School of Communication students have the opportunity to take their studies and professional experience out of the state and country with networking trips and study and work abroad experiences provided through various groups at the university. These experiences prepare journalism and communication students for an increasingly global workforce and world.
Traveling with Student Organizations
Professional networking trips offered by the school’s student organizations expose students to industry knowledge and career experience that cannot be learned inside a classroom. Valuable connections within the professional world are forged, leaving students with an event they can highlight in job interviews and resumes. For many students, it also leads to internships and professional careers at some of the country’s most prestigious firms.
BASCA Travels to New York City
In November 2022, the School of Communication’s Black Advertising Strategic Communication Association members took part in a two-day trip to New York City, learning from some of the industry’s top executives about public relations, human resources, writing and strategic communications. Members toured Spotify headquarters, met with a celebrity publicist at Playbook Media Group and learned from management at Warner Music about the communications side of the music industry.
Through this trip and others like it, students are introduced to advertising- and communications-related roles in a big-city, fast-paced environment, which presents a challenging yet rewarding future career path for many. It is on these trips that many students meet future employers and coworkers for the first time and make lifelong memories, in addition to expanding their skill sets.
BASCA Co-Vice President Richard Dixon helped organize this trip.
“Hearing about the experiences and opportunities that helped them [professionals] get to where they are made me more confident in where I am in my journey, in addition to reemphasizing the importance of never being above learning and growth,” said Dixon.
BASCA rotates the location of its networking trip each year.
Read more about BASCA’s recent New York City trip.
PRSSA Travels to D.C. and New York City
Student members of the Public Relations Student Society of America chapter at Ohio State traveled to Washington, D.C., in October and New York City in March. PRSSA travels to New York every spring with a rotating location for the fall.
“As a member of PRSSA, I had the opportunity to join a select group of students on a networking trip to New York City,” said fourth-year Andrea Paolucci. “Along with the amazing food and city views, this trip brought me once-in-a-lifetime experiences such as visiting Google, touring inside the CBS recording studios and speaking to a panel at Madison Square Garden. I had the best time and am so grateful for all of the connections I made.”
Read more about PRSSA’s recent Washington, D.C. and New York networking trips.
Sports Coverage Travel
During the football season, the Lantern sends its sports editors, photojournalists and video producer to every away and bowl game. This not only ensures complete coverage of the season but also puts Lantern students in unfamiliar environments, where they must problem-solve around the unexpected while reporting and still meeting deadlines.
Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio students travel to all away football games, including the bowl games, to provide coverage for internet radio and YouTube. SGSR also covers a multitude of other sports, including men’s and women’s hockey and basketball. These are opportunities for students to not only broadcast on a national scale but to do so alongside the best broadcasters in the world, joining them for pre- and post-game coverage.
“There is no place that better prepares sports reporters and broadcasters to perform at the highest possible level because every Ohio State opportunity takes place at the highest level,” said Associate Professor-Clinical Nicole Kraft, advisor of SGSR.
Studying & Interning Abroad
Many School of Communication students also take their education Beyond the Classroom with study and work abroad experiences.
Students Take Courses Abroad
Angel Lasha Godfrey (Journalism, 24) studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea, during her fall semester at Ohio State, from August 2022 to January 2023. As a student at the Ewha Womans University, a private university founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton, Godfrey lived in a dorm on campus. By living on campus, Godfrey was able to understand, live and learn campus life in another culture.
As a second-year journalism student, Godfrey wasn’t set on which path within the major to take. She took courses at the university that count as credit for journalism and international affairs, specifically East Asian studies, for her minor.
Godfrey’s study abroad experience strengthened her determination to pursue journalism, helped her realize which path within journalism to pursue, and encouraged her to do better at making connections. Godfrey also said she now pays more attention to which courses she plans to take next for her major and minor.
“Fill your life with adventures, not things,” said Godfrey. “Have stories to tell, not stuff to show. Be grateful for where you are, and excited about where you are going”
Students Intern Around the Globe
Jessica Langer (Journalism, ‘24), with minors in media production and analysis and political science, studied abroad in London, England, in the summer of 2022.
While in London, Langer interned with CBS News, giving her insight into broadcast journalism and production within a different culture. Langer’s study abroad experience helped her gain knowledge, expanded her education in journalism and enabled her to practice what she learned in classes.
Langer learned from prominent CBS employees, who taught her how to hone her research skills and pitch stories on a global scale. Her favorite experience was working for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee and being able to see her on the balcony. Langer said she was given a lot more responsibility for the Jubilee as an intern than she imagined.
“I went into the internship unsure if I had what it took to do broadcast journalism, but the amount of trust I was given gave me a lot of confidence in my reporting skills,” said Langer.
Studying abroad gave Langer insight into how she wants to grow as a journalist and the goals she hopes to accomplish within the next couple of years.
“This experience helped me realize how independent I can be. I traveled, met amazing people and created great memories,” Langer said. “Being with such great people, I was able to learn how crucial it is to stay true to yourself and always be up to try new things. I did both this summer and am so grateful for the opportunity.
Students Experience a Different Culture
Jessica Sunderhaft (Strategic Communication, Moving Image Production, ‘24) studied abroad in Paris, France, in May of 2022 with Ohio State’s Global May Paris Program.
“I was able to have experiences there that I had only ever dreamed about, seen in movies, or read about in books, and to be able to live those fantasies felt unreal,” Sunderhaft said. “I’m so grateful for that and all the people I met along the way.”
Sunderhaft experienced French culture first-hand, learning about how the public interacts with the media. Thinking about how a different culture experiences the media helps Sunderhaft craft messages that best interact with different markets and audiences.
“Whether it was sitting in a crowded café listening to people at tables next to me talk about their day, listening to tour guides at places like Versailles and the Arc de Triomphe talk about the societal impact of both, or even just walking along the Champs-Élysées and seeing incredible storefronts, I learned so much about the way Parisian culture functions and how best to interact with and learn from it,” said Sunderhaft.
One of the most interesting experiences for Sunderhaft was going to Disneyland Paris because it allowed her to see how an extremely popular American brand functions differently within another market and culture. Sunderhaft noticed that the architecture, entertainment and storytelling with the ride experiences at Disneyland Paris mimicked French culture and varied from its American counterparts.
“Everything was made to appeal to a specific European market, but it still had the ‘Disney’ touch, which was very interesting to engage in firsthand as an American,” Sunderhaft said.
Studying abroad was one of the highlights of Sunderhaft’s Ohio State career because the memories hold a special place in her heart.
“As the film ‘Casablanca’ once said, ‘We’ll always have Paris,’ and when I look back on my four years here and think of all of the wonderful opportunities I’ve had, I know I will always have the memories from that experience with me,” Sunderhaft said.
Alumni donations help keep this travel affordable for students. See opportunities to give back to the School of Communication.
