Fresh Start Mass Media freshmen jump into campus life

by Charlize Easter

Each year brings new faces and energy to the mass media department. Meet three of our newest faces.

Jeremy Ford contemporary journalism

Ford has his sights set on working in sports broadcasting. From an early age, he’s been fascinated by the way sports anchors deliver information and engage audiences.

As he grew older, his passion for sports journalism only grew stronger, and he knew he needed to become a broadcaster in the sports industry.

“I did a lot of video journalism in high school for the football and basketball team. I knew when I came here that I didn’t want to give it up,” said Ford.

Being able to share the excitement of the game with viewers through commentary and analysis is a dream for him. He believes his skills in writing and public speaking make him the perfect candidate for a career in sports broadcasting.

“We made videos on YouTube about sports, news within my community. It’s the whole reason I am in mass media.”

Ford says he hopes to pursue a masters in broadcasting after Washburn.

“I know a lot about more sports having grown up in a small town. My favorite by far is basketball. If I could do broadcasting for a basketball stadium, that would be awesome,” he said.

Last semester Ford worked for Student Media as a reporter, writing stories on Washburn athletics. He had the opportunity to learn research and time management skills as one has to dig deep to find the right information, find facts to write a compelling story and meet deadlines.

“One of the things I hope to learn within my college career is how to talk to people within a professional setting. It’s an important skill that could be useful,” said Ford.

Tiana Smith public relations & advertising Smith currently works for Student Media on the promotions team.

“Seeing the depth of all the media related to sports was incredibly interesting as someone who doesn’t really like sports that much. I really love all the classes that are offered. I can’t wait to see what’s out there, especially Event Planning and Management with Dr. Grimmer,” said Smith.

She’s excited to learn about public relations in the entertainment industry. She aspires to become a publicist and hopes that her minor in psychology will support her passion for the mental health of musicians.

“I’m kind of hoping to learn more about how the mind works so that I can better help my future clients,” said Smith.

She’s passionate about music, and her favorite band is Waterparks. Their music is known for its highenergy and catchy melodies and often features themes of love, relationships and self-discovery.

Smith is a percussionist, pianist and plays a little bit of violin. In high school, she had thought about majoring in occupational therapy, but she realized it wasn’t a good fit.

“I knew I wanted to go into the entertainment industry. My brother, Tambour Bieker, used to work for Student Media before he graduated from Washburn in 2017. He explained to me what mass media was all about. That’s when I figured it out,” said Smith.

Smith is a member of Washburn’s Leadership Institute, and she is presently working on her capstone project, which will enable students to be better informed about their career options for their chosen major. She’s got it all planned out and is excited to see the outcome of the project.

She also took part in mass media’s Paris trip, which was her first time away from the states.

“It was awesome seeing the Mona Lisa,” said Smith.

Celena Gordon public relations & advertising

Currently, Gordon works as the social event coordinator for Delta Gamma, and she is having so much fun planning events and creating posts.

“It’s a big job, and I love that I get to have fun doing it,” said Gordon.

She hopes in the future she can do the same. She’s interested in working on social media pages and designing advertisements that pull audiences in.

She knew Washburn was the right choice when she came to the her orientation and saw how focused they were on individual studies.

“I’ve always been creating and don’t want to stop. I used to edit my cousin’s basketball game videos and had shadowed my cousin who worked as a social media manager. I knew mass media was the right

choice for me.”

Gordon is working hard on building her portfolio, stressing over her gen-eds and having fun with her sorority sisters on campus. Gordon is still undecided about her concentration within mass media but is thinking about concentrating in public relations and advertising and minoring in psychology.

“I’ve just always been interested in the brain and how people think. The psyche has a lot to do with mass media because you want to focus on what people are interested in and how to pull them in,” said Gordon.

This semester she’s taking her first psychology class ever, and she’s learning all about the basics of psychology and loving it.

“I took a college credit class on web design, and I learned a bunch of things about podcasting, the Adobe software, and even did a social media campaign. I’m looking forward to being able to use to the skills I had learned.”

In addition to winning the All-Kansas award for the fall 2022 Indigo Magazine, Student Media took home second place for the 2022 KAW Yearbook and third place for The Washburn Review. The Kansas Collegiate Media Awards were held April 16-17, 2023, in Wichita, Kansas.