Eastern’s production coordinator in the Department of Communication in 2009. Hav- University of Kentucky Athlet- ing earned his B.A. at the University of Ken- ics Department in Lexington. tucky and his M.A. at the University of Arizo- na, he has recently completed his doctorate at Ben Jackey, BEM ‘99, is a com- Michigan State University. munication specialist for Jeffer- His areas of interest are organizational com- Eric son County Public Schools in munication, work/role negotiation processes, Louisville. and quantitative research methods. Meiners He has presented more than a dozen com- Abbey Pyle, PUB ‘08, is the petitive papers at national communication con- He has taught a variety of collegiate courses corporate communications ferences and has published articles in such jour- covering topics such as organizational commu- adviser for Collective Brands nals as the Western Journal of Communication nication, power and politics in the workplace, Global Headquarters in Tope- and Communication Research Reports. negotiation and research methods. ka, Kan.

COMments 3 4 COMments Eastern Kentucky University My sole goal was to ensure more people became involved. – Afsi Siahkoohi, 2010 public relations graduate Student president explores family’s roots through trip to Iran By Justin Lamb

As a public relations graduate of Eastern and a former Stu- dent Government Association president, Afsi “ Siahkoohi ac- ” complished quite a lot during the course of her senior year. Along with her 16-hour course load, Si- ahkoohi put her all into her multi- faceted role as SGA president. “This is the only organization that I have committed all four years of my college career to,” Si- ahkoohi said of her work with student government. As student body president, Si- ahkoohi had to make sure that students at Eastern were informed about issues that were taking place at the university. She would often write letters that appeared in The Afsi Siahkoohi, who served as student president from 2009-2010, with her family during a trip to Iran. Eastern Progress, or host forums in conjunction with departments available spots on the different ate and Jared Carpenter for the of the most interesting and mean- on campus. branches. We have succeeded in 34th District,” she said. ingful parts of her trip was getting As SGA president, it was Siah- that aspect.” Other than being very involved to know uncles, aunts and cousins koohi’s job to ensure the organiza- And lastly, as student regent, at the university, Siahkoohi also that she had never visited with be- tion as a whole, as well as its four Siahkoohi attended quarterly has a very interesting home life. fore. branches, ran smoothly. meetings to voice student con- Her father is an Iranian citizen, “It was odd that one of my It was also her responsibility cerns and vote on university is- which gives her and her broth- cousins and I have the same man- to hold cabinet meetings once a sues with the Board of Regents. er dual citizenship in the United nerisms and the same food likes week to pass legislation. Through One of the most important is- States and Iran. Siahkoohi visited and dislikes,” she said. these responsibilities, Siahkoohi sues that Siahkoohi voted on this Iran last year and spoke highly of She has also stated her love achieved what she says is her quarter was the decision to raise her experiences there. for the country and her tentative greatest accomplishment of the tuition for the upcoming fall se- “I could write a book about my plans to visit Iran again. past year. mester. experiences and about how mean- For a girl from the small town “It was my sole goal to en- As a graduate of Eastern, Siah- ingful they are,” Siahkoohi said. of Irvine, Ky., Siahkoohi has defi- sure that more people became in- koohi plans on using her SGA ex- “I was there for three weeks, nitely left a mark over the course volved, get more people to under- perience to work in a government jumped on 11 planes and traveled of her four years at Eastern. She stand what we do as an organiza- setting. all over the countryside. I was also plans to move to Lexington soon tion and make people understand “I am currently on three po- able to vote in their presidential and pursue her career in public that we’re not an elitist group. litical campaigns: Andy Barr for election. That was an experience relations in the Fayette County Now students are fighting for the Congress, Trey Grayson for Sen- in itself.” Siahkoohi also said one area. Groups vie for ‘Golden Can’ in annual food drive competition

