Bullhorn issue 5

The

BULLHORN Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications Alumni Magazine ISSUE 5

Bullhorn 1

Editor-in-Chief Cynthia Martin

Photo Editor Megan Kell

Art Direction

Ellery Butler, Sheila Gray, Wesley Higgins, Alexandria Leist, Zachary Leete, Kristan McCants, Angela Nales, Rolla Al-Abbasi, Mary Badonsky, Stephanie Bryn, Rachel Drummond, Elizabeth Engasser, Omar Erchid, Justine Figueroa, Reed Gaudens, Danielle Haberer, Carly Hobbs, Kelsey Howard, Alexander Kennedy, Mariah Leonard, Calvin Pena, Samantha Stern, Katherine Tejeda, Elise Walsh, Shaunda Wickham

Writers

Mary Badonsky, Rachel Drummond, Omar Erchid, Danielle Haberer, Carly Hobbs, Alexandria Leist, Melissa Moreno, Samantha Stern, Elise Walsh

Faculty

Wayne Garcia, Kevin Hawley 2 Bullhorn

Contents 4

Lindsey Howe: Behind the Scenes of Design

6

Betty Carlin: Trying It On Her Own

8

A Broad Education

16 Laura Taylor: Radio Gal 19 Veronica Cintron: Adversity Couldn’t Keep This Anchor Down 22 Lauren Klinger: An educator away from the classroom 24 Roby Helm: Beyond the Finish Line 26 Lydia Harvey: Media Multitasker

Letter from the faculty advisor

A

s this issue goes to e-press, amazing things are happening in the School of Mass Communications. Alumnus, business leader and philanthropist Jordan Zimmerman has made a generous donation to our school, which will now be known as the Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications. The impact of this change will be examined in more detail in the next issue.

In this issue, we continue to focus on the people who are making a difference in the field of mass communcation, academically and professonally.

As always, all stories are written, edited and art directed by our print journalism students.

Professor Wayne Garcia and I supervise the creation of this publication but, from a design standpoint at least, all of the final decisions are made by the students themselves. By taking ownership and responsibility they can rightly claim this work as their own when they step out into the working world.

I hope you enjoy what they have created and, if you are an alum, please stay in touch with us at bullhorn@usf.edu and let us know what you’re doing. You never know, there may be a good story in it.

20 Ahead of the Times: Dawn Philips Kevin Hawley Bullhorn Faculty Advisor

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Lindsey

Howe Behind the scenes of Design:

Creativity & Organization By: Carly Hobbs

I

t wasn’t such a surprise when Lindsey Howe ended up in the seats of advertising classes throughout her time at USF. Growing up in Cape Coral, Fl., Howe had a keen eye for design without any idea of how to use it.

“I knew I wanted to do something that involved creativity,” she said, “But I am, by no means, an artist.”

Where better then to end up than behind the scenes of the art? Advertising and marketing allowed Howe to put her creative mind to good use without the allegiance of a brush and a canvas.

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During her time at USF, Howe kept an eye on her studies more than anything, yet managed to incorporate time for the advertising club, as well as time for Ad 2 Tampa Bay, an organization designed for the younger generation, interested in pursuing a career in advertising. This helped her land work immediately after graduation in 2010.

Howe attributes much of her quick success to the curriculum and professors she had in her time at USF. “I love the openness with professors you have,” she said, “everyone is strongly encouraging

of internships, which is really the only way to gain experience and make it.”

One professor in particular that Howe remembers as the most helpful is Hal Vincent, who was an advertising instructor from 2009-2013. Vincent pushed all of his students to spend college looking for hands-on experience within the field, a skill that Howe found to be the most beneficial.

After landing a couple gigs in marketing for a non-profit organization during her years following graduation, Howe is now happily working as the marketing coordinator for Marketing in Color, a corporation in South Tampa. Marketing in Color proudly promotes its clients, through means of branding, social media and other outlets.

As marketing coordinator, Howe is in charge of trafficking- being the middleman in between the account executives to the creative team. Not only was this job a desired change of pace, but it allowed Howe to use her creative mind with a hidden talent up her sleeve: organization.

“I love it here,” Howe said, “There is a great, positive culture throughout the company.”

The feeling is mutual. Since her start with the company in January 2014, Howe has won over many of her coworkers, among one of them is Marketing in Color, Creative Services Vice President, John Parrish.

“We’re all thrilled to have Lindsey on our team,” he said, “Even in this short amount of time, she has impressed us.”

There’s more to come from Howe at MIC- this is only the beginning of what she hopes is a long lasting journey with the company.

“I’m happy where I am now,” she said, “It is a great stepping stone for me.”

Work keeps her constantly moving, but she manages to find time for other endeavors.

Outside of the office, Howe is devoted to her church, which is something that she believes has given her the motivation to come as far as she has. When she clocks out, Howe trades out MIC schedules and paperwork for IKEA catalogues.

Her current project away from work? Interior design. The vivacious 25-year-old is currently flipping through home magazines and sticky-noting prospective furniture to put together ideas for her friend’s new house.

“It’s fun, but it’s kind of hard,” she laughed, “You wouldn’t believe how expensive some of these dining room chairs are.”

This keeps Howe where she wants to be- behind the catalogue, further proving the artist does not always have to be directly in front of the easel.

