Moody College of Communication

Summer Newsletter

2014-2015

What Starts Here Changes the World…

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The Moody College of

Communication is a won-

derful place to spend the

next few years learning,

growing, and interacting

with some of the greatest

minds that The University

of Texas at Austin has to

offer, and several of

those great minds can be

found in Communication

Council. We are a diverse group of student

leaders who represent all six majors within

the college and range in classification

from first-semester freshmen to graduating

seniors. Communication Council helps

bridge the gap between the students, fac-

ulty, and staff, while bonding with the col-

lege as a whole. At first glance the college

and university might seem like an intimidat-

ing whirlwind of unknowns, but finding your

place within the right group of people real-

ly does chase away those clouds of uncer-

tainty. I am so thankful that I was able to

find my place in Communication Council

and I would absolutely love for you to find

yours here as well.

All the best and Hook ‘em Horns!

Aaron Koehler Communication Council President

Features

About the College 3

Student Organizations 4

A Day In the Life 5

Meet Exec & Chairs 6-9

Majors 10-11

Who We Are 12-13

Twitter: @UTCommCouncil

Facebook: facebook.com/

utcommcouncil

Instagram: @UTCommCouncil

Vine: Communication Council

YouTube: youtube.com/user/

CommunicationCouncil

Website: commcouncil.utexas.org

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Three buildings comprise the Jesse H.

Jones Communication Center: CMA build-

ing, which contains classrooms and de-

partment, faculty, and staff offices; CMB

building, which hosts college studio space,

KUT radio and KLRU public television; and

the HSM building , home to Texas Student

Publications, the Daily Texan, KVRX Student

Radio, and KVR-TV. The Belo Center for

New Media is the latest edition to the Col-

lege of Communication, and provides

classrooms, a 300-person auditorium,

rooms for student organizations, as well as

a multi-media digital room, lounge, and

café. With the inauguration of the Walter

Cronkite Plaza, the College showcases the

beautiful marriage of architecture and

technology.

Graduation might seem far off, but if

you’re not careful, it will sneak up on

you. Your key to success as a UT com-

munications student will be your ability

to combine your academic coursework

with your jobs, internships, student or-

ganization involvement and other extra-

curricular activities to explore your ca-

reer options and gain experience.

Through Communication Career Ser-

vices’ (CCS) advising services, career

exploration programs, online resources,

and our recruiting events (like jobs and

internship fairs), we help you connect

the dots between where you are now

and where you want to be when you

graduate. CCS won’t get you a job, but

we will help you understand your career

options, prepare your resume and cover

letters, develop your professional net-

working and interviewing skills, and con-

nect with employers regarding intern-

ships and jobs. Connect with CCS early

and stay active and involved through-

out your academic career, and you will

be on track to get a job (or go to grad-

uate school) after you graduate.

Visit communication.utexas.edu for:

! Academic Advising

! Course Syllabi

! Degree Requirements

! Faculty

! Internships

! Study Abroad

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Journalism

! Magazine Club (MAG)

! National Press Photographer’s Association

! The National Association of Black Journal-

ists

! Television News Directors Association

! UT Hispanic Journalists

Public Relations

! Public relations Student Society of America

! Texas Tower PR

Radio-Television-Film

! CAGE—Student Production Resource

Center

! University Filmmaker’s Alliance

! Women in Cinema

Advertising

! Texas Advertising Group

! Minute Men Creatives

! TAGLines

! Advertising Graduate Council

CSD

! National Student Speech-Language-

Hearing Association

! Perception, Processing and Produc-

tion (PPP) Research Group

Communication Studies

! Texas Forensics Union (UT Debate

Team)

! UT Speech Team (Forensics)

Texas Student Media

! Cactus Yearbook

! The Daily Texan

! KVRX Student Radio

! Texas Student Television

! Texas Travesty

General

! Association of Latinos in Communica-

tion

! Black Media Council

! Association of Women in Communi-

cation

! Texas Belles Event Planning Organiza-

tion

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A day in the life of

a Commie….

“POP” back into fall

Hosting Brett Hurt from

Bazaarvoice Inc.

Setting up for Long-

horn Halloween

Committee bonding

time

Our 2014 Intramural

Softball Team

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Aaron Koehler, Senior — President

Kim Carmona, Senior — Vice President

Sonia Amin, Senior — Financial Director

As Vice President of Communication Council, I am in charge of

overseeing all of the chairs and helping them make their events

run smoothly. At the beginning of the semester, I place members

into a committee that is based on their preferences and strengths.

My main job as VP is to bridge the gap between the chairs team

and the executive board.

As President, I lead the executive board as well as council as

whole, ensuring that we're doing the best we can possibly do

(while having a fun time doing it). It my job as the main liaison be-

tween the students, faculty and staff of the Moody College of

Communication, to make sure that everyone's needs are met and

concerns are heard in order to make the college a better place. I

also attend the Senate of College Councils meetings where I vote

on behalf of council on various pieces of legislation.