By Adam Steeber when COMMunity, a communications environ- advantage of the bragging rights that the win af- mental help group, wanted to give back to the fords. For the past four years, the Department of people of Madison County while getting stu- Strada, who represents the communica- Communication has sponsored a canned food dents involved with something outside school. tion studies team, said a lot of students and fac- drive, known as The Golden Can Challenge. For the past two years, the donations have ulty like to donate just for the cause. However, This challenge pits the faculty and stu- gone to the Salvation Army, and last year’s dona- he adds that the idea of beating the journalism dents from the various communications mation totaled about 300 cans, said Deborah Giv- team also helps increase the sense of urgen- jors against one another to see who can bring in ens, a journalism professor. Givens, along with cy. And the challenge has raised hundreds of the biggest haul of canned goods. These canned communication studies professor, John Strada, pounds of food for local charities. goods are then donated to a local food pantry. organized the Golden Can Challenge. “It is a chance to do something good while The winning team gets to claim the Golden Can Givens represents the journalism and broad- being competitive and having a blast,” Strada Award. casting team that won this past year. She said she said. “In the end the hungry people of the coun- The idea for the canned food drive started takes pride in displaying the trophy and taking ty are the ones that win.” 4 COMments Eastern Kentucky University COMments 5 CMS major wins Miss Kentucky crown ALUMNI UPDATES

By Jennifer Hutcheson modeling since the age of 12, competing in a total of 30 pag- Jerian Shaw, PUB ‘02, is the She has a pet maltese named eants and winning about half of Sugar, loves to dance, has a pas- director of patient and com- those. She said she believes con- munity relations at Pattie A. sion for helping those in need fidence is the most important and happens to be a Colonel as thing contestants can gain from Clay Regional Medical Center well as Miss Kentucky USA. competing in pageants. in Richmond. Sophomore Kindra Clark, Clark has spent her time as Jill (Stinson) Williams, PUB a communications major, was Miss Kentucky USA volunteer- crowned Miss Kentucky last ing at church shelters and hos- ‘06, is now the marketing di- year and recently traveled all pitals, as well as spending time rector at Pattie A. Clay Hospi- over the country to compete for with friends and family. tal in Richmond, Ky. the title of Miss USA. She said her favorite pag- Clark competed against 51 eant moment was winning Miss Michael Kidd, PUB ‘02, is the other girls for the Miss USA ti- Kentucky USA. director of Southeast sales at tle in categories such as evening “Winning Miss Kentucky af- Disney & ABC Domestic Tele- gown, an opening dance num- ter being sick all weekend and vision in Norcross, Ga. ber, a swimsuit competition, an missing all the rehearsals is truly interview and the famous on- an inspiration,” she said. Sarah Parke Olaciregui, PUB stage question. Pageants can sometimes be ‘04, is a public affairs specialist The crown was awarded to nerve-wracking for contestants for the US Air Force at Hans- Rima Fakih from Michigan, the and Clark said she has her own first Lebanese-American to win myself and just hope that when com Air Force Base in Bed- way to calm down before com- ford, Mass. a Miss USA pageant. I walk off that stage, I feel con- petitions. fident and realize that I am al- Clark says it’s not winning “I always pray before I go out Arielle Reese, PUB ‘06, is the or losing that matters to her, ready a winner for making it there to keep my nerves down though. this far,” she said. Clark has community relations director and just hope for the best,” she at Rockcastle Regional Hospi- “I try and compete against been competing in pageants and said. tal in Mount Vernon, Ky. Brandon Roberts, JOU ‘05, is a media relations specialist for Pike County Fiscal Court in Pikeville, Ky. Kevin Martin, JOU ‘04, is now the photo editor for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La. PR class organizes annual student workshop Laura Kersey Rudolph, JOU ‘08, is the communications co- By Natasha Thomas public relations professor. “It’s a all Eastern juniors in the depart- ordinator at Indiana Universi- Every fall, public relations wonderful opportunity for the ment. Students listen to the pan- ty’s Office of Overseas Studies professors at Eastern host the students attending, it’s a real life el speakers, visit with them and in Bloomington, Ind. Communications Now confer- networking experience.” are provided with complimenta- ence. The event is a network- Students in Keltner’s event ry refreshments and lunch. David T. McFaddin, PUB ‘99, ing opportunity workshop for planning course helped coor- Students are encouraged to is the regional director for ex- juniors in the Department of dinate and host the event. The communicate with the speakers ternal and legislative affairs for Communication. class was broken up into five after their presentations, posing AT&T in Richmond. Communications Now con- committees: registration, mar- further questions and honing sists of a panel of Eastern alumni keting, programs, budget and fa- their networking skills. speakers from public relations, cilities. Students worked during All in all, the event proved to communication studies, jour- the fall semester in anticipation be a success, and Keltner said it’s Have an Alumni nalism and broadcasting and of the December event. a great