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Trying It On Her Own

By Melissa Moreno

B

etty Carlin is a lot of things. She’s a mother of two grown daughters, a loving wife, an amateur photographer and an experienced marketing consultant. But one thing is certain: she worked hard to be where she is today.

Having studied at the University of South Florida, Carlin, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduated with a degree in mass communications with a concentration in journalism. Even from the beginning of her college career, she was ambitious and dedicated. In addition to being a fulltime student, Carlin was a fulltime worker. She’s jumped from fast food jobs to hotel jobs, working to pay off her tuition. During the summer, she would take a break from classes and use that extra time to pick up another job.

The only student organization she had time to join was the Society of Professional Journalists.

Looking back on her USF years, she can’t believe how much it has changed.

“When I was there, it was still trying to make a name for itself,” Carlin said. “I watched the university evolve over the years and some of the things that they’re involved with is just terrific because, from an economic development point of view, this is where the jobs come from.”

Carlin didn’t do much in the journalism field. During her last semester at USF she interned at the Tampa Tribune, which she said was a great experience. However, being the

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positive person she is, Carlin didn’t want to make a career reporting the negative.

“I determined that public relations was a better fit for me because it has all of that journalistic kind of style and knowledge,” Carlin said. “But it’s more on the positive side which is more of my make up.”

Currently, Carlin is in charge of her own public relations practice called Carlin Communications, which she started only a year ago. She has experience working for agencies, corporate and even non-profit.

supervisor to show her the ropes. Seeing as how Byrne still goes to Carlin for occasional advice, they were a perfect match.

“She was very supportive and always made herself available if I ever had any questions,” Byrne said.

In addition to her strong work ethic, Byrne also pointed out that Carlin is a “people pleaser” and will go miles to make anyone feel comfortable. Byrne, who described herself as a shy person, recalled her first few days at work and remembered how quick Carlin was to introduce her to others.

“She would always speak highly about my work and it made me feel good about myself,” Byrne said.

As busy as she is, Carlin still makes time for the things that matter. No matter how much her professional life expands or how demanding the job is, she always sets time aside for her family.

“This is the first time I’m trying it on my own,” Carlin said. “It’s a good thing for me at this point in my life and my career.”

“I always made sure I had time to go see their performances at school,” Carlin said. “I would pick them up from school just to hear about what they did that day.”

Along with her family, Carlin also makes When it comes to developing a brand through time for hobbies. She holds a passion for photographing nature, which she displays social media, Carlin passes along simple but through her Facebook cover pages. Her voice smart advice on how to put yourself out there. escalated in excitement when she talked about “You have to have your own audience,” she her orchid, which has 13 blooms. Although, she said. “You have to have some kind of a following swears she’s not the gardener in the family. because people want to follow a person rather “My mother could put a stick in the ground than an entity.” and grow a tree,” said Carlin, laughing.

Carlin continues to share her wisdom through Even though Carlin thinks she can’t bring the connections she’s made. Shannon Byrne, also life to a garden, she certainly brings life to the a USF alumna from the class of 2009, crossed workplace. She is described as warm, nurturing, Carlin’s path when they worked together at the supportive and amazing.

Tampa Bay Partnership, a regional marketing organization. Byrne, hired as a marketing and communications coordinator, needed a Bullhorn 7

A Broad Education

by Joel King and Mary Mathews Photo: A rainbow of Vespas, Rome.

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D

esign, Italian Style, a course created and taught by Public Relations professor Kevin Hawley, was an introductory course in an extraordinary place: Florence, Italy.

Twenty-four students flew overseas for a sixweek experience in the city, centered on learning basic design principles and techniques through viewing iconic Italian design standards in person. The course was put together in partnership with Florence University of the Arts, where the students were encouraged to take other classes revolving around Italian language and culture.

“Italian design has had great influence on the world,” Hawley said. “So if we’re talking about Ettore Sottsass designing typewriters for Olivetti, which were then hugely admired by Steve Jobs, saying ‘when we design our computer I want it to USF EDUCATION ABROAD PRESENTS

Design, Italian Style

June 29 - August 9, 2014 Florence, Italy For information contact Jim Pulos: jpulos@iac.usf.edu Kevin Hawley: kevinhawley@usf.edu

be as simple and operable and portable as that,’ then you can start to see the way that design has influenced what we have here.”

The opportunity to learn from real-world examples was a draw for mass communications students, such as 20-year-old public relations student Taylor Evans, who planned on taking a study abroad trip anyway. Evans said it was much more worth his time to take a course that would be more than empty credits, no matter how fun it was.

For others, like international studies and pubic relations student Aroushad Tahsini, the experi10 Bullhorn

ence of visiting another country was the real attraction.

“I was really interested to see the Italian perspective on design, so I signed up for the class,” Tahsini said. “I was also really hoping to learn about Italian culture, the background, and the history of Italian design.”

The class originated as a suggestion from USF’s Education Abroad department, which approached the School of Mass Communications about proposing courses for the university’s study abroad program. The school’s then-interim director, Kelli Burns, took a trip to Florence, Italy for a week to scope out the city and visit Florence University of the Arts, USF’s study abroad partner in Italy.

Upon her return, Burns encouraged faculty to begin putting together course ideas, and the resulting course was offered during the Summer 2014 semester.

The goal of the class was the same as any of Hawley’s design classes: learn about design, design software and start to create a portfolio.