The financial director budgets Comm Council's allotted funds for

the year, and works closely with the Chairs to complete all paper-

work on time. The FD is also participates in UT Senate, working with

other university councils on financial policy.

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Aaron Koehler, Senior — President

Kim Carmona, Senior — Vice President

Sonia Amin, Senior — Financial Director

Wynden Williams, Senior — Administrative Director

Kevin Vela, Junior — Internal Director

Julia Kowalsky, Junior — External Director

From Left to Right: Kevin Vela, Sonia Amin, Aaron Koehler, Kim Carmona,

Julia Kowalsky and Wynden Williams.

As Administrative Director, I make the agendas for meetings that

have the GDubz members send to each throughout the week . The

agendas also have the contact information for the executive board

and committee chairs, as well as events occurring that month. I also

track all the points members earn throughout the semester. During

our meetings, I organize the PowerPoint with important information

that’s beneficial to the council. At the start of each semester, I am in

charge of giving the orientation to the new council members that

they can get to know more of the ins and outs of what we do, and

how we do it. I am the person who works to help keep council orga-

nized so that everyone knows when and where things are happen-

ing.

As Internal Director, I help keep Communication Council a family

that cares about each other. I get us involved together and

help form bonds that hopefully will last for many years to come.

Watch out new commies -- I hope you like Arcade Fire.

My job in Communication Council is to get the members involved

with events around campus and the Austin area, such as commu-

nity service and on-campus activities that the school or other or-

ganizations are hosting.

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Dillon Swain, Sophomore — Funding

My job as FUN-ding chair is to raise money for our organization. I

want to continue the trend of PROFIT SHARES as well as SELLING

MAJOR-SPECIFIC T-SHIRTS! I think it would also be a great oppor-

tunity to FEED THE HUNGRY and set up a bake sale promoting

COMM COUNCIL! My dearest big (Allie Jensen) has served this

position well and I hope to bring honor to the family in my ef-

forts to do the same. I CANNOT wait to continue the FUN-ding

legacy!

Bishop Wash, Sophomore — Special Events

As the Special Events chair for the next two semesters, I can't

wait to start working with the beautiful minds in my committee

and also increasing the visibility of Communication Council as a

whole through some crazy cool events. We're kind of known for

our booths at celebrations like 40 Acres Fest and I plan on basi-

cally taking that to the next level by utilizing some novel ideas

and creating an unprecedented image for our college. Excite-

ment doesn't even start to describe my feelings toward next se-

mester and I'm biting at the bit to get to work!

Alyssa Brant, Senior — Student Issues and Advisory Committee

After being on the “SIAC” committee for three semesters, I now

have the privilege to serve as this year’s chair. Each year we

gather comments from the students and create a survey that

evaluates the college as well as each major. After analyzing

the data, we present the information to the deans and depart-

ment chairs during an event called Town Hall. I am very excited

to lead this committee because I feel it is one the most impact-

ful things we do as an organization. As chair, I want to continue

bridging the gap between the students and administration, but

also work on raising student awareness of this great opportunity

to make a difference in their college.

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Dillon Swain, Sophomore — Funding

Bishop Wash, Sophomore — Special Events

Alyssa Brant, Senior — Student Issues and Advisory Committee

Joshua Villarreal, Sophomore — Multimedia

Multimedia is in charge of maintaining the Communication

Council website. We update its contents with photos and blogs

regarding what's going on with Council and around the Universi-

ty. Multimedia also creates videos that promote Council internal-

ly and externally. Basically, we are the digital creative outlet con-

necting Communication Council with other Moody students and

the university as a whole.

Ryan Dempsey, Sophomore — Outreach

My job as Outreach Chair is to bring the College of Communica-

tion students and faculty together through fun and casual events

that will put a smile on your face. I plan to continue the well-

known traditions such as “Meet the Professor Night”, “Donuts with

the Deans”, and “Candy Grams”. I really want to give students a

chance to write letters of appreciation to their favorite professors.

I am ecstatic to have the chance to serve as your Outreach

Chair and to bring everyone in our college together.

Kimberly Terrazas, Junior — Career and Alumni Relations

Career and Alumni Relations committee, or CAR, organizes

guest speakers and lecture series that present to students

about communication related issues and topics of their field.

Some of the guest speakers in the past have included entre-

preneurs, politicians, and professionals from around the Austin

area. The committee also acts as a liaison to past alumni, in-

cluding hosting an annual tailgate for all students past and

present. This upcoming year, I hope to utilize our resources and

build a stronger alumni network as well as bring a larger diversi-

ty of speakers for out lecture series.

