The Bullhorn Issue 1

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA SCHOOL OF MASS COMMUNICATIONS ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Bullhornthe FALL 2012

LETTER FROM THEDIRECTOR by Dr. Fred Pearce

ANDY NGUYEN GOES HOLLYWOODby Emily Givens THE EVOLUTION OFSOCIAL MEDIAby Cristin Cotton

BUMP. SET. SPIKE.by Lissette Colón

2

5

12

18

PRSSA MAKES SOME NOISEby Atecia Robinson

DEANNE ROBERTS REMEMBEREDby Lindsey Voltoline

ALUMNI UPDATE

24

30

33

CONTENTS

2 THE BULLHORN FALL 2012

DIRECTORDr. Fred Pearce

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFNicholas Trobiano '12

PHOTO EDITORFaith Willis '12

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSCourtney Difonzo '12 Sarah Drewes '12 Kari Fuhrmann '12

Molly Fullam '12 Julianne Goins '12Chole Lykes '12 Valerie Quintana '12 Atecia Robinson '12

Diedra Rodriguez '13 Rachel Sacco '12Jean Telcy '12

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSEmily Givens '12 Cristin Cotton '12 Lissette Colón '12

Atecia Robinson '12 Lindsey Voltoline '13

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSCover Photo: April Stratemeyer '13

Faith Willis '12 Dan Phuong Nguyen Vinh PhusUSF/Pool

FACULTYDesign: Prof. Kevin Hawley Copy: Dr. Rick Wilber

Bullhornthe

This publication was written, designed and produced by Journalism students in the USF School of Mass Communications.

FALL 2012 THE BULLHORN 3

Dr. Fred Pearce

DIRECTOR

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Welcome home. And welcome to the Bullhorn.

I’m sure that as an alum of the School of Mass

Communications at the University of South

Florida, you’ve wondered: what’s going on there

now? Or is Dr. Smith still teaching? Or whatever

happened to (insert name of lost colleague here)?

Well, we’ve heard you and we’re proud to intro-

duce you to the first edition of the USF School of

Mass Communications electronic magazine. And

we hope that you’ll both like it and pass it along

to fellow alums.

Produced by students and faculty of your alma

mater, the Bullhorn will bring you news of what’s

going on; features on students, faculty, and

alumni; and a section on “Class Notes.”

This e-zine is designed to serve a number of im-

portant functions: to communicate with you and

to help increase the networking opportunities

among our alumni; to help us track your careers

– which is important in maintaining our ACEJMC

national accreditation; and to help our reporting

and magazine production students get their work

published.

I hope that you like this first edition. Our plan is

to publish the electronic version of our magazine

three times a year (Spring, Fall, and Winter) and

to publish a four-color annual magazine during

the summer.

Please enjoy. Please give us feedback. And

please circulate.

Best wishes,


ANDY NGUYENGOES HOLLYWOOD

ALUMNI

The 2012 Sundance

Film Festival in Janu-

ary brought one of

USF’s own to the

spotlight. Andy

Nguyen, a telecom-

munications USF

alum, recently won the Playboy Short Series

Bombay Sapphire Imaginative Filmmakers

ALUMNI

USF ALUM’S JOURNEY TO A

NATIONAL FILM AWARD

BY EMILY GIVENS


Spotlight Award for his Columbia University

thesis film, “Boomerang.” This award was a

golden ticket to having a film slot in the most

prestigious independent film festival in the

world, Sundance.

At age 10, Andy traveled to Vietnam to ex-

perience his family’s cultural heritage and

spend time with his filmmaking uncles, Tring

Hoan and Vinh Son. Hoan, one of the leading

cinematographers in Southeast Asia, shot the

highly acclaimed films “Song of the South”

and “The White Silk Dress.” He started a film

studio named “HK FILM,” named after him-

self and his wife. Son has been a film director

in Vietnam since reunification. He is one of

the most respected directors in the industry

and now teaches at the film school in Ho Chi

Minh City.

Andy was immediately fascinated by their

films and asked to be an extra. However, as

soon as they started shooting a serious scene,

uncontrollable giggles would slip from Andy

in the background. After several takes like this,

they starting giving him alternative tasks be-

hind the scenes. He watched as the team put

together the film piece by piece and realized

this was exactly what he wanted to do.

The first real chance with a camera was at his

aunt’s wedding in his early teenage years.

He commented that several family members

were annoyed as he made them repeat ac-

tions so he could get multiple angles for his

“movie.” This experience helped push him to-

ward doing narrative pieces and telling stories

through film.

