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Students in the spring 499 class assemble on the steps of Mabee Library for a quick photo with professor and department chair Maria Stover. Most of the students in this class were spring and summer candidates for graduation.
Row 1: Sydney Frantz, Shalynn Long, Maggie Cabrera, Alyssa Storm
Row 2: Rachel Janzen, Rina Miyano, Shelby Munoz, Marissa Schmicke
Row 3: Emily Burd, Ashley Williams, Katelyn Tryon, Rhyan Cropper, Zachery Hall
Row 4: Glorianna Noland, Max Morrow, Shiann Olberding, Halle Meister, Greg Martin
Row 5: Rajendra Bista, Trevor Falcon, Maria Stover, Isaac Deer
Row 6: Christina Noland and Callie Holthaus
photo courtesy of Regina Cassell
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Let's celebrate our seniors
My name is Bailey Collar; I'm a sophomore mass media student with a concentration in contemporary journalism with a minor in business.
I can't believe the school year has already come to an end. I hope every one of you had a successful semester. We would love to recognize the seniors who are graduating this spring or summer.
I want to thank all of the mass media seniors for the hard work and dedication that they have given to this department. You have achieved extraordinary things during your time at Washburn and I know it will carry on into the future chapters of your life as well.
To my senior classmates whom I have had the pleasure of meeting, thank you for the friendship and knowledge that you have shared with me.
Hope everyone has an amazing summer!
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Documentary wins award
by Gabrielle Van Sickle
College students have different ways of expressing their beliefs. They have access to a variety of outlets where they can use their voices to spread a message. Students studying film can write scripts with vivid imagery and language that put the audience in different states of mind.
Before graduating from Washburn University in December of 2022, Kris Bailey began to create a documentary for one of his classes.
His film, "I Am… Brihanna Jayde," won first place in the college documentary division of the 2023 Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards.
Bailey's film also won first place in the college documentary division at the 2023 WIFI Film Festival, as well as best cinematography in the
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photo courtesy of Kris Bailey
Nathaniel who goes by the showgirl name Brihanna Jade gets ready to do what he loves the most, perform.
overall documentary category.
“The film is about a gay man who performs as a drag queen in Junction City, Kansas. Kansas is a really conservative state, so LGBTQ and drag queens are all under attack right now basically. I just wanted to have a profile of someone who is in that community that wasn’t just gay but also performs as a drag queen,” said Bailey.
Keep reading
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Teamwork inspires women to reach new heights | |
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It's hard to imagine that one of the Noland sisters was unable to begin her career at Washburn because she was homeschooled and lacked a high enough score on her ACT to meet Washburn's admission standards at the time.
But, telling Christina Noland she can't achieve something might be the very thing that locks in her laser focus and determination.
After delaying her own education to help her younger siblings finish up their own homeschooling, Christina and Gloriänna started out together at Washburn University after earning certificates in graphic design from Washburn Tech and associate degrees from Washburn.
“All of the mass media faculty could speak at length about the quality of work and commitment by both women, but what always impressed me was the incredible friendship and support the sisters gave to each other,” said Regina Cassell, senior lecturer. “I never once heard the other say anything unkind or even negative about the other.”
Both women were recognized as outstanding students in the Department of Mass Media, and both have earned many awards for their work. This spring, Glorianna was named a finalist for the Sibberson Award, and both women graduated with mass media honors and 4.0 GPAs.
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“We both influence each other through the work we submitted because we were always asking for each other's feedback on our schoolwork and projects,” Gloriänna Nolan said.
The sisters were often leaders within group projects and were sought after to help the department with various projects.
Instead of a more traditional sibling rivalry, the sisters instead used their high work standards to challenge each other.
This past year, the duo teamed up as executive-level leaders within Student Media as Christina Noland handled the Indigo magazine and Kaw Yearbook and Gloriänna Noland was in charge of advertising and promotions.
After she graduates, Gloriänna Nolan will work at the Kansas Department of Commerce, where she had already completed an internship.
“I got a job offer for the Kansas Department of Commerce, and I accepted it because I like the people I work with and serving the state of Kansas.”
Christina Noland has delayed her job search slightly to complete the 2023 Kaw Yearbook and think about how she wants to use her degree.
– with reporting by Connor Doel
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Student-athletes prepare to graduate
by Halle Meister
Connor Deffebaugh and Dalton White are two mass media student-athletes who are finishing up their last season of sports and working towards getting a diploma in May.
Connor Deffebaugh is studying mass media with a concentration in public relations and a minor in communication. Deffebaugh has also been a great asset on the court for Washburn’s basketball program. Within his collegiate career, Deffebaugh holds a 74 percent free throw shooter hitting 134 of 182 attempts. He averaged 6.6 points per game and overall he scored 703 points in his career. Putting in the work on the court, and in the classroom has been Deffebaugh’s lifestyle for the past four years.
“I have experienced a ton of ups and downs within my college experience, but the one thing I learned was how to be present and just keep on pushing,” said Deffebaugh.
After graduation, Deffebaugh plans on coaching basketball to the younger generation either in Topeka, Kansas City, or back home in Arkansas.
“It doesn’t matter where I end up after graduation, I just want to coach basketball and show them how great they can be by putting in the work and loving the sport,” said Deffebaugh.
Dalton White is a part of the men’s track and field program at Washburn University. During his collegiate career, he has had the ninth-best individual performance in the 110m hurdles with a time of 16.85 and the third-best time in the 400m hurdles at 58.33.
