2017
2017 Stories & News
Alumna Vanessa Markopoulos pursues passion for brand marketing
“If you needed help with something, I never worried that I couldn’t ask,” she said. “There was always a sense of community that I really loved.” Now, Markopoulos is helping her clients solve their own problems as a digital marketing manager at The Habitat Company, a residential real estate management and development business in Chicago.
Rambler Productions is deemed the SOC’s ‘hidden gem’
The School of Communication’s Rambler Productions is a student-run organization providing video, photography and live-streaming services to clients.
Loyola SoC Award Winners for TV and video work
Six Loyola School of Communication students received awards for their video productions at a recent ceremony hosted by the Chicago/ Midwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Alumnus Steven Michael Navas brews success by connecting with consumers
Navas, who received a degree in 2008 in Advertising and Public Relations, was part of the first School of Communication graduating class. Today, he is brewing his way to success as the brand activation manager for New Belgium Brewing Company.
Professor Chris Yim, Ph.D, strives to give students a hands-on experience in public relations
Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Yim began teaching at Loyola this semester; this is her first experience as a full-time professor. Before coming to Loyola, she was the CEO of Porter Novelli in Korea, an international public relations firm. While in the company, Yim said she didn’t have much time to teach, but once she earned her Ph.D., she made the switch to become a full-time professor.
New SoC course focuses on defining fake news and identifying trustworthy sources
“Fake news is a money-making operation, so as long as you click, [they’re] going to make money. It doesn’t’ matter if people know it’s fake. So, [companies] need to start monitoring their sites more, taking down stuff that is harmful to public discourse and is misinforming people. The public should also educate themselves. If you do a little reading, you can tell the fake stuff from the real stuff.”
Alumna Ellen Galles said kindness goes a long way in the world of journalism
Galles graduated from Loyola in ‘98 with a double major in communication and political science. Today, she works in St. Paul, Minnesota as a general assignment reporter at ABC 5 Eyewitness News.
SOC Students are nominated for nine Crystal Pillar Awards
Loyola graduate and undergraduate students accepted nominations in four of the six categories, including News: General Assignment, Arts and Entertainment/Cultural Affairs, Long Form and Public Service (PSAs)/Commercial categories.
Seventh annual Digital Ethics Symposium features speakers Dr. Cathy O’Neil and MTV’s “Catfish” Nev Schulman
More than 20 noted speakers and panelists discussed a variety of topics centered on ethical behavior in online and digital environments at the seventh annual International Symposium on Digital Ethics at Loyola University Chicago.
Professor Hannah Rockwell, Ph.D. leads by example
“Do your best work, take pride in it,” Rockwell said. “It doesn’t have to be perfect, but good enough. If you focus on learning instead of the end point, then the grades come. The best students are the ones that engage in the concepts and come out at the end with some sort of transformative experience.”
SOC Career and Internship Website
"We found that students were having trouble finding internships and we also wanted to help them when it came time to look for a job, [we decided] to build a website that’s more functional, easier to use, that we can easily post on and that students can use to search... and eventually alums could as well.”
What's in a Meme?
The SOC’s fall exhibit, “Internet Memes: Internet Folk” features a collection of memes ranging from art, to animals, to pop culture, curated by artist Ryan M. Milner.
From Russia With Love
Five Loyola School of Communication film students got the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to Russia to collaborate on a documentary about Chicago and Moscow with Russian students from Moscow’s Institute of Contemporary Art. The project was funded by the Eurasia Foundation, allowing both Loyola and ICA students to travel to each other’s countries at virtually no cost.
Alum reflects on storied radio career
Biondo-Soltys, who was nominated four times for Major Market Broadcaster of the Year by the Academy of Country Music, and won Billboard's Music Director of the Year, has her own fascinating story to tell.
Loyola students winners in national documentary contest
The competition, called “Stories from the Line,” asked college students and recent graduates to produce short films that combine interviews with vérité-style scenes at home with family, at work, and at school. The goal was to offer a glimpse into the lives of families responding to the challenges of poverty in America.
Three great short films
Three Loyola communication students are finalists in a national film competition.
Loyola launches new digital ethics certificate program.
Loyola’s Center for Digital Ethics & Policy will offer the first-ever certificate program in digital ethics this fall.
