A pair of Elizabethtown College Communications students are working side-by-side to chronicle six accomplished alumni from the School of Arts and Humanities through the Blue Jay Journeys podcast. With in-depth, personal interviews, Jessica Piergallini ’24 is seeking to showcase each alumni’s career path post-graduation, while Karlie Fromm ’23 is utilizing social media to help promote these Blue Jay stories to a wider audience.
A total of six Etown alumni: Megan White ’20, Melissa Spencer ’19, Kory Hilpmann ’17, Gwen Fries ’16, Dant Weikel ’16, and Rebecca Easton ’19 will be interviewed for the series. Episodes are available now on Anchor.fm.
Karlie and Jessica are working with Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities Kevin Shorner-Johnson to identify alumni for the podcast, which had been hosted by the School of Arts and Humanities Digital Humanities Hub since January 2021.
The independent student research and collaboration with an Etown faculty mentor is part of the Summer Creative Arts and Research Program (SCARP) program.
Title of Research
Telling and Promoting the Stories of Etown’s Humanities Alums through Audio and Video Pieces
Student Researchers
Karlie Fromm ’23 (Public Relations and Graphic Design major)
Jessica Piergallini ’24 (Digital Media Production and Graphic Design major)
Faculty Mentors
Kelly Poniatowski, Associate Professor of Communications
Kirsten Johnson, Professor of Communications
What are you researching?
Karlie: I am working on this SCARP project for Dr. Shorner-Johnson to help promote a series of podcasts that highlights where current graduates of the school of arts and humanities are now.
Jessica: I am conducting interviews with alumni from the School of Arts and Humanities and asking them a series of questions about their life after Etown. The purpose of this is to show prospective and current students how fulfilling a degree in the arts and humanities can be and the different types of jobs one can get after school.
Why did you choose this topic?
Jessica: This project seemed very interesting to me and, as a Communications major, this was right up my alley. I enjoy the postproduction aspect of any project. Being able to piece different things together and add different elements to the project to then end up with a finished piece is my favorite part of this work.
What is the most interesting aspect of your research?
Karlie: The most interesting part of this SCARP project so far had been designing the social media posts and being able to use my creativity and skills to create something that will help grow the number of listeners.
Jessica: The most interesting aspect for me is the fact that I get to hear these stories firsthand. I get to meet the people who have had these experiences and talk to them a little more in-depth about their life.
How has your mentor helped you?
Karlie: Dr. Poniatowski has helped me tremendously through this project by explaining how to conduct media audits, complete PR plans, and follow timelines. She has shown me what it looks like to work as a public relations specialist.
Jessica: My mentor Dr. Johnson has been a big help to me throughout this process. She is always providing me with tools and resources on how to conduct interviews correctly. For the technical side of the project, where I must put the finished pieces together and edit the project, I know Dr. Johnson will be a big help and give me productive feedback so I can make this project the best that it can be.
Hear from faculty mentor Kelly Poniatowski:
“This is the first time I have been involved with SCARP,” Poniatowski said. “Kirsten Johnson asked me to be a part of the project and it’s perfect because she is mentoring me as I am mentoring Karlie. I am learning how the program operates.
“SCARP is rewarding because I have the opportunity to work with high-level students to complete projects that are of interest to both of us. It’s rewarding to see that they are learning about public relations, social media campaigns, and video production at a higher level than they would get in the classroom.”
Hear from faculty mentor Kirsten Johnson:
“Jesse and Karlie have been wonderful to work with so far,” Johnson said. “Their enthusiasm for the project has been evident from the first day they started.
“I enjoy mentoring students and sharing my love of media production with the next generation of media content creators. SCARP is a great way for students to have new opportunities and experience both failures and successes in a safe environment. Inevitably, things aren’t going to go as planned when doing production projects and this program allows students to make mistakes, learn from them, and carry those lessons forward to the next phase of the project.”
