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The School of Communications is hosting a series of virtual events this week designed to introduce incoming first-year students to its signature experiences, initiatives and opportunities. The series kicked off Monday evening with a welcome from Dean Rochelle Ford, followed by an introduction to the school’s FreshTV initiative, an accelerated training program for news reporting, documentary filmmaking and non-fiction storytelling.

Most importantly, first-year students can still RSVP for the remaining “30 Minutes with ���ϲ�����Comm” sessions – see the topics and schedule below.

Thirty-one first-year students – all set to officially begin their ���ϲ����� experiences later this month – participated in the 30-minute informational session on Aug. 3. After greetings from Ford, Bryan Baker, director of technology, operations and multimedia projects, and rising senior Jesse Newman, a cinema and television arts major, outlined FreshTV’s benefits and expectations.

“This my favorite program in the school,” said Baker, who will lead the initiative for the eighth time this fall. “I get you guys first. I get you from day one … and I get to see your passion. And then I get to see what you do with it for four years – and longer.”

In fall 2019, 57 students put their skills into practice in the initiative.

Due to the university’s COVID-19 safety guidelines – available on the Ready & Resilient website –  the FreshTV program will look a bit different this fall, moving to Turner Theatre and splitting into sections. But Baker emphasized that students will still see the same benefits from the Monday evening program: skill development and building a professional and personal network.

“FreshTV is a way to get ahead, and a good way to discover your passions,” Baker said. “But the most important aspect is that you will build a network of quality people.”

Newman, who will serve as Baker’s FreshTV teacher’s assistant this fall, explained that the 14-week program – which requires mandatory attendance – can initially seem daunting, but the benefits are numerous.

“It’s a bit of a time commitment, but it is absolutely worth the time,” Newman said. “You develop great friendships, you learn, (and) you explore things that you haven’t yet.”

Following the FreshTV overview, the student attendees asked questions about the program’s weekly time commitment (two hours of instruction, plus time outside the Monday evening sessions) and necessary prior experience (none required).

Baker said each year the program has students enter with a variety of skills and experience, but that the knowledge gap closes quickly during the semester.

Remaining “30 Minutes with ���ϲ�����Comm” sessions

Tuesday, Aug. 4
An internship information session led by Amber Moser (director of internships) and Mackenzie Wilkes ’22.

Wednesday, Aug. 5
Information on student media and School of Communications organizations presented by Nicole Triche (associate professor of cinema and television arts), Colin Donohue (director of student engagement and alumni relations), Brooke Galonek ’21 and Baylor Rodman ’22.

Thursday, Aug. 6
Learn about the ���ϲ����� in Los Angeles program from J McMerty (director of ���ϲ����� in Los Angeles program), Lumiere Rostick ’20 and Jared Mayerson ’20.

All sessions begin at 7 p.m.