In high school, Andy and his brother started

making clay films “since no one wanted to be

in our movies.” They did several small projects

working with clay animation. As time pro-

gressed, Andy decided he wanted to go to film

school since he did not see a career at Pixar,

so at age 16 he flew to Vietnam to make his

first real film. His uncles helped provide him

equipment and produce “A Silent Night,” a

film that aired and won an award at the Heart-

land Film Festival in Indianapolis.


“They (Heartland Film Festival coordinators)

required me to be there, so they flew me out

and picked me up in a limo. I went everywhere

in a limo. Dakota Fanning had the whole floor

above me. They had a tuxedo with my exact

measurements on my door waiting for me to

wear it. I didn’t even know these things were

possible,” Andy said. “The night I arrived, I

was sitting outside of a theater and saw Dako-

ta Fanning. So I called her over and was going

to give her these comp tickets to come see my

movie. She took the tickets and autographed

them and gave them back to me without look-

ing at them. So, I asked to take my picture

with her just to prove my ridiculous story with

Dakota Fanning.”

Although he did very well with his film, he did

not initially make it into film school. So, he trans-

ferred to USF to study telecommunications.

“As a filmmaker, it strengthens you to know

the different aspects of filming,” Andy said.

He explained how Kristin Arnold, a telecom-

munications professor, taught him how to

craft the technical structure of the media he

makes, along with giving him experience

ALUMNI

“USF de-veloped me into a storyteller.”

Photo by Dan Phuong Nguyen


Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Andy Nguyen’s series, “Forever in Hiatus.” The three-part series centers around the story of a short-lived fame of a pop star, who has left behind his former fame to pedal a xich-lo (pedi-cab) on the streets of Saigon.

Photo by Vinh Phus

and self-confidence.

“You don’t realize when you first meet him but he is such a funny kid,” Arnold raved.

He also approached one of his professors, Rick Wilber, to be his mentor.

“He came to my office with a DVD and I thought ‘Great, here we go’ but then I watched his film

and went ‘Oh my, he really IS a filmmaker.’ Then I ran down the hall and made the rest of the

faculty watch it," Wilber said. "When he graduated he asked me to write a recommendation for

film school. I’ve only written 5 or 6 recommendations since the 1970s that I felt so outrageously

strong about. I practically threatened those schools to let him in. Later, I was watching the

Sundance Film Festival and was not at all surprised to see him standing next to Robert Redford

(founder of the Sundance Film Festival) on screen.”


Along with practical knowledge, USF provided

support and vision. “USF developed me into a

storyteller,” Andy said.

After graduating from USF, he decided to ap-

ply to film schools in Los Angeles and New

York for graduate school. After much delib-

eration about several acceptance letters, he

chose Columbia University. For several years

now he has been making films and furthering

his career in film production while working

toward his master’s.

His senior thesis film project, “Boomerang,”

a short film highlighting the inner struggle a

man has during a breakup with his girlfriend,

is his most recent success. His goal was to

satisfy academic requirements and, instead,

he ended up winning the Playboy Short Series

Bombay Sapphire Imaginative Filmmakers

Spotlight Contest, as well as $3,500.

“I received an email asking about the details

and qualifications of my movie. Then I was

asked to go on Skype to further discuss the

requirements of my film, which I thought was

strange,” Andy said. “Did they think I was a

robot? I didn’t understand I’d won at the time.

Then suddenly they were telling me, ‘Con-

gratulations! We’re flying you to Sundance to

accept the award and show your movie!’”

He did not know what to expect in Park

City, Utah, home of the Sundance Film

Festival. He hoped he would be put in the

corner of the room so he could watch and

not feel so out of place in the large ball-

room of dressed up professionals. Instead,

he was at a table seated with his brother, a

mysterious man, another mystery woman,

and the host, Anthony Mackie.

The table talked to each other and did not

take notice of these younger boys sitting with

them. Finally Andy found the courage to ask,

“Who are you?” He was surprised to find him-

self sitting with the CEO and COO of Playboy.

He was stunned; he looked around and won-

dered, “Who else am I sitting with?” All these

dressed up people around him looked like

they could be his neighbors. Later he found a

ALUMNI


seating chart and could not believe the influ-

ential film leaders he had been sitting with.

He explained he learned a valuable career les-

son, for his industry and all others. “You never

know who the scrub sitting next to you is, or

how they can surprise you.” Andy said. Now, he

wants to learn to throw himself into the mix and

be the one to put out the first hand.

Andy’s goal is to graduate from film school

and direct feature films. “It takes so much

trust for someone to hand you their script and

money to direct a film, any film.”

The average person might never guess that

his short 20-minute film project for class cost

about $20,000 to make. Andy and other film

students find ways of funding their projects,

through donations and contests. Some take

extreme measures, but film school is their

chance to make an impression to break into

the industry.