“While it made sense that, if we’re going to be in Italy, I would teach something centered around Italian design, I also felt that it was important that the students come home with hard skills that they can actually use and apply,” he said. “The Italian part was a nice chocolate coating, but the main part of it was learning Creative Cloud software, learning the graphic design software.”

The first assignment was a photo collage made in InDesign, but by the end of the six weeks they were able to create videos in Photoshop. Evans believed that the intimate class setting was what allowed students to learn so quickly, because it didn’t seem so intimidating.

Classes were only twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays, and many students used their extra time to explore the country they were in. Professor Hawley said that travel was encouraged.

“I realized we had to allow them time to do those things,” he said, “because that was probaStudent work from their ‘Life on the streets of Florence’ project.

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Students at the Coliseum, Rome.

bly as important as what they might have learned in the classroom.”

Travel to Rome and Venice was included in the study abroad package, but the class also took time to visit places instrumental in the development of Italian design. That included trips to the Piaggio Museum to look at the history of the company responsible for the Vespa as well as visits to the Gucci and Ferragamo Museums memorializing Florence’s time at the heart of the fashion industry.

Students traveled for leisure to places such as Athens and Paris. For Evans, a weekend trip to the Amalfi Coast was the most memorable. He went cliff diving in Positano, and he swam in the Blue Grotto in Capri, which is often included on lists of wonders of the world.

Watery intersection, Venice.

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For Tahsini, the biggest appeal of the trip was visiting historic sites in Italy, including the Basilica di Santa Croce, the gravesite of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Galileo, among other individuals.

“It was very surreal to be near Michelangelo’s tombstone, to know that one of the greatest men in history was right there,” she said. “It really hit us then that we were in Italy...it was mind-blowing to walk in the same places as these people.”

Professor Hawley didn’t have to go as far to get that transcendental experience; he mostly stayed in Florence and explored the area around the apartment he was staying. He started running again, he started writing again, and he admired the architecture. One church in particular interested him, where he could sit and listen to Gregorian chants and bask in the history of the building,

whose foundation had been set in the 400s.

“It’s crazy to think about it, that you’re sitting in something that even the new part is, you know, over a thousand years old,” he said. “And you can’t help but be affected by that.”

“Through his broken English and my broken Italian,” he said, “we were able to have a kind of friendship, and that was great.”

Design, Italian Style taught students hard skills wrapped in an once-in-a-lifetime experience.

With trips all over the country, from the Amalfi What shaped the experience, more than the educational aspect or the cultural immersion, was Coast to Rome, to experiencing the World Cup among fans in an Italian bar, the course gave the people. its students the opportunity to “The last night that I was immerse themselves in a culture there,” Evans recalled, “we all foreign to them, allowing them D E S I G N, went to Piazzale Michelangelo, to experience places they’d never ITALIAN which is the highest point in Flordreamed of.

STYLE ence. We all sat there and listened “They’re places you see on to this local Italian sing and we screen savers and brochures and all cried and shared our feelings, you don’t think that they can be and we were just hugging and real, that they’re that beautiful,” watching the sunset and it was reEvans said. “But they’re that ally beautiful. It’s crazy how in six amazing, and to see it in person is weeks you get so close.” kind of life-changing.”

Professor Hawley had the same in kind of experiences, and he ene, Italy joyed working with the faculty at June 28 - August 8, 2015 Design, Italian Style will be offered Florence University of the Arts, again in summer 2015. but it was the everyday interactions with the people in Florence that he recalls most fondly.

USF EDUCATION ABROAD PRESENTS/PRESENTA

For information contact: Jim Pulos: jpulos@usf.edu Prof. Kevin Hawley: kevinhawley@usf.edu designitalianstyle

BlueVespaUSF

DesignItalianStyle.com

Hawley would start his mornings with an espresso from Bar Pitti, where street artists would set up for the day, preparing to sell their work to passers-by and tourists. One artist, Carlo, is a retired elementary school art teacher, and now he sets up on the sidewalk and sells his own work.

Hawley and Carlo began talking every morning.

Prof. Hawley with students in the FUA media lab.

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Photos clockwise from above: St. Peter’s Basilica; the Duomo at night, Florence; students at the Vatican; the Arno river with the Ponte Vecchio, Florence; skyline of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo; street art, Florence.

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By Mary Badonsky

C

reative workspace is the more appropriate term for Laura Taylor’s office at WMNF 88.5 community radio, or Member-sponsored Noncommercial FM. The olive green walls are adorned with several vinyl records, ranging from The Kinks to Jackie Gleason to Yma Sumac. Not to mention these aren’t included in her eclectic record collection, which boasts over a few hundred, found in her wooden shelf cases. (Her complete collection is about 10,000 LPs and can be found in her record room at her home.) Countless tiki trinkets of all shapes and sizes that have been collected over decades are littered around the room. The radio DJ’s alternative retro world is apparent through the ambience around the room, which reflects every vintage collector’s fantasy.

Taylor has worked at WMNF for eight years now.

She currently serves as the development director and hosts a segment called “Surface Noise,” which airs every Wednesday from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

The segment began seven years ago and is a “showcase of new-wave, power pop, mod, punk, garage, new and real 60s, and glam rock centering on the 1980s and spinning out from 1966 influences to early 1990s progeny.”

“80 to 90 percent of what I play on the show is from my own record collection, and a lot of it is nostalgia, you know memory kind of music or discovery,” said Taylor. “I try to start off with songs people remember from the 70s or 80s and mix that in with something you’re going to find out about that you think is really cool.”