opportunity for students electronic media majors. “Coordinating the confer- on a variety of fronts. update for us? It gives the students an op- ence is a great learning experi- “The students attending the portunity to listen to success sto- ence for my students,” Keltner event learned a lot, and the stu- Contact Liz Hansen at ries and talk with the speakers. said. “They plan the whole thing dents in my class learned a lot “The conference is helpful from the beginning until the about planning, too,” Keltner [email protected] or for students because they get to very end. I only serve as a liai- said. “We received phenome- personally speak with the pre- son.” nal feedback and that’s always a call 622-1488 senters,” said Kathy Keltner, a The event is a requirement of good thing.” COMments 5 6 COMments Eastern Kentucky University Department’s student ‘Stars’ showcased in halls By Kaitlin Stout Stories of successful graduates who once walked the halls of the Department of Communication will now be on display for current students to see. The alumni poster campaign, championed by department professor Ferrell Wellman, began in 2009, not only to spruce up the hallways of the third floor of Combs, but also to inspire current students to follow in the footsteps of past graduates. “We wanted to recognize fairly recent grads, since 1990, who are successful or who have had interesting jobs since they graduated,” Wellman said. “I wanted more recent grads because I thought these are who students and prospective Framed photographs of department’s alumni are now on display in the hallways of the Combs Building. students could relate to.” About 28 posters have now been ed to participate in the “Star of the relating to his or her career. Each Progress, Gina Portwood, who de- hung highlighting the accomplish- Department” program. “star” also sent in a photograph and signed each poster individually ments of journalism, broadcasting Each featured alumnus pos- a quote about his or her experience and printed them through campus and electronic media, public rela- sessed what Wellman described at Eastern. printing services. Thus far, 35 post- tions, and communications studies as a “gold seal moment.” He ex- After all the information was ers have been completed. students from the past 20 years. plained that these moments can be gathered, Wellman sent the infor- Wellman says the department Wellman began by calling suc- an award or something significant mation to graphic designer and wants to have 48 posters on exhibit cessful alumni to ask if they want- the graduate has done or received business manager for The Eastern by mid-summer. Student transitions from intern to management at Enterprise By Chelsea Bongiorno covered the car company gave her a chance to hone many of the skills Sometimes a summer intern- she was studying in the classroom. ship is more than just a way to “You are doing so many things make some money. at once, like making reservations Just ask Ashley Hutchinson. and answering questions about The 23-year-old from Ashland, renting while checking someone Ky., saw her summer internship at in,” she said. Enterprise Rent-A-Car grow into Her hard work and dedication a budding career. to her job was not overlooked: Hutchinson is now a manage- Hutchinson was named the most ment trainee at Enterprise, and outstanding intern for her region, hopes to continue with the com- which includes all of northern pany, adding that it’s proven to be Kentucky and southern Indiana. a great learning experience. Hutchinson said she hopes to “This job is not just about rent- climb the ranks at Enterprise. She ing cars,” Hutchinson said. “I am enjoys her current job as a man- getting my MBA without the IOU. agement trainee, and said she And Enterprise is also a fun and looks forward to the other op- Ashley Hutchinson, a CMS major, during her internship at Enterprise. exciting place to work, where em- portunities that Enterprise offers. ployees get rewarded for doing Hutchinson said she credits both “The guidance I received from She added that Karen Rudick’s their jobs.” the Department of Communica- my professors and the classes that class on interviewing was espe- As part of Hutchinson’s major tion and her sorority, Delta Zeta, I took in the department gave me cially enlightening. She said the requirements for communication for her success. all the tools that I needed, not class gave her a good understand- studies, she interned at the Rich- The department, she said, gave only to prepare myself for the real ing of what to expect in the in- mond Chamber of Commerce as her the fundamental preparation world but also for building a solid terviewing process, affording her well as Enterprise Rent-A-Car. that she needed to be confident resume and exceeding all expec- the chance to prepare herself and While she was completing her in- as she ventured into the business tations expected in the interview highlight the skills she would offer ternship, Hutchinson said she dis- world. process,” Hutchinson said. a prospective employer. 