He is currently writing a feature film, “Forever

in Hiatus” and hopes to find funding for it in

the near future.


DR. KELLI BURNS AND THE EVOLUTION OF

SOCIAL MEDIA

BY CRISTIN COTTON

FACULTY

t’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Captain

NatGas, here to save the day! The

Captain landed at the University of

South Florida at the end of the 2012

spring semester in hopes of trans-

forming all energy resources into

natural gas. The superhero's first

stop, according to his Facebook account, was

Dr. Kelli Burns’ public relations writing class.

In case of an emergency, he can be reached

via Twitter @CaptainNatGas.

Captain NatGas is one of many superheroes

who has stopped by Burns’ classroom. The

superhero was a product of a classroom

project where the students created social

media campaigns for a number of social-

issue “superheroes”.

Burns, social media scholar and associ-

ate professor of mass communications at

USF, hands out similar social media projects

among all her courses. When asked how big

a role social media has within her curriculum

during a recent interview, she responded with

an enthusiastic, “Huge.”

“Specifically with the creation of the so-

cial media campaign project, I wanted my

students to see how contemporary issues

filter through social media. For instance,

how is the story being narrated through so-

cial media? Did the story first break within

a social media?”

Burns has been teaching PR for a total of

eleven years and with each class she has

added either an internet or social media ele-

ment. Burns received her Ph.D. in mass com-

munications from the University of Florida,

her master’s degree in mass communication

from Middle Tennessee State University and

her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and

business from Vanderbilt University. This

year marks her sixth year as a USF public

relations professor. BY CRISTIN COTTON

I FALL 2012 THE BULLHORN 13

https://twitter.com/CaptainNatGas

The use of multimedia has increased exponentially and continues to be on a steady

rise. Users employ these websites to not only com-municate with friends and family, but also to share

information, pictures, news stories, business connec-tions, opinions, etc. Most young people use these websites as their main

source for breaking and in-ternational news.

“I majored in math and business because one, my school didn’t

have marketing, and two, I saw the potential in acquiring the

analytical skills one learns from having a business degree.”

It wasn’t until Burns was in the middle of receiving her mas-

ter’s degree that she started to acquire a desire to teach.

“A graduate program is very different from a bachelor’s,” she

said. “You are much more exposed to the life behind aca-

demia. I developed personal relationships with my professors.

I started to reflect on what I really wanted to do, plus I was a

good graduate student. I started to think ‘Well, maybe I’ll get

into a Mass Communication Ph.D. program’ and I did.”

It was during her two years of doctoral work at the Univer-

sity of Florida that Internet advertising started to erupt on the

scene.

“Everyone was writing about it. Everyone was researching it.

Internet advertising was the trend. In fact, my dissertation cov-

ered online advertising,” she said.

Burns remembers when computers screens were made of

nothing but a black background with white letters.

“My first experience with computers was when I was getting

my master’s degree. My computer didn’t have a mouse,” she

FACULTY


recalled. “I had to push control F to get the

cursor to move up the page.”

“I even remember registering for classes by

phone,” she reminisced. “Way back in the

Dark Ages.”

The tall, enthusiastic PR professor with boun-

cy shoulder-length blond hair did anything

just then but age herself when one considers

that Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare are all

still relatively new and in good, well, let’s be

honest - spectacular condition. I will also point

out that there is no return-to-sender in sight.

With restaurants, as well as clothing and ap-

parel stores, all having their own Facebook

accounts, it is no big surprise that social me-

dia has gained a presence when it comes to

coverage of world news. News organizations

now have their own Facebook and Twitter

sites. Even more so, the common bystander is

the one breaking a story.

That is what happened with the death of

Osama Bin Laden. A man in Pakistan, Sohaib

Athar, inadvertently tweeted everything that

he was experiencing; consequently, social me-

dia’s role was transformed in the process.

Back in May of 2011, two days after Osama

Bin Laden’s death, Burns joined Fox 13’s

“Good Day Tampa Bay” to talk about the phe-

nomenal transformation of social media in

news coverage.

“It is a very small world and news is travel-

ing faster than ever before,” Burns said on the

morning program. “The death of Bin Laden hit

America’s news channels on Sunday evening.

Let us say that someone was asleep at the

time and woke up and watched the news and

said, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to tweet this,’ every-

one would say, ‘We already know.’”

Facebook launched in 2005, four years af-

ter 9/11. Who knows how different that time

would have been if America was as connected

then as we are now.

“My first semester teaching was 2001, the

year the twin towers were hit,” said Burns.