Taylor delved into journalism early on in junior high where she wrote music reviews for the school newspaper. She 16 Bullhorn

called it a natural evolution morphing into her decision to major in broadcast journalism at USF where she was the music editor for The Oracle, and soon after she became a news production assistant at WUSF. After securing the position at WUSF, she relieved herself of her print duties including working at The Oracle and freelancing for Creative Loafing because she was so intrigued by this facet of journalism. After graduation, Taylor went on fulltime at WUSF and worked there for eight years.

Longtime friend Julie Del Cueto met Taylor while she was enrolled at USF. They became friends because they shared a mutual love of the 80s newwave music scene.

“We were always big supporters of the music scene in Tampa, so every weekend we were out seeing live music,” Del Cueto said. “Every one of those nights Laura’s at the front of the stage rocking out to every band just completely into it.

She’s really tall so you can see her from anywhere in the room.”

Taylor’s passion for music can be traced back to her earliest memory of falling in love with a record at four years old. Her family was living in Germany at the time, and there were only a few English radio stations so her parents tended to play a lot of 8-tracks in the car.

“The first song I ever learned all the words to was ‘Love Story,’ a song that Andy Williams recorded. I think this kind of goes now to

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my love of French music, French pop and French Joseph Arthur. I’m excited to see a lot of secondcomposers,” Taylor said. “This happens to be tier bands too like Wooly Bushmen and some of

by Frances Lai. It’s a nice, over the top, French the rockabilly bands coming.” sounding song that was translated in English.

The longevity of Tropical Heatwave is parallel The lyrics were incomprehensible to me at such a to the impact Taylor’s had on Tampa’s music young age, so I think it had to do with scene. Tampa Bay Arts & Education Network CEO the composition.”

Ann Goldenberg has been a friend of Taylor for Over the past 20 years, Taylor’s career made more than 20 years and has also collaborated its way into a few different bands. Although with her in an effort to publicize the music scene she described them all as short-lived, Taylor here. Goldenberg believes Tampa’s dynamic was a part of a band called, talents have not been visible on a “He said, Baskervilles, and performed regular basis on visual media, and at CBGB, Country Bluegrass their goal it to make it so.

‘I always saw myself Blues, a venue famous “She’s done a great job at as an educator first,’ and for showcasing notable WMNF. She’s really raised the American punk and newprofile, raised the membership, I thought, wave bands in New York get the word out and let so many City. Friends who saw her people participate in supporting perform live described the station,” said Goldenberg. her stage presence as “Through her segment, she’s really My show is captivating, electric been able to educate another and vivid. generation in music taste, beyond and Taylor and the team mainstream, which is wonderful. at WMNF are currently Laura has the gift of giving context gearing up for their 33rd to what you’re listening to.” annual Tropical Heatwave on There’s no doubt that Taylor has May 9-10 in Ybor City. Preparation for the music increased cultural awareness and helped create festival goes on for about six months before the the buzz for the arts and music scene in weekend of the event.

Tampa Bay. “It’s a fundraiser for the station occurring over “When I was at WUSF I interviewed this old two days featuring 40 bands. Basically, WMNF school mambo DJ from New York from the 40s,” has set the template for recent successful music said Taylor. “He said, ‘I always saw myself as an festivals like Gasparilla Music Festival and Tampa educator first,’ and I thought, I love that. My show Bay Blues Festival,” said Taylor. “There are some is exposure and education.” big headliners coming like The Hold Steady and

I love that. exposure education.”

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ADVERSITY COULDN’T KEEP THIS ANCHOR DOWN

I

n 2005 Veronica Cintron was told she would never make it in TV news because of her Spanish accent. That was a heartbreaking moment for her. It was a lifelong dream to be a news anchor and she was limited because she sounded different. Six years later she won an Emmy as the Suncoast’s Best Anchor.

by: Ali Leist Bullhorn 19

Growing up, Cintron sat in the living room and watched the news as a young girl every morning and evening with her news obsessed mother and grandmother.

From a very young age she thought, “I want to be that person.”

Cintron grew up in an environment where news was important and knowing what was happening in the community meant a lot. She wanted to bring that information to people that she knew her family appreciated and sought out because they knew it was important.

“It was crazy, I never had a backup plan, or a plan B or C of what other things I could see myself doing,” Cintron said.

Cintron was born and raised in Puerto Rico, but she had dreams of the classic college experience – traveling away from home to live on her own in a dorm.

Knowing her family was in no place financially to pay for college, Cintron knew it was on her to apply for numerous scholarships to find the money to make those dreams come true.

When USF representatives visited Carvin High School in Carolina, Puerto Rico, they had no idea they would be recruiting a future Emmy award winning news anchor. While Cintron ap-

plied for many universities in the U.S., she recalls USF being incredibly generous with the scholarships she received, which was a huge incentive for her decision to move to Tampa to attend USF.

Post-graduation Cintron took her resume tape to a number of stations as far north as Georgia. She spent much of her time knocking on doors, emailing and making phone calls in hopes that someday someone could help make her dreams come true.

She went home to Puerto Rico for the summer

met her husband, Preston Rudie, during an internship at WTSP 10 News where he would continue to work as a successful anchor. However, at the start of Cintron’s career they were living across the country from each other while she anchored at WWLP TV.