“My time as a student-athlete has been everything but typical. I lost a full season when COVID started my freshman year, and then I had to sit out another full year with an injury and surgery,” said White.
White took those two years to figure out what he wanted for the future and to get better. White’s focus is advertising because he loves the feeling of being a part of a team and creating campaigns to help others out.
“I think being a part of a team has really helped me develop as a person and helped me practice being at all levels of interaction. Meaning I’ve been the new young, scared freshman, I was then the veteran who could kindly help the new freshmen, to now being one of the team's leaders, recognizing some of the younger members' needs, and making sure I'm always contributing positive energy,” said White.
White plans on moving back home to Kansas City and using those skills to help him get an advertising job, and he wants to coach track and field on the side.
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Big dreams motivate grad to gain experience
by Charlize Easter
This is Westen Smith’s dream: working at Letterman Digital Arts Center, the combined home of Industrial Light & Magic, LucasArts, and Lucasfilm's marketing, online, and licensing units.
Smith has always had a love for movies and television; they played a significant role in his upbringing, and he aspires to one day see his own work on the big screen.
“It’s a big part of what drew me to Washburn. My love for movies and being able to learn it all within a small environment surrounded by great friends, which was a bonus,” Smith said.
It’s not surprising that “Star Wars” is his favorite movie. He genuinely cares about the brand.
"My admiration for Steven Spielberg and George Lucas's films led me to realize that I wanted to work in production. I would love to direct, but my passion is postproduction editing, creating special effects, iconic scenes and working with others who love visual storytelling,” said Smith.
One of the experiences he will take with him is his videographer internship position at the Kansas Department of Corrections.
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Transfer student finds success | |
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by Emma Froese
Senior Callie Holthaus will continue her passion for journalism with WIBW-TV as a reporter and anchor after graduation.
Holthaus was involved in Washburn Filmmakers Association and Student Media, and she was a lead actress in MM 414 class’s short film.
After a marketing internship, Holthaus realized she was seeking a different pathway.
“I realized that although I can do marketing, it’s not what I’m passionate about. I’m a huge fan of writing, and I like to talk in-depth about people or events that have happened. Playing with words to set a scene or evoke emotion is something that I found fell more along with my interests,” said Holthaus.
Before Holthaus was at Washburn University, she attended Kansas State University, but she stayed at Washburn because of its size.
Associate Professor Kristen Grimmer appreciates Holthaus and her contributions both within and beyond the classroom.
“She is one that I am excited to see what she does in the future, but I’m sad to see her leave,” said Grimmer.
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Senior Callie Holthaus is eager to begin her career outside of Washburn University. When she is not busy working, she helps out with her family's pumpkin patch.
Holthaus believes mass media was a good fit for her.
“Everyone in the Mass Media Department has been a huge help when it comes to exploring my interests and even hooking me up with some of the positions I’m in now or have been in in the past. They are eager to see us succeed,” said Holthaus.
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by Alex Younger
During her time at Washburn, Ashley Williams lived in Kansas City, so she never had time for extracurricular activities on campus.
She worked at NCM Associates part-time as a content development strategist, and she will be starting full-time starting in June. Last year she worked for Trinity Logistics as a marketing intern.
“It was a great experience but it showed me what I didn't want to do It was more numbers heavy rather on the creative side, which is what I want to do,” said Willaims
Williams said she enjoys managing projects, creating content, and managing stressful situations.
Associate professor Kristen Grimmer taught one of Williams' favorite classes, MM421, Event Planning and Management.
“Ashley has always been a very driven student. She excels in organization and does really well putting the overall picture together for projects,” said Grimmer
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photo courtesy of Ashely Williams
Ashley Williams is currently working in Kansas City at NCM Associates as a content development strategist.
“In Event Planning and Management, she did a great job organizing and running the Mass Media Keynote Speaker event with only a little direction from me.
Williams wants to give a piece of advice to seniors. She highly advises seniors stay engaged because there are a lot of bigger projects in mass media rather than tedious work.
“Always put in more effort into work because you can use it for applying for jobs and show credibility,” said Williams.
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Find the spring 2023 Messenger in your inbox, not your mailbox, just like the fall 2022 issue. | |
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Staff Box
Editor-in-Chief: Bailey Collar
2023 Advanced Professional Media Class: Kayshiona Acquaye, Karli Bayliss, Bailey Collar, Rhyan Cropper, Abby Davis, Connor Doel, Charlize Easter, Jonas Faria, Emma Froese, Travossia Gardenhire, Rachel Janzen, Abigail LeFever, Emily McGinnis, Halle Meister, Shelby Munoz, Jaycie Regnier, Gabby Van Sickle, Dalton White and Alexandra Younger
2022 Advanced Professional Media Class: Maggie Cabrera, Aja Carter, Darrell Luarks, Lauryn Massey, Marissa Schimke, Logan Schmidt, Justin Shepard, Katelyn Tryon, Olivia Watson
Faculty Adviser: Regina Cassell
Faculty Editors: Kristen Grimmer, Maria Stover, Matt Nyquist, Sam Finch
Special thanks to Gene Cassell, mass media adjunct, for creating this month's header.
The Mass Media Newsletter is created during the fall and spring semesters by Washburn University students in MM 403 Advanced Professional Media Writing and is emailed to anyone who would like to subscribe. Sharing is encouraged.
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The Department of Mass Media
Henderson Learning Center, Room 316
(785) 670-1836
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