“I had a 9:30 class that day and by then one

plane had already hit the towers. Kids weren’t

as connected as they are now so a lot of my

students didn’t know what was going on. I

did have one student monitoring events from

a computer and he told us when the second

tower fell."

“During the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, I

looked up some of my students I had at the

time on Facebook. I found three male students

and I asked them what they remembered

about that day. Each said, ‘Well, I remember

being in your class when the towers fell.’”

Both crisis situations, 9/11 and the death of Bin

Laden, stand as examples of why the social

media projects that Burns assigns are crucial

in preparing her students for the real world,

professionally, socially and also politically.

“There is a social media side to everything

FACULTY


https://twitter.com/CaptainNatGas

now,” she said. “Every story now has a social

media element, either how the story broke

on social media or how a story filters through

social media.”

She continued, “I was reading the Tampa Bay

Times the other day and one headline read,

“Social Media and Religion”. The article was

about the role of social media within religion

and how churches are using Facebook and Twit-

ter to reach their congregations.” She paused,

and added, “You have to have social media

literacy now. You just have to.”

And as for Captain NatGas - it’s up, up and

away as Prof. Burns’ class won second place

at the Collegiate Energy Challenge in Wash-

ington, D.C. in May. The team actually finished

second to Auburn University graduate stu-

dents, but the jury awarded all three top teams

(including the University of Texas at Arlington)

first-place prize money.

USF may have been underdogs at the compe-

tition this year, but with results such as this,

USF public relations students are going to be

on everybody’s radar - including employers'.


By Lissette Colón

STUDENTS

BUMP. SET. SPIKE.

BY LISSETTE COLÓN

Andrea Caro-

lina Rodriguez

Gomez, a mass

communica-

tions student

and volleyball

player at the

University of

South Florida,

is a time man-

agement maven, but she wasn’t always good

at spending her time wisely.

Rodriguez Gomez moved from Venezuela to

the United States when she was 10 years old.

Her childhood in Venezuela was stable until

her family was forced to leave under President

Chávez’ rule.

When Rodriguez Gomez arrived in the U.S.,

she didn’t speak English and had to learn

everyday words using pictures and memoriza-

tion, while her classmates had standard as-

signments.

She felt alienated and frustrated because she

couldn’t talk with the other children, so it was

difficult to make friends. However, she fondly

recalls excelling at sports during recess, so

the other children fought over having her on

their teams.

Because she struggled to learn English, Ro-

driguez Gomez also struggled throughout

middle school and high school. This effected

her confidence so she felt academics were not

a priority and she focused on her strengths.

Volleyball became her passion and during her

senior year she contacted 50-to-75 schools,

hoping for a spot on one of their teams.

Coaches from USF attended a game to watch

her play. When the game ended, Rodriguez

Gomez extended her hand to greet them,

but the coach hugged her instead. She felt

welcome and knew USF was going to be her

home.

Rodriguez Gomez began her studies at USF

during the summer of 2010. It is mandatory for

new athletes to start early. This helps them to

start working out to progressively get in shape


and mentally prepared for the season.

“I had this preconceived notion that college

was a breeze,” Rodriguez Gomez said. “It was

so difficult. I had no idea that things would be

so hard. When the fall session came along,

I took six classes and I was in season. So I

needed a tutor for every class.”

During the middle of her first semester, Rodri-

guez Gomez was on academic probation with

grades ranging from D’s to F’s.

“I was really scared because my coach

didn’t know what to do with me,” Rodriguez

Gomez said. “She asked me what my time

management plan was and I didn’t go by

one. I had no plan.”

Her coaches suggested a few tools they used

and Rodriguez Gomez tried them all. At first,

she found that using an iCal was not helping

ANDREA RODRIGUEZ GOMEZ IS PROUD TO CALL USF HOME.

STUDENTS


RODRIGUEZ GOMEZ HAS BUILT LONG-LASTING FRIENDSHIPS WITH HER TEAMMATES.

her stay on task and that she needed to visual-

ize her day-to-day tasks. She eventually found

that she needed both an electronic and hard

copy that displayed every detail of her week.

“They had me put all my grades online in a

spreadsheet, use a Google calendar, and a

planner to enter in my schedule,” Rodriguez

Gomez said.

Rodriguez Gomez had to manage six classes,

which equaled 18 credit hours per week. She

spent 30 minutes each week with six tutors

and spent more than five hours on homework.

Volleyball strength training and practice took

up at least nine-and-a-half more hours.

While on academic probation, Rodriguez

Gomez was prohibited from attending practice.