Both Cintron and Rudie desired to finally be together as husband and wife, so rather than both Cintron and Rudie relocating to new jobs, Cintron decided it would be much better for her just to move back to what she knows as her second home, Tampa.

When Cintron was offered the evening anchor position at Bay News 9 she was ecstatic. It wasn’t too far from her home in Puerto Rico, it was in the location she went to college and she could be with her husband.

Now between their two busy schedules, they don’t get to spend a lot of time together, but on the weekends they take advantage of the free time to enjoy the Tampa Bay area together. Anything from running errands to going to the beach, the couple just enjoys being able to do the little things together. **** Cintron’s regular shift is from 2:30 to 11:30, but it is not uncommon for her to have to come in early or stay late depending on the day’s news

From a very young age she thought, “I want to be that person.”

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and when she sent her tape to a station close to home a door opened in a place she had never expected. A new director told her he didn’t have anything open, but the company also owned stations in the U.S. and he knew of a station in Massachusetts that was in need of an anchor and reporter.

Cintron overnighted her tape to the station in Massachusetts, WWLP TV, and she was quickly called back and flown in by the director. By the end of the interview she was given a contract to consider, which she later signed to accept the position. **** In her time at USF, Cintron

and if breaking news occurs during her shift.

Cintron begins her work day in a news meeting and then heads to her desk among other colleges including executive producers to copy edit the scripts for the day from writers and write some of the content for the day. She then heads to the makeup room where she touches up her hair and makeup.

The makeup room is often a chance for Cintron to catch up with some of her friends within the station. Cintron was in the small, nearly empty room with her colleague, Anne Imanuel, the web anchor for Bay News 9, as they both stood at the counter in front of the large well lit mirror and applied their makeup and styled their hair to look their best for the camera.

“It’s like TV magic,” Cintron said while she teased her hair.

Because they don’t always get to work together, the two enjoyed their time being able to discuss a variety of topics from the great deals they find at Marshalls to how much they hate wearing makeup on the weekends.

Once Cintron has finished touching up her hair and make-up she heads to the studio to start prerecording some of the digitized elements for the evening.

Her first recording takes place in the news room at 3:30. As the door covers the studio window, Cintron understands that as her cue to move a platform in front of the newsroom teleprompter. She then prepares herself by setting up her own microphone and ear piece. When she hears her cue from the control room through the ear piece, Cintron begins to scroll the teleprompter with her foot and naturally reads the script to introduce herself for the evening news.

In just a few minutes Cintron completes that recording and quickly moves into the studio to complete the rest of the digitized elements for the evening news. In the studio all of the cameras have already been preset and she is there alone communicating with the control room through her microphone and ear piece.

At 4:30 p.m. a live news break takes place.

While announcing the homecoming of the de-

ceased soldiers the live footage cut out, but Cintron was able to effortlessly transition to the camera being on her as she explained the news off the cuff. **** Cintron explained that the biggest challenge working for Bay News 9 is being ready for breaking news at any given minute because Bay News 9 is a 24-hour news station. If news breaks during her shift she may be on the air for hours without commercial breaks.

When the Boston bombing took place in April 2013, Cintron was on the air. The bombings occurred at 2:49 p.m. and Cintron arrived to the studio at 3:12. Moments later she was reporting live breaking news.

At the time the station only knew something blew up near the finish line.

The only thing Cintron had to report on was footage of empty bleachers with no one cheering at the finish line. That day the station went five hours without commercial breaks.

However, to Cintron it was a rewarding feeling knowing she could be there for the viewers to give up to the minute reporting at a crucial time.

“You just can’t give up,” Cintron said. “You just have to be confident in what you’re doing and you can’t let other people tell you you can’t do something. The sky is the limit, and I’m a living example of that.”

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An educator away from the classroom

A

by Danielle Haberer

USF student steps up to the front of the classroom, sporting a bandana and black baseball cap. He introduces himself as Lil Adverb.

“I’m all about my adverbs, and I don’t need bad words, to tell you that I love to rap about my nerdy adverbs,” he begins. “First you differentiate to understand the type. Adjectives are similar but don’t believe the hype. They want to change the verb but only modify the noun. So pay attention to my adverbs as I break it down!”

The class erupts in a roar of wild cheering.

Lauren Klinger, former instructor of Writing for the Mass Media, joins in the laughter, tears streaming down her face. Moments like this are why she loves to teach.

Klinger encourages her students to be creative, showing them that even an assignment on the fundamentals of grammar, complete with gerunds and dangling participles, can be fun.

Teaching comes naturally to her, although it wasn’t always what she had in mind for her career path.

Klinger grew up as an only child in New Port Richey, FL. She moved to Illinois at 18 to study political science at Knox College, a small liberal arts school that her family had attended for generations. She described it as an “adult summer camp with learning” in the middle of a cornfield.

She graduated from Knox in 2004 and went on to study American politics at the University of Pittsburgh.

“I had no real conception of what grad school

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was,” Klinger said. “I thought it would be just like undergrad but harder, which is not how it is at all.”

Klinger soon realized that she would rather work for a non-profit organization than pursue a career in politics. After earning her master’s degree, she moved to New York and became a community educator at My Sisters’ Place, teaching middle school and high school students about domestic violence prevention.

She began to write, edit and design magazines and marketing materials for the organization.