6 COMments Eastern Kentucky University COMments 7 Conference at Eastern spotlights environmental issues for reporters By Doug Ponder mental issues,” Givens said. The Department of Communication spon- Throughout her career at Eastern, sored the first-ever Kentucky Environmental Brashear sought to find ways to mesh her Journalism Conference in October 2009. journalism major and Appalachian studies Journalism and public relations students, as minor, and organizing the Kentucky Envi- well as professional journalists from across the ronmental Journalism Conference provid- state, attended the conference to learn about ed that opportunity. the nuances of environmental journalism. “I worked with the Department of Com- The conference was divided into five panel munication and the Center for Appalachian discussions, including: environmental research Studies, and they were able to create two dif- resources for reporters at Eastern, water issues ferent independent studies courses for me,” in Kentucky, covering coal in Kentucky, report- Brashear said. By planning the conference, ing on farming as an environmental issue and Brashear earned three credit hours toward reporting on environmental issues. her journalism degree and three toward her Each panel was filled with experts in their Appalachian studies minor. respective fields, ranging from journalists fa- Brashear thought the conference really miliar with environmental reporting to sus- showed journalism majors the important role tainable farmers. These panelists came from environmental issues play in the region’s news. across the state, and talked to those in atten- “Environmental journalism is not some- dance at the conference about their fields of thing that is taught in journalism classes, but study or expertise, and the importance of it is just as important – if not more important – reporting on environmental issues in Ken- than anything else [we learn in class],” Brashear tucky. said. The idea for the environmental journal- Journalism Confer- The conference not only proved to be a big ism conference in Kentucky stemmed from ence at the University of Tennessee in success among journalism students, but also Deborah Givens, a journalism professor, and Knoxville. was a success with others in attendance. Most Ivy Brashear, a journalism major, who now Both Brashear and Givens came away from notable by those in attendance was the panel works as a staff reporter for The Hazard Herald that conference impressed, and saw a need for about reporting on farming as an environmen- in Perry County, Ky. something similar in Kentucky. tal issue. During the spring of 2009, Brashear and “It gave us the idea of having a similar con- “It made a lot of students think about where Givens attended the Tennessee Environmental ference that focused on only Kentucky environ- their food actually comes from,” Givens said. Two communication faculty members make time to earn doctorate degrees Rachel Thomason “I set my mind to achieve. First, I had a baby in 2004. I always thought, if I can birth a After years of hard work, Jim Gleason, a baby, I can birth a dissertation,” Fairchild said. public relations professor, and Jennifer Fairch- Gleason’s experience was more carefree. He ild, a communication studies professor, both studied mass communications with a more earned doctorates at the University of Ken- quantitative approach. Jennifer tucky this year. Both are professors within “I focused on new media, and she [Fairch- Fairlchild Eastern’s Communication Department. ild] focused on heath communications,” Glea- Gleason and Fairchild said they have expe- son said. rienced a lot of the same emotions, setbacks Similar to Fairchild’s concerns about being and happiness together. With all their similar- a mom, working, and going back to school, ities, they do, however, have different outlooks Gleason had some concerns of his own. on the whole process. “I’m not a typical graduate student,” Glea- For Fairchild, who studied interpersonal son said. “I’ve been out of school for 30 some- communication, specifically how social sup- thing years, so to just jump back into things port is communicated to women post-miscar- and get back into the groove of school was dif- Jim riage, the experience was a struggle. ficult.” “To say I was stressed during graduate Just like undergraduates in a department Gleason school is an understatement,” Fairchild said. asking for help from one another, Gleason and “While I was earning my Ph. D., I was working Fairchild looked to each other for guidance full-time at EKU and was a wife and a mom to and support. a small child.” “We boosted each other along the way,” Even though Fairchild was juggling fam- Gleason said. “My whole experience was a delight,” Glea- ily, work and school, she said she knew she Now that the hardship is over, both profes- son said. “I’m sure glad I did it, and I’m grate- could accomplish anything after the birth of sors say they are relieved, however, they said ful to have had the opportunity to get my Ph. her child. they do not regret one moment of it. D. I’m trying to decide what’s next.”