Athletes at USF are required to have an extra

hour of study hall for every C they earn. They


must also miss an hour of practice for any

grade lower than a C. Rodriguez Gomez had

a D and an F, so she lost two hours of prac-

tice. Sometimes her grades were so poor, she

couldn’t attend practice at all.

But, Rodriguez Gomez was still more con-

cerned with the team than she was with

academics.

“My coaches approached me and tried to get

through to me,” Rodriguez Gomez said. “I real-

ized that everybody on my team cared about

all these things. I wanted to care about them,

too. Once I started to do the right things,

everybody was happy. Then, I would forget

something again and my team would get fed

up. So, when I started making changes, it was

more for them, not for me.”

Rodriguez Gomez managed to completely

turn things around and brought her grades up

to A’s and B’s.

“I was so forgetful, but that’s not how I am any-

more,” Rodriguez Gomez said. “That’s how I was.”

She is not ashamed to tell her story because

she feels she has grown out of that.

Today, Rodriguez Gomez completes her

Google calendar and paperback agenda at the

start of each semester. She fills each timeslot

with class lecture topics, meetings, practices,

tests, homework assignments and training.

She factors in every detail.

Rodriguez Gomez admits she is now paranoid

about managing her time. Since she has both

a digital and hard copy of her responsibilities,

she has no excuse to not get things done.

Since playing volleyball at USF, Rodriguez Go-

mez has learned that being a student isn’t all

fun and games; it is a responsibility.

“I’ve learned that the school’s name, as far

as volleyball goes, is in my hands because I

have control of whether we are going to win

or not,” Rodriguez Gomez said. “I know it’s a

team sport, but I take it upon myself because I

know if I do my best we are going to do better.

Everyone feels like that, I’m sure.”

STUDENTS


Rodriguez Gomez explains that playing vol-

leyball is strategic and college athletics is a

business. Her experiences at USF helped her

realize if she doesn’t play her best, she could

lose her scholarship, her coach could lose her

job, and USF volleyball could lose funding.

“That’s why I always try to do my best,” Rodri-

guez Gomez said. “That way I don’t ever feel

like there’s something else I could’ve done. I

try to live by this every day so I feel like there

is nothing more I could have given today. If

something does happen, I know that I gave it

my all, so I have no regrets.”

Not only has Rodriguez Gomez changed her

outlook on school, but she has also changed

her outlook on life. She credits her time as a

USF athlete with making her care more about

her future. The time between her freshman

and sophomore years was a time of personal

growth.

Now Rodriguez Gomez is motivated to be suc-

cessful for herself. She has learned from her

own experiences, as well as from listening to

speakers who were once athletes but, due to

injury, had to find new careers. That encour-

aged Rodriguez Gomez to focus her energy on

school as a way to find new possibilities for

her future, rather than solely depending on

volleyball.

“Now I focus on doing really well in my classes

so I can do well in life,” Rodriguez Gomez said.


PRSSA MAKES SOME NOISE

CLUBS

DBY ATECIA ROBINSON

D espite the

economy, many

University of

South Florida stu-

dents in PRSSA,

the Public Relations Student Society of Ameri-

ca, feel confident about being prepared for life

after graduation.

Murewa Olubela, PRSSA’s vice president, and

Sasha Cameron, PRSSA’s president, say the

School of Mass Communications’ curriculum

and faculty are not the only thing that is pre-

paring them. Olubela and Cameron joined

PRSSA last year and have taken on active

roles in the USF chapter started by professor

emeritus Walter E. Griscti, a mass communica-

tions professor who was also the president of

the Tampa Bay PRSA (Public Relations Society

of America) chapter in 1977.

“I wanted to learn more about public relations

outside of the classroom. The best way was to

get involved. I learned networking; you meet

so many people in the community. PRSSA is

a part of PRSA. We have had so many guest

speakers who often talk to us and we can call

for advice. Many people have gotten intern-

ships from that alone,” said Cameron.

Since its inception, the 44-year old student so-

ciety has cultivated meaningful relationships

between public relations students and public

relations practitioners. Aside from the ability

to network with professionals and peers, and

the leg-up on internships it provides, being

involved in USF’s Walter E. Griscti chapter al-

lows students to: participate in conferences all

over the country, build a portfolio of writing

samples in the PRSSA newsletter and online,

attend social events each month, and volun-

teer in the community.

“Through these types of experiences, stu-


PRSSA MEMBERS HIT THE ROAD

dents are able find out exactly what area

they want to work with. They can say okay,

I want to stay in this lane. From there they

can find out what the professional does in

their daily work routine. Then they can find

out when the company may accept interns,”

said Olubela.

Of the many opportunities for involvement

and experience offered by PRSSA, students

find attending conferences and talking face-

to-face with guest speakers most important.