“I did it, and it was great,” Klinger said, “but I kind of had this sense of, ‘I don’t know how to do this thing that I’m doing. Is anyone going to notice that I don’t have a background in public relations or design?’”

Klinger decided it was time to go back to school for public relations. She also wanted to move back to Florida to be closer to family.

That’s when she discovered USF’s Strategic Communication Management graduate program.

To finance her education, Klinger taught Writing for the Mass Media and Mass Communications and Society.

Klinger said teaching college students is like “low pressure standup comedy. Because the students have to laugh, you know?”

“Teaching was so fun. I loved coming up with assignments. I loved reading news to find examples to give students. I loved everything about it,” Klinger said.

Students took to her laid back, interactive teaching style.

“It was an early morning class; it started at 9

a.m.,” Eskayra Pagan, Klinger’s former student, said. “But she was always up there ready to go, welcoming everyone with a big smile on her face.

She was really fun.”

Pagan enjoyed the class, while also learning valuable skills that she has applied throughout her academic career and as director of communications in student government last year.

Klinger learned about pop culture and new ways of thinking from her students, while gaining inspiration from her graduate school classmates.

Klinger crossed paths with Daniel Ruth, now a Pulitzer Prize-winning Tampa Bay Times columnist. Ruth was at a pivotal point in his career, deciding whether to write or teach.

Klinger and Ruth taught the same class at the same time.

“Just getting to know him was delightful. He’s hilarious and fun, and I am honored to be able to say he was a colleague of mine, a peer of mine,” Klinger said.

Klinger decided to stay at USF as an instructor upon completing her degree and also taught at the University of Tampa.

“I learned so much [from] teaching writing classes. I learned

about writing. I learned about journalism. I learned about public relations. You don’t ever really learn anything until you teach it. And one of the things I learned was how much I really wanted to work in journalism,” Klinger said.

That realization led her to The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, where she works as an interactive learning producer at News University, Poynter’s e-learning division. Klinger takes content from industry experts and scholars and transforms it for delivery through an online learning platform. Klinger also writes for Poynter.org covering media news and teaches inperson seminars and webinars.

Klinger’s colleagues at Poynter, including fellow interactive learning producer Vanessa Goodrum, echo the sentiments of her students, calling Klinger “friendly, gregarious, social and open minded.”

“She always brings new ideas to the conversation. She thinks about things differently than I do, which really helps round out the team,” Goodrum said.

Klinger also volunteers once a week in the shelter at Community Action Stops Abuse, a domestic violence agency in St. Petersburg.

She occasionally writes the CASA newsletter and speaks at fundraising luncheons. Klinger said domestic violence is “one of the biggest problems facing women in this community.”

Klinger’s career path has led her from politics, to non-profit work, to public relations, to journalism. Regardless of what arena she’s working in, she approaches each experience as a teaching and learning opportunity. Even though she’s no longer working in a college classroom, she still considers herself an educator.

“Sometimes I’m teaching people something, and sometimes they’re teaching me something,” Klinger said.

“.. low pressure standup comedy.

Because the students have to laugh, you know?”

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Beyond The Finish Line

By Omar Erchid

W

hen Roby Helm first picked up the microphone to announce a race at the old Tampa Golden Gate Speedway track in 1982, he did not see it as much more than a good laugh after a night of filming for a class assignment. Helm and his classmate were shooting some asphalt stock car race footage before Helm decided to try adding his own color commentary.

“We shot our feature and there was still one race left for the night. I told him to shoot some race footage and I was gonna try to do some play-byplay,” reminisced Helm. “Then a fight broke out on the track and I started going ‘Howard Cosell where are you when we need you?!’ I went from calling the race to calling the fight.”

What Helm intended as joke ended up landing

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him an opportunity of a lifetime.

“One of the requirements we had for shooting was to give the race promoter a copy of our footage,” said Helm. “After we handed it in, we left the track and I went ‘man we forgot to take off all the clowning on the footage.’”

“He ended up calling me the next morning. He thought that was the greatest thing he’s ever heard.”

And that was how Helm landed his first announcer job at the former Golden Gate Speedway announcing races in lieu of Hall of Fame motorsports announcer Jack Miller on Friday nights. Helm was a sophomore at USF studying mass communications at the time.

Helm was born into a tradition of racing, his family having been in the sport since 1922. His father and uncle, National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Ralph

“Speedy” Helm, built and raced sprint cars for a living.

After spending four years in the Army following high school, Helm and his friend built a car and beat the reigning national midget car champions in a race.

“I was living in Wisconsin at the time and had 25 cents in my name. I picked up the phone [after we won] and called my parents, who were living in St. Pete, and said ‘Come and get me,’” said Helm.

Helm promised his family he would get serious about his studying if they brought him to Florida.

Helm, who was a broadcast and photojournalist during his time in the Army, knew he wanted his career to be in the world of racing.

“My uncle told me if I was a driver, I would only get hurt or killed, and if I was a car owner or mechanic, I would go broke,” Helm said. “He said I should go to college, and be an announcer like Dickie Edwards. It made sense because I was broke, but I loved to talk about racing.”

From there, Helm began distinguishing himself as one of the premier announcers in the racing industry.

After his stint at the Golden Gate Speedway, Helm went on to work alongside his idol and Hall of Fame announcer Dickie Edwards at the East Bay Raceway in Gibsonton. Following his graduation from USF in 1984, he was hired as the full-time public relations manager and announcer at the Desoto Speedway in Bradenton.

