Communication Seminar Preview

Meet Professionals in the Communication Field

     The Association of Students in Communication (ASC) presents the 7th Annual Degrees of Communication Seminar on Saturday, April 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The seminar takes place on the College of Southern Nevada's (CSN) Charleston campus in building K, room 101.

     The seminar gives professionals a chance to interact with students interested in entering the field of communication.

     This year's speakers include professionals in the television, radio, advertising and public relations industries.  Vegas PBS General Manager Tom Axtell, KLAS Channel 8 Weekend Anchor/Reporter Chris Saldana, KVBC Channel 3 Anchor/Reporter Gerard Ramalho, and KXNT Newsradio 840 Radio Personality Alan Stock are some of the professionals scheduled to speak this Saturday.

     Students will receive information about CSN's department of communication.  The department offers an Associate of Arts degree in both communication and journalism/media studies.  Internship opportunities are also available for students.  The department is a co-sponsor of the seminar along with the college's student government association.

     Einstein Bros. Bagels and Starbucks are providing breakfast and Pick Up Stix is providing lunch at the seminar.  A raffle drawing will also take place.  Prizes include Starbucks gift baskets; gift certificates from restaurants including Sammy's Woodfired Pizza, T.G.I. Friday's, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Chili's and Joe's Crab Shack; Las Vegas Athletic Club passes and hotel packages.

     The Degrees of Communication Seminar has hosted several popular Las Vegas media personalities throughout the years including Mercedes and J.C. of Mix 94.1's Mark and Mercedes in the Morning, KVBC Channel 3 Anchor Jim Snyder, and KVVU Fox 5 personalities Lorraine Blanco and Darren Peck.  The event has also hosted behind-the-scenes professionals including Nevada Broadcasters Association President Bob Fisher and Ron Kirsch of Kirsch Media.

     Last year, the seminar hosted its first national media speaker, Jeff Samaha of NBC Nightly News in New York.  Samaha spoke at the event about working for a national news program.

     The Degrees of Communication Seminar was created in 2002 by that year's ASC members and former faculty adviser Diane Waryas.  "They created this seminar in an effort to showcase the various career paths a student could embark upon after they earn their degree in communication," said James McCoy, department of communication chairperson and also a former ASC faculty adviser.

     ASC is the largest student organization at CSN.  Its purpose is to provide mentorship, scholarship, community service and educational opportunities for CSN students interested in communication and journalism/media studies.  ASC has a four-student leadership team.  They are President Maria Palapa, Vice-President Allysa Kinzler, Secretary Marth Hinjosa, and Public Relations Specialist Maritza Flores.  Department of Communication Instructor Jodie Mandel is the faculty adviser to ASC.

     For more information about ASC or the department of communication, please call 702-651-3550 or visit their website at www.csn.edu/communication.

     This article was written by Prof. Rick Marks and his spring 2009 JOUR 102 News Reporting and Writing class.