Olubela says it helped her find her niche in

public relations, which ranges from special-

ties in tourism, food, sports, and crisis com-

munications just to name a few.

Olubela transferred from the University of

Ibadan in Nigeria, where she majored in

linguistics, to the University of South Florida

in the spring of 2011, where she double ma-

jors in creative writing and public relations.


PRSSA STUDENTS NETWORK WITH PUBLIC RELATIONS COMPANIES, SUCH AS THE NIELSEN COMPANY AND HILL+KNOWLTON, TO LEARN ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES

Olubela was introduced to public relations when a friend in the UK mentioned how it would

allow her to further exercise her interests in writing, marketing and working with others on a

daily basis. Olubela talked to her department advisor, Katye Tuttle, who directed her to attend a

PRSSA meeting.


CLUBSOlubela decided to run for vice-president

after attending the Florida Student Summit

on Global Business, which was held at USF,

where she met Amy Rettig, vice-president of pub-

lic affairs at The Nielsen Company. “We got to

talking about public relations, and it was at that

point I realized how I really missed connecting

people together, especially in ways that would

help them reach their goals,” said Olubela.

Through Olubela’s connection with Rettig, 20

PRSSA students were invited on a company

tour of Nielsen’s local headquarters in Oldsmar.

Currently, there are more than 100 members

in PRSSA (active and non-active). Cam-

eron and Olubela say they hope to see the

chapter continue to grow long after they

have graduated, and they’re making steps

to make sure they instill changes that will

strengthen the chapter.

“We’ve gotten more in contact with our parent

chapter. We’ve had a lot more guest speak-

ers and events this year than we have in the

previous years. We’re constantly improving

each year,” said Cameron. “The organization is

an extension and supplement to our courses.

We try to give a lot of insight through bringing

in guest speakers and agencies. We have done

résumé workshops and worked on elevator

speeches to help students promote them-

selves to potential employers.”

In an effort to heighten the motivation of its

public relations students, PRSSA has invited

half-a-dozen professionals to speak to stu-

dents involved in the pre-professional soci-

ety, during the 2011-2012 school years. This

includes Glenn Selig, the strategist-in-chief at

“The Publicity Agency.” Mr. Selig was a very

special guest for PRSSA. He was named one

of the best in the public relations business by

Fox News Channel. During a meeting in early

March, he discussed how social media, SEO,

RSS, electronic press releases and other new

technologies transform the business. Camer-

on said it inspired other students to learn that

he built PRNewsChannel, an online and social

media public relations distribution service.

Michelle Foley, Manager of Community Rela-

tions and Public Affairs at Moffitt Cancer Center;

Amy Rettig, Director of Communications and

Client Relations at The Nielsen Company; Lisa

Brock, owner of Brock Communications; Daneen


Whatley, a counselor at USF Career Center;

and Terry Dowling from the USF Career Center

where among the other favorites. Cameron said

she loved hearing Foley and Brock talk about

their work schedules and what to expect from

different areas in the public relations field.

Because PRSSA gives public relations stu-

dents the knowledge to be top competitors

in their field, they prefer the title "pre-pro-

fessional student society" rather than “club”

due to the highly professional standards to

which they adhere.

“We’re making that distinction. As a pre-pro-

fessional society we are expected to always

be professional. Our students are expected to

wear business attire to meetings and events

with guest speakers,” says Olubela. “And it’s

not only for majors; anyone interested in

learning to become a PR professional can

join.”

CHELSEA ROADMAN, PROFESSOR HAWLEY AND SASHA CAMERON AT THE FINAL PRSSA FALL MEETING


On January 12, 2012, the University of

South Florida’s School of Mass Commu-

nications lost a friend after her four-year

battle with cervical cancer. An influential

leader in the community, a businesswom-

an, a mentor and mother, Deanne Roberts

lived an inspiring life. Born in Tampa, Rob-

erts graduated from USF with a bachelor’s

degree in mass communications and in

1970, at age 25, she founded her own pub-

ALUMNI

DEANNE ROBERTSREMEMBERED

BY LINDSEY VOLTOLINE


lic relations firm: Deanne Roberts & Associ-

ates, which later became ChappellRoberts.

“Roberts was a very impressive person. She

was a single mom and she started her own

business when there was discrimination

against women within public relations, in par-

ticular,” said Edward Friedlander, USF profes-

sor and friend of sixteen years.

ChappellRoberts was built on the strong foun-

dations, values and core beliefs by which

Roberts lived her life, according to the firm’s

website. It is a company that has been and

will continue to offer internships as well as to

be an employer for USF students.

