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OOD Works Podcast Episode 24 Transcript Brandon Lewis, Senior Majoring in Journalism Introduction: Welcome to OOD Works, the podcast, a show about unique individuals and the services provided by Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, the state agency that helps individuals with disabilities find a job and be more independent. Here's your host Kim Jump. Kim Jump: In this episode of OOD Works, I’m joined by Brandon Lewis, a senior at Kent State University majoring in journalism. Brandon is a participant of OOD’s Ohio College2Careers program, and he’s the author of a weekly column in the Kent Stater. We’re also joined today by Jessica Vass, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, who’s dedicated to Kent State University. Welcome to the podcast, Brandon and Jessica! Brandon Lewis: Thank you for having me. Jessica Vass: Thank you. Kim Jump: Well, I’m so glad that you could join us, and Brandon, you are on campus at Kent State, currently? Brandon Lewis: Yes, that is correct. Kim Jump: Can you just share with us what this interesting semester at Kent State has been like for you during this time of coronavirus? Brandon Lewis: Oh god, where do I start? Honestly, like, let me take you guys back to, let’s go back into the last spring, let’s go back to March when we first shut down. Because I remember the day we shut down, I just came back from class. And it’s funny because the whole day, you know, we were hearing about Ohio University campus is shutting down. And our professors were like, “There’s no way Kent State shuts down, right?” Get back to my dorm room here, get the email: “We’re shutting down.” Brandon Lewis: You know, I had no idea if we were going to come back or not. We had no idea. So fast forward to June or July: they make the announcement that most classes are going to be remote: some of them are going to be hybrid, some of them will be fully remote, and some of them will be in person. So when they gave us our schedule, I did have one in-person class, which is one of the reasons why I came back to campus. To be honest with you, when I first came back, I wasn’t sure how it was going to be. I wasn’t sure how different it was going to be. Brandon Lewis: But to be honest with you, as we sit here right now, I feel totally safe. I’ll be completely honest with you, I give Kent State high props because even though I was, to be honest with you, very skeptical about being on campus and how safe it was actually gonna be? They’ve done a very good job at like, really ensuring that the mask policies and all the COVID stuff has been enforced. And really, nothing has really changed besides the fact there’s no in-person dining, there’s only take-out. Stuff like that. But, really nothing changed in terms of campus protocols. Brandon Lewis: I would say the biggest change just sitting here right now, would be the fact that most classes are remote. It’s so hard to be at a screen. And even though I can see you right now, and even 1 though we can see the professor, it’s just different when you’re in a classroom, hands are up, you see other people, you are interacting. In a way, I like it, mainly because of convenience. I think there’s a lot of stuff that we can do that we don’t have to be in-person for. But also, the in-person interaction is just different. Kim Jump: Brandon, let me ask you this: over the summer, did you contemplate taking a pause at all in your college journey, or did you, you knew you just wanted to keep on, even though you knew the environment would be very different? Brandon Lewis: No, I never considered a pause, because I never wanted to be sent back. Kim Jump: Mmhmm. Brandon Lewis: That was the main reason, whether it would be with money, with student loans, tuition, that kind of stuff. I feel like at that point, because if you take a pause, you’re pausing everything. Then you have to make sure, okay, requirements could change. Kim Jump: Right. Brandon Lewis: You know, am I going to be—if I did a one semester pause, do I screw myself for the next year, or longer? So that thought never came into my head, because I’m like, if I take a pause, am I going to even want to come back? Kim Jump: Yeah. Brandon Lewis: And the whole reason why I went to college is not only get a degree to learn about journalism, but have the college experience. And even though we are doing this differently, you’re still somewhat getting the college experience. Kim Jump: Yeah. Brandon, how did it come to be that you decided on Kent State? Brandon Lewis: Sure. So, when I was a senior in high school, for me it was down to three colleges. It was down to OU, Bowling Green, and Kent State. I’ve always wanted to be a journalism major; I’ve always wanted to work in journalism since I was really young; I’ve always liked to write; I’ve always been interested in sports; and I’ve always loved listening to sports broadcasters, sports reporters, stuff like that. So I knew the three best schools in Ohio were Ohio University, Bowling Green, and Kent State. Kent was the first one I went, and I was like, I’m sold. So I did all the requirements, I took the ACT to get in, stuff like that, and just filed the paperwork and luckily I got accepted. So there was never really a backup plan. Kim Jump: That’s awesome that you loved it that much from the very beginning. Brandon Lewis: Yeah. Kim Jump: Now, have you worked at all during your studies? Or have you focused more on the coursework? Brandon Lewis: So, I have not worked an actual quote-unquote job. I have worked in student media; as a matter of fact, the other day, I was just named the new general manager of Black Squirrel Radio. So that’s really exciting, I’m looking very much forward to that opportunity. Student media has given me so much. And I mentioned how I’m a columnist in the Stater. That’s an unpaid position. There’s different 2 paid and unpaid positions, but student media gives you an opportunity to go out in the real world, quote-unquote, and cover journalism stories, whether it’s sports or non-sports. Brandon Lewis: They have people at the Stater who’ve covered political rallies and everything going on with the election this year. So it’s giving people a real opportunity, but it’s not like a quote-unquote job- job. We’re very limited in terms of hours, we can only work a maximum up to ten hours a week. We don’t get paid that much, probably in total over the 15 weeks if you’re lucky you get paid $1200. So, it’s not much, it’s more about the experience, but you get to make relationships that last a lifetime. Kim Jump: This past fall, you’ve probably covered some pretty interesting topics. Brandon Lewis: No, because most of my work has to do with the Stater. So what happened was, I worked with Black Squirrel Radio and the Stater on and off for two, three years. I worked with the Stater my sophomore year as a reporter for—I actually took a reporting class, so it was reporting with the Stater. So I cover the wrestling team and then I cover the track and field team. Brandon Lewis: Over the last three years of Black Squirrel Radio, I worked in sports, I interviewed athletes, I covered Kent State home games—whether that be football or basketball games, and then I was eventually the web director of Black Squirrel Radio, so I was in charge of all the web content. I was basically in charge of the whole website. And then last semester, the old general manager graduated: because I remind you, this is all students working, so we are all students. There’s no faculty or anything like that. So when the general manager graduates, there has to be a new GM that comes in. Brandon Lewis: The new GM that comes in pretty much swept us all out, including myself unfortunately, so what I did this past fall was I just took a step back. Like I said, I rejoined the Stater as a columnist, like you said in the opening. And then, you know, I’ve written opinion columns on sports, but I mostly sat back here, did schoolwork, and really just got my mind right in my head for, hey, I know I want to come back to Black Squirrel Radio, I know I want to be the GM in the spring as I’m looking for an internship thanks to Jessica’s help, and let’s do this. And everything is looking good. Kim Jump: That’s great. You’re really getting a multimedia experience there. Brandon Lewis: Yeah, it’s a lot, because not only can you do written stuff, you can do photos, you can do multimedia.