Kristen Corinne Munoz, Senior — Publicity

Communication Council is my favorite organization on cam-

pus. It's filled with so many uniquely talented and funny individ-

uals who come together to put on the some of the best events

on campus. Why wouldn't I want to share it with UT? My job as

publicity chair is to make sure our events are well publicized

throughout the college and university. This year I hope to bring

back a more traditional form of publicity in order to get

through to people normally outside of our reach. I’m so excit-

ed to explore new ways to share our events with students and

faculty and I can’t wait to work with the rest of the chairs this

year.

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“I chose public relations because even though I wasn’t

exactly sure what it was, I had an idea that it dealt with

working on a company’s public image and it sounded

interesting to me. I could not be happier with my

choice. PR is versatile major that has introduced me to

other fields of study such as advertising, marketing, and

corporate communication. I love that PR is needed for

virtually every company so I can apply it how I want to.

The Moody College of Communication has become

such a home for me and I can’t imagine studying any-

thing else.” - Monisha Kathari, Public Relations

“I chose communication studies with a concentration on

corporate communications because I wanted something

broad enough to allow me to explore my interests with just

enough focus to not make it seem like I hadn't decided on

anything. I figured I could always change my major later if

I didn't like it, but so far I've loved every class in my major

and I've constantly felt interested and driven to learn

more.” - Madeline Krebs, Corporate Communications

“I chose journalism because I’ve always had this inner curi-

osity about the world around me. I’ve spent years trying to

quench that thirst for knowledge but wasn’t able to suc-

ceed until I started my journey at UT. The Moody College of

Communication has provided me with a variety of endless

opportunities to gain real world experience in order to suc-

ceed as a journalist after graduation. Between reporting on

KVR News at TSTV and writing at Orange Magazine, as a

sophomore I have already accomplished so much more

than I ever thought I could simply as a student. Journalism is

all about people, news, and bringing one to the other in a

new and exciting way. That is what I aim to perfect as jour-

nalism major.” - Stephanie Rothman, Journalism

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“I wasn't thinking critically when I first chose my major

and just went with what felt right at the moment. It

turns out that it was the perfect fit.” - Maya Garcia, Political Communications

“I chose to be an advertising major because I wanted to be

able to remain creative throughout my career. I hope that

advertising will allow me to have a structured and profes-

sional career while still having fun. I really like the program

because I have learned the science behind advertising. I

am being taught everything there is to know and the profes-

sors are very involved and are easy to approach.” - Derek Peet, Advertising

“I have always been interested in being in the health care in-

dustry but being a doctor seemed too time-consuming and

somewhat boring to me. It was important that I find a job that

allowed me to work with both adults and children in need and

really help them in some way. I was also itching to find some-

thing that would allow me to express my true love for talking

and communicating with others. Communication Sciences and

Disorders was the perfect combination of these desires and I

have been so in love with my major even since I took the Intro

CSD class my first semester at UT. Being able to assist someone in

living a more fulfilling life is worth all the time spent in class and

studying in this amazing field.” - Allie Jensen, CSD

“I’ve been making films since I was 13. I love to make

people laugh and to teach a mass audience through

entertainment. I feel as if comedians are the philoso-

phers of our day, and are psychologically able to by-

pass the mental blocks we place. I see huge potential

in comedy as a pedagogy tool and as a medium for

inspiration.” - Nathan Waters, Radio-Television-Film

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By the numbers ...

6 Exec members: President, Vice President, Financial Director, Administrative Director, External Director and Internal Director

1 town hall: Opportunity for students to voice concerns to department chairs and deans of the College.

2 meetings a week: One general meeting and a sep-arate committee meeting. Attendance is a must for keeping up with Council and campus issues.

3 retreats: Held each semester to meet new Com-mies and bond as a group. Usually at a park, we play games and are assigned committees.

7 committees: Career + Alumni Relations, Funding, Multimedia, Publicity, Special Events, Outreach, Stu-dent Issues and Advisory Committee

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By the letters ...

AMS After-meeting Social: Week-

ly gathering of Commies where

we eat and catch up after meet-

ing.

B&L Bigs and Littles: :New members

get a Big Commie for the semester

to show them the ropes and en-

hance feelings of inclusion.

G’Dubz Goodness & Wellness: On the agenda and during meetings, Commies can send love to fellow members.

By the members...

“I’ve made so many of my best friends

here. You don’t even realize that you’re

networking while you’re having the time

of your life.” – Claire Rodgers, Junior Jour-nalism Major

“Comm Council is a huge family. They are al-

ways there when I need them and they are

so supportive. They have made my college

experience memorable.” – Kim Carmona, Senior Journalism Major

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commcouncil.utexas.org Communication Council

The University of Texas at

Austin 300 W. Dean Keeton

Austin, Texas 78705

Special thanks to the individuals involved in the crea-tion, production, and distribution of this newsletter.

This newsletter was edited by Claire Rodgers.