“She made it clear that they would take interns

even if it was inconvenient at the time,” said

Friedlander.

Roberts was a chairperson of the Tampa


Chamber of Commerce; co-founded Creative

Tampa Bay, a catalyst for economic and social

development that promotes principles of the

creative economy and supporting creative in-

dustries; and established Emerge Tampa Bay,

a leadership program designed for promising

young professionals aged 21 to 35.

She also won many awards. In 1992, she re-

ceived USF’s School of Mass Communications

Distinguished Alumni Award which is given

annually to recognize graduates of the school

who have excelled and made significant con-

tributions in their field. In 2008, she received

the Tampa Bay Advertising Federation’s Life-

time Achievement Award, Silver Medal which

is given based on contributions to the com-

munity, creative ability, contributions to the

advancement of advertising and the better-

ment of one’s own company.

Later, she won two leadership awards. In

2009, she received the Leadership Tampa

Alumni Parke Wright III Award which is pre-

sented annually to a member of Leadership

Tampa Alumni who has demonstrated ex-

ceptional leadership and made a significant

difference in the Tampa Bay community. The

following year she won the Leadership Florida

Distinguished Member Award that recognizes

a Leadership Florida graduate whose contin-

ued leadership activities have exemplified the

highest standards of Leadership Florida, and

whose activities achieved results or set an

example of statewide influence.

“What struck me most about her was that she

was not a hard person,” said Friedlander. “She

was very relaxed, very low key, very pleasant

and yet, was still running a company.”

Deanne Roberts was passionately dedicated

to serving her community and her legacy

lives on. She noticed the lack of scholarships

offered to public relations’ students so she

set up an endowment fund for them with the

Deanne Dewey Roberts Scholarship.

“She could always be counted on to say posi-

tive things about USF,” said Friedlander. “She

was just very impressive from her first day to

her last.”

Roberts’ complete biography can be found on

ChappellRoberts' website.

ALUMNI

ALUMNI UPDATE


http://www.chappellroberts.com/founder/

CHRISTA CONNELL—CLASS OF 2009 ” I did two intern-ships in Minneapolis for Delta Sky Magazine and Mpls.St.Paul Magazine shortly before mov-ing to Toronto. Although I am still looking for full-time work, I am currently freelancing for Ca-nadian Living Magazine online. I have also started freelanc-ing for Au Feminin, a women’s online magazine based out of Paris. They are launching their Canadian version, So Feminine, in Toronto in May and I am working on helping them build content for the site. “

• JOHN MOTTA—CLASS OF 1975 “I have worked as a professional reporter/Journalist/Travel Columnist for over 30 years. I am for-tunate enough to have won three New York State Press Association Awards (in the areas of Hard News and Sports Reporting). Founded, own and operate Pulsar Communications Inc. (since 1986) here on Long Island (NY). Pulsar Communication is an award winning electron-ic publishing firm specializing in projects for Long Island municipalities and medical cen-ters.”

• LORIE BRIGGS—CLASS OF 1988 “I worked for two non-profits (United Way of Tampa Bay, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay) over the 18 years following graduation, with one 18-month stint in for-profits. I now work at USF and have the best job on campus: marketing and com-munications for the College of Business. I’ve been here for five years. I returned to USF’s Mass Comm classrooms to start the master’s program in 2010. I aim to finish next spring.”

• SETH LISS—CLASS OF 1990 “I am currently

the Online Managing Editor at WAMU 88.5, the NPR member station in Washington D.C.”

• JIM TOMLIN—CLASS OF 1990 Copy editor, sports department, Tampa Bay Times.

• WES PLATT—CLASS OF 1992 “USF played a direct role in landing an internship with the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times and subse-quent job as a cops and courts reporter with that paper. I stayed at the Times for more than a decade. I left journalism (temporarily) to become a computer game designer. Now I’m back in the journalism game in North Carolina, working as news editor and senior reporter at the Hender-son Daily Dispatch.”

• DEBORAH O’NEIL—CLASS OF 1996 Editor, FIU Magazine, Associate Director, News & Communications Florida International Univer-sity, Miami, FL.

• MARNIE LEVY WILLIAMS—CLASS OF 1997 Manager, Social Media Marketing, The Weather Channel, Atlanta, GA.

AuALUMNI UPDATE

Pure Gold


• MELANIE FORMENTIN—CLASS OF 2006 "I am currently working on my Ph.D. in mass commu-nications at Penn State University. My research interests are primarily in corporate social respon-sibility and crisis communication in sports. Pri-or to pursuing my doctoral degree, I spent two years working with the Tampa Bay Lightning and two years simultaneously working at the USF Hu-manities Institute and teaching for the School of Mass Communications.