Between 1984 and 1993, Helm had announced races at every short track in Florida. He also hosted “Florida Motorsports Report Racing” on 570 AM WPLP, Tampa’s first all-talk radio station.

Helm has the distinction of being the first announcer to interview NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon while announcing a sprint car race at East Bay in February 1985.

“There was a 13 year-old kid from Cali who was the buzz of the event. I had trouble pronouncing the name of the town he was from,” said Helm. “Next thing I know, there’s a kid tugging on my leg from the stands and he says ‘Hey Mister. My name is Jeff Gordon and I’m from Vallejo not Valley-jo.’ I asked him to do an interview then.”

In 1992, Helm moved to Tennessee to run the NASCAR track outside of Knoxville. From there, he branched out to work for Top Dirt Model sponsored

by Hav-A-Tampa Cigar Company. In 2005, he was hired by upstart NeSmith Racing, where he is now President of Operations and Communications and

Public Relations Director and Event Announcer.

In the midst of an accomplished career thus far, Helm was hand-picked by NeSmith founder Mike Vaughn as the blue-chip hire for the new racing circuit.

“Roby was a huge piece in getting NeSmith off the ground and running,” said Vaughn. “Roby’s passion is visible every single day he comes to work. The guy’s life is racing. It’s not work to him. He’s been announcing races for thirty years and he’s still as enthusiastic as his first race.”

“Before we started operations, we knew we wanted someone like Roby. NeSmith is very fortunate to have someone who brings not only experience, but a signature flavor and style to us.”

Though he lives in Tennessee now, Roby still considers himself a USF bull at heart, tuning in every year to root for the football and basketball teams. Helm visited Tampa last year while touring the state to announce races. Though he got into the announcement business before he graduated, he credits his college education for a chunk of his accomplishments. Helm says earning his degree in mass communications further advanced his technique on broadcast writing and taught him to how to conduct research properly.

“A huge part of preparing for my races goes into research, and back then, there was no internet.

We spent plenty of hours in the library thumbing through books. Digital? What’s that? Everything was analog. We were still cutting and splicing tape up back then.”

As of today, Helm has announced races for almost 30 years at 182 different racetracks in 26 states. This weekend, Helm announced the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City. When asked about exactly how many races he’s announced he responded with the following: “Pshh. Thousands. How many thousands? I couldn’t tell you. And I plan to keep it going.”

Media Multitasker

By Rachel Drummond

T

he assumed hustle and bustle of a news publication facility rests on the weekend.

Publications are separated by floors, each divided by content – news, sports, feature. Lydia Harvey works on the fourth floor for an entity of the Times Publisher, TBT*. Her work ‘days’ are nights beginning at 4:30 in the late afternoon and going as late as one in the morning.

She works in several areas of the paper.

Designing sports layouts, copy editing, headlines writing, but just in the last six months she’s had an opportunity to put her writing to use through the celebrity gossip column ‘Juice’.

Harvey graduated from USF in June of 2011 and has since maintained a position at the Times. She began as a copy editor, but has managed to take on several different titles, her favorite being ‘writer’.

“Writing is my favorite thing,” Harvey said. “But, the more I design, the more I love to design.

Headline writing is really fun as well, writing would definitely be my favorite.”

She’s a mom of two; her daughter named after the king of rock and roll. She won’t hesitate to pose for a picture, shamelessly shares her own content on social media and loves every aspect of her job. Oh yeah, she loves the oxford comma.

Harvey landed a position with The Times through an internship she took while still attending USF, with the help of a managing editor she heard about availability with the publication and was hired on. She explains that there’s a thrill that comes with working with the paper, describing it in part as ‘vanity’.

“It was exciting [the first time I was published]. I felt important,” Harvey said. “I think a lot of people that work at a newspaper like seeing their name in print. It’s vanity, I’m definitely guilty of that.”

Harvey says she’ll post things that she’s proud of on Facebook, expecting her family to give her a round of applause.

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“That’s the thrill of the job for me. That’s why I love newspapers.”

Harvey says her personality has had to shift since working for the paper. She was adamant that she hated group projects while in school, confessing that she was once a control freak. However, she’s since left that title behind and has learned to go with what is necessary to get a job done.

“Nobody knows I’m designing the section.

People make mistakes all the time,” Harvey said, “and the good thing about a newspaper is that you start over every day.”

In between writing for ‘Juice’ and designing page layouts, Harvey has grown fond of her work environment; the people are her favorite part.

“It’s like a family here. Everyone is funny, everyone is informed – it’s really nice working

“That’s the thrill of the job for me. That’s why I love newspapers.” with people who read the news on a daily basis.”

Harvey’s ritual to relieve stress is simple – swear.

She explains that the people she works with have a system, when they recognize that someone else on their team is stressing they offer a “levity break” followed by a witty joke. However, Harvey isn’t hesitant to walk away should she become overwhelmed.

“If my mind is going a mile a minute, and I’m waiting for something that’s holding up deadline, I just have to walk away from my desk,” Harvey said.

Harvey explains that she never watches page views and she never reads the comments left on her published works. She explains that the job comes with a lot of backlash, mostly in the form

her own copy, and since she is a copy editor she understands that her work could be cut as well.

“I have cut a story – I think my record was 285 lines, that’s what we do at TBT* because we’re a tabloid. You just have to get used to recognizing what’s not important. If someone does it to my stuff, I really don’t care.”