7th Annual International Symposium on Digital Ethics
Please join us for the 7th Annual International Symposium on Digital Ethics October 13th at Loyola University, Chicago.
Gentrified: Losing Logan Square
The ink on his degree is barely dry, but Timothy McManus already is gaining notoriety for a short documentary he shot while studying at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Communication.
Students Recognized for Nonprofit Project at AD/PR Reception
Driven by a shared passion for animals, four public relations students at Loyola developed a campaign to promote a pet fostering program – and for it, they were awarded the 12th annual Ebeling PR-ize scholarship Wednesday night.
Students Launch Inigo Communications Firm
Students have taken the reins at Inigo, a new student-run communications firm operated within Loyola’s School of Communication.
Students earn top spots at AD boot camp sponsored by Leo Burnett
Eleven Loyola School of Communication students created full-scale advertising campaigns in just four days during the recent The One Club Creative Boot Camp. One student on each of the top three teams was from Loyola, according to advertising professor Robert Akers.
Chef Amy Le serves flavors inspired by adversity and family history
“I really wanted to be a reporter. I wanted to make sure I knew I could do it and feel like I fulfilled that dream,” Le said. “The last year I was there, I got nominated for a Lisagor Award [for Excellence in Reporting]. So, I said, ‘OK I can walk away.’”
Poster Art Featured at New Exhibit
The dozens of band posters on display at Loyola’s School of Communication are the work of local designer and screen printer Josh Davis, an artist embedded in Chicago’s music and art scenes.
Virtual reality class takes learning to new dimensions
In Loyola’s first-ever Virtual Reality class, 19 students learn to tell stories using 360-degree cameras and editing software – and their professor Jamason Chen encourages them to fail.
Loyola students offers a slew of coverage for Arch Madness
The Rambler Sports Locker and the Loyola Phoenix ushered in March with another trip to St. Louis to cover the 2017 Arch Madness Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. This year marked the fourth time the student media organizations have covered the four-day conference.
Visiting scholar conducts positive communication research
“The question we can ask to all kinds of communication is the following: ‘To what extent are you helping the people to be more happy in terms of virtue?’
SOC students named winners of 2017 festival of media arts
Seven students and one faculty member from Loyola’s School of Communication recently won awards from the 2017 Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts.
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Short-term study abroad trips have long-lasting memories, lessons
The School of Communication’s short-term study abroad programs are more than a way to quickly earn credits in Chile, London or China while holding an internship back home.
First public chicago showing of ‘Service to Man’ shunts expectations
“Service to Man,” a film co-directed by Loyola professor Aaron Greer, has screened at about a dozen film festivals but the audience at Loyola Thursday evening was a special one for the filmmaker.
SOC Alumna Zandra Zuno Baermann Lives Out Passion in Multicultural PR Career
“It’s good to be young and have an idea of what you want to do and not let it go,” she said, “and then just say, ‘You know, I’m going to do it.’”
Freebies and ‘family’ plentiful at the first SOC Freshfest
Academic Adviser Kat Fraser said Freshfest was created specifically for first-year students and intended to be a more laid-back event than the organization fair
Students and employers get down to business at SOC Career Fair
Students mingle with employers who set up shop at circular high tables, exchanging their resumes and elevator pitches for information about open positions and the opportunity to rub elbows with industry insiders.
Students use data to visualize gun violence
We are living in a culture where there is strong opposition to sensible gun laws, yet nearly every day in Chicago, another young person’s life has been forever altered or taken by gun violence.
The Pros Deliver Sound Advice to Aspiring Students during SOC Career Week
There’s finally a catch-all answer to the dreaded question, “What are you going to do with your major?”
Students win pair of Crystal Pillar Awards
Loyola’s School of Communication took home two Crystal Pillar Awards for student-produced work at the Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmys held in December at the Marriott Hotel on Michigan Avenue.
Featured Alumni: Bill Zehme
Zehme is famous for being granted exclusive interviews with celebrities that other writers find out of reach. He is best known for authoring “Intimate Strangers: Comic Profiles and Indiscretions of the Very Famous” as well as the biographies of legends Frank Sinatra, Andy Kaufman and Jay Leno.