• LAUREN MEHL—CLASS OF 2006 “I have been working in education, national service (Ameri-Corps), and non-profits. I am currently the As-sistant Program Manager of Northwest Youth Services, a transitional housing program for homeless youth.”

• ALLISON TIBERIA—CLASS OF 2007 “I spent a little more than two years as a copy editor in the sports department at the now-Tampa Bay Times

after working my internship there in summer 2006, and now I’m closing in on four years as a copy editor and page designer for tbt*.

• ASHLEY SMITH—CLASS OF 2008 “I’m an asso-ciate account executive with MWW Group, which is one of the Top 10 independent public relations agencies in New York, NY. I handle the day-to-day account activities for my three clients - Subaru of America, Zumba Fitness and Discovery Bay Games.”

• AMANDA NULPH—CLASS OF 2007 New Media and Marketing Intern/Assistant at Fueled By Ra-men Records/Warner Music Group (2006-2008), Copy Editor at Source Interlink Media for Circle Track and Stock Car Racing Magazines (2008), SEO Web Content and Online Marketing Writer (2008-2011), Entertainment Blogger (2010-present), SEO Web Content Editor/Manager (2011-present).

• CRYSTAL BURNEY—CLASS OF 2008 “Public Relations Manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Florida. As the PR Manager, I am responsible for community, media and govern-ment outreach that will create awareness of the mission, programs and community impact.”

• KAYLA MOSLEY—CLASS OF 2009 Public Rela-tions graduate. Current City: New York, New York Current Role: Interactive and Digital Marketing - L’Oreal - Redken Fifth Avenue & Pureology.

• WILLIAM ALBRITTON—CLASS OF 2009 Teacher, Hillsborough County, Chamberlain High School, adviser for yearbook, newspaper, TV morning show; drama sponsor 2003-2009. Online content producer/videographer/multimedia studio engi-neer/copy editor, The Fresno Bee.

• RIANNA K. LEE SING—CLASS OF 2009 “Com-munications Officer at Lonsdale Saatchi and Saa-

TERRANCE “TERRY” P. ROBERTS—CLASS OF 1997 Self-employed: Law Office of Terry P. Roberts (appellate attorney).

ALUMNI


tchi Advertising Ltd. in Trinidad and Tobago. I undertake the planning, development and de-livery of internal and external communications for clients of the agency and its divisions, in-cluding events, websites, newsletters and oth-er communications and publications.”

• TANYA ALBERT—CLASS OF 2009 “I have been working as a writer at an internet market-ing firm in Tampa (Socius Marketing, Inc.) since May of 2010. “

• CARMEL DELSHAD—CLASS OF 2010 Com-munity Manager of documentary project 18 days in Egypt.

• REBECCA CRUZ—CLASS OF 2010 “I am cur-rently in the last year of the Master of Arts in Teaching Elementary Education program at USF. I hope to teach for many years as well as continue my education.”

• SARAH GARCIA—CLASS OF 2010 Currently I work as a writer for a Social Media Marketing startup here in Tampa called BallywhoSocial. We manage and write social media and blogs for various clients including major hospitals and healthcare companies.

• CAITLIN WILLIAMS—CLASS OF 2010 Content Media Producer with Raycom Media’s corpo-rate 24/7 news hub.

• KATIE NELSON—CLASS OF 2011 “I began working at The Early Learning Coalition of Pas-co and Hernando Counties, Inc. in July 2011 as a Communications Specialist. It’s a non-profit organization.”

• TRAVIS ANTHONY—CLASS OF 2011 Day-side News Photographer for Channel 12 WRDW in Augusta, GA.

• LAUREN LAFFER—CLASS OF 2011 “I’m cur-rently working with a blog called CountryMu-sicIsLove.com, which is run by my friend Lau-ren. I’m writing and editing different posts, as well as interviewing artists. We’re working on making the blog a business and get it to make some revenue.“

• KENDRA L. CUMMINGS—CLASS OF 2011 ”I am currently a Communications Specialist at Vistra Communications, a public relations and management consulting firm in Tampa. We of-fer a wide range of services to both our non-profit and government clients.”

• VALERIE SCHEIN—CLASS OF 2011 BA in Mass Communications (PR focus) & BA in Psychol-ogy. “Account Coordinator for RFB Communi-cations (a media relations firm in Hyde Park); and my current job as Creative Development Executive at CrowdSavings.com (a daily deal site in 14 US markets). I manage social media for 8 national markets, write five commercial scripts each week, write between six and 20 daily deals each day, design logos and photo edit for deals and commercials.”


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The Bullhorn Issue 1

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