COMments 7 8 COMments Eastern Kentucky University CMS major awarded Outstanding Student Outstanding Students 2010 By Chad Hagedon way,” Griffith said. “I would not have Distinguished Christy L. Guttridge been prepared or comfortable had I not Broadcasting Senior Scholarships Lacy Griffith, a 21-year-old commu- become part of the CMS major and the nication studies major at Eastern, was communication department.” Randall Keith Ritchie PR: Ayla Eichenhofer chosen as the outstanding senior stu- Griffith said her college experience Distinguished Journalism at Eastern taught her that hard, honest Communication Studies: dent for the Department of Communi- Senior cation. work and initiative pay off. Tiffany Evans “I learned how to give presentations, Steven Thomas Griffith, a Liberty, Ky., native, spent Chris Shulte Intern Award her entire freshman year and half of her interview, debate, mediate and many Distinguished PR Senior sophomore year at Eastern’s campus in other skills while in the major,” Griffith Brandon Turner said. Kristy Hopf Danville, Ky. She was also a part of the Chyrssa Zizos Award Cultural Club and Eastern’s Danville It took a short time for Griffith to Distinguished CMS Senior decide to continue her education af- Laura Butler campus Student Government Associa- Lacy Griffith tion. ter graduation from Eastern, a decision Dr. Libby Fraas Award “My fellow SGA and Cultural Club that was made with a little influence Distinguished Senior for from her brother. Taylor Pettit members were like my family; we had the Department a lot of good times together. But when I “The spring semester of my fresh- & Kristina Hamon man year, I visited the University of Lacy Griffith had to start taking most of my classes in Carol J. Wright Freshman Richmond, I decided to move up there, Louisville Brandeis School of Law with Kappa Tau Alpha, Top living on campus at times and commut- my brother. I knew after what I heard I Journalism Award ing at others,” Griffith said. wanted to go into law,” Griffith said. Scholar Award Kristina Hamon Griffith has worked multiple jobs After receiving a few scholarship of- Steven Thomas fers, Griffith plans on attending the Uni- Dan Mason BEM for Eastern for several years and gained Charles Weaver Fund extensive experience with restaurant versity of Kentucky Law School. Scholarship: Alyssa Will equipment sales in Lexington. “I feel that I have grown up as I have Tiffany Evans & Danielle Mears “I communicated with both cus- gone through college and I am comfort- tomers and vendors to help the busi- able with taking the next step to law ness run. I created a training manual for school,” Griffith said. “I settled on UK Distinguished Alumnus 2010 the job that I was doing and it worked because I know Lexington very well and as a contribution to my co-op credit,” it is a very good law school.” Debra Hoskins Griffith said. As for Griffith’s family life, her fam- 1991 Public Relations Grad She said Eastern’s faculty and staff ily is very close-knit and supportive of have prepared her for the next step of her decisions. Assistant Managing Director –1991 to Present her education. “My family knows the value of a good Norton Center for the Arts, Centre College education and we are all very proud to “My time at Eastern has helped me Danville, Kentucky prepare for the real world in a major be Eastern alumni,” Griffith said.

Eastern Kentucky University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and educational institution and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, national origin or Vietnam era or other veteran status, in the admission to, or participation in, any educational program or activity which it conducts or in any employment policy or practice. Any complaint arising by reason of alleged discrimination should be directed to the Equal Opportunity Office, Eastern Kentucky University, Jones Building, Room 106, Coates CPO 37A, Richmond, Kentucky 40475-3102, 859-622-8020 (V/TDD), or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Philadelphia, PA. Department of Communication 317 Combs Building Eastern Kentucky University 521 Lancaster Avenue Richmond, KY 40475-3102