“It was crazy, but Harvey says the work environment ‘cool’ and that’s what she loves so “I was pregnant with I got straight ‘A’s – ismuch about her job. She says it’s not my daughter, and she I pulled it off.” uncommon for her team to be listening was born the second to music or watching sports games week of the semester,” unfold as they put final touches on the Harvey said. “It was crazy, but I got straight ‘A’s – paper, that is, unless they’re tight on deadlines.

I pulled it off.”

Harvey enjoys her work, but she is also proud of She says that she always knew she wanted to what she gets to accomplish. work in journalism.

“It’s fun when you tell people that you work for “It’s always what I’ve wanted to do, since I was The Times, because it has a good reputation. A six. I decided that’s what I wanted to do and I lot of people think newspapers are a glamorous wanted to work for a newspaper. So, here I am.” type of thing.”

Harvey explains that she’s learned a lot by working for the publication. It’s not hard to edit of email, but she can’t let those things get to her.

Harvey originally attended the University of Florida majoring in journalism, but dropped out deciding that she didn’t need a college education. Several years later she made her way back to USF determined to finish what she had begun.

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Ahead of the Times: D

By Samantha Stern

W

orking as an advertising manager for Florida’s acclaimed newspaper while raising a family seems impossible.

Yet Dawn Philips grabbed life by the horns since graduationing from the USF in 2002.

She is a senior advertising manager for the Tampa Bay Times. She helped launch the paper’s free news publication, the tbt* and is the advertising director for it. She sits on the board of the Campo Family YMCA in Valrico and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce’s Women of Influence and the Small Business of the Year committees.

She started her academic career at Hillsborough Community College in 1996.

After receiving her associates, she packed up her Jeep Cherokee, grabbed her cats and set off across the country to Oregon where she stayed eight months before hitting the road.

After a few weeks in Alaska, she visited family 28 Bullhorn

in Texas and then helped her mother move from Louisiana to Florida.

Philips was used to traveling. As a child, her stepfather served in the Air Force. From Utah to Texas, she attended two .elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools.

After returning to Florida from her travels, she enrolled at USF. “I changed my major four times,” she said with a giggle. “I had taken all these classes and my advisor said, ‘Well you can get a degree in mass communications.’”

During her time studying creative advertising she often worked two jobs at once.

She waited tables, bartended and worked as an administrative assistant in the Provost Office.

When she wasn’t in class or at work, Philips hung out in the communications building.

“I had a reputation with my classmates in

Dawn Philips

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the advertising program for being always last minute and still getting good grades,” said Philips. “One girl in particular would spend way more time than I did on tests and assignments and would get so frustrated to see me always pull it out at the last minute.”

She left with a bachelors in mass communications and no clue where to go.

“The Times job was just lucky,” she said. “I was applying for everything under the sun after college. I didn’t know much about the Times ... turns out it was a great fit.”

She started at as sales representative, where she sold advertising space to local businesses.

Her success earned a promotion to sales manager. It was here she proved her leadership.

As a new manager she was discouraged by the lack of drive and engagement. Instead of bossing her employees or sitting in her office, Philips lead by example. She found an empty desk among her employees, opened a phone book and started making calls. Her employees, encouraged by Philips, started picking up the phones.

“I pride myself on being able to read a situation as a leader and find the best course of action to get people going,” she says.

“Sometimes it’s just a pat on the back or a motivating word, but most times your actions speak much louder.”

In 2006, Philips was promoted to Advertising Manager. She was in charge of advertising sales in the Tampa area.

In 2010, Philips escalated to the position of senior advertising manager. She finds satisfaction in leading sales, but also feels delight with her advertising team.

“When I can create something or change something that leads to more sales, our account executives are successful, our advertisers are successful and, therefore, our company is more successful.,” she said. “I’m a results oriented person and really get excited when I have the chance to influence results.”

In 2012, the vice president of the Tampa

30 Bullhorn

Bay Times nominated Philips for Editor & Publisher Magazine’s “Top 25 Under 35.”

Philips is dedicated to her career, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t also a dedicated wife and mother.

She married a producer and director at City of Tampa Television in 2003. Chris balances Philips outgoing personality with his calculated and cautious demeanor.

Together they have two daughters, Avery and Peyton.

Philips refers to Avery, 8, as a shy tomboy.

She is an athlete with a heart of gold. Peyton, 4, loves to perform jokes, songs and dances.

Early in her career there was an admired female colleague who gave advice that Philips still adheres to.

“She told me that my time at work and my time at home should always focus on quality, not quantity,” she said. “And I try to live up to that today. When I’m working, I strive to stay focused and productive. And when I’m home, I’m home.”

She grew up with two younger brothers, Lee and Joshua. Lee died in 1993 in a motorcycle accident. Two years later Philp’s stepfather passed away from cancer.

“These events obviously had a profound affect on my life and I believe shape a lot of my personality today.,” she said. “ I don’t take anything in my life for granted ... something about losing loved ones really gives you perspective of how lucky we are.”

As for the future, Philips wants to continue to grow. While she loves advertising sales, she would like to learn different parts of the business, especially the digital part. Her next step is to master the skills necessary to become a publisher.

“In that role you run the business side of the paper, but also represent the news and editorial side,” said Philips. “I think it would be a cool mix of my interests and skills. I’ve got a lot to learn before that though.” ✿

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