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 Jessica
Rivelli, a 2002 Elon School of Communications graduate, has
moved from her position with CBS affiliate WFMY-TV in Greensboro,
N.C., to the West Palm Beach, Fla., NBC affiliate, WPTV, Newschannel
5 - market 39 in the nation. She is the weekend morning producer,
in charge of the 7 and 10 a.m. newscasts Saturdays and the 7 a.m.
newscast on Sundays. Her duties include gathering information and
writing a good percentage of the newscasts, dealing with breaking
news overnight and managing and booking live guests and live weather
remotes. During the week, she manages breaking news and assigns
crews for the 11 p.m. newscasts.
"I owe this
job to my experiences at WFMY-News2," she said. "My co-workers were
my mentors and shaped me into a great writer with a good eye for
what it takes to create a solid newscast with throughtful, well-written
stories. I am thankful that my Elon experience afforded me my first
job at WFMY. Knowledgable and caring professors, combined with hands-on
course work proved to be THE asset that propelled me forward to
begin my professional TV career at the early age of 19.
"I am amazed
every day when I come into work and it hits me that I am working
in West Palm Beach at 21. It's a wonderful feeling of accomplishment,
and I hope my professors share in this feeling, because they're
the foundation that allows students like me to make our dreams come
true."
She also credits
School of Communications Advisory Board member Darren Richards of
WFMY for her success. "Making that personal contact with him at
Elon was the best thing that ever happened to me," she said. "He
gave me the chance to prove myself in this business. I will be eternally
grateful." Rivelli's e-mail address is: jmrivelli@scripps.com.
Amy Roatche,
a corporate communications student who completed her coursework
in Fall 2002 and will officially graduate in May, is working full-time
as the communications/events coordinator for iittala, a company
that offers a complete range of products for cooking and socializing.
This Scandinavian company sells its wares internationally; Roatche
is based in its Cherry Hill, N.J. corporate offices.
She had worked
as an intern there over the summer, which inspired her to put together
a PR campaign for the company for a Fall 2002 course at Elon. She
showed the people at iittala the campaign, which helped her convince
them to hire her on in a new full-time position, created for her
talents and abilities.
"I absolutely
love my job," she said. "I have already been in Atlanta for a trade
show and I am planning events and working with the sales reps a
lot. I also started a company monthly newsletter." She and another
Elon alum, Steve Zambricski, became engaged on Christmas Eve and
plan a wedding in 2005. He works in the customer-service department
at Chrysler Financial. Roatche's e-mail address is Amyr@designor-usa.com.
Scott McCrary
has moved from his job at WLTX-TV in Columbia, S.C., to WUSA-TV
in Washington, one of the top ten markets in the country. Some of
the most revered names in television news have worked at WUSA, including
Walter Cronkite, Sam Donaldson, Max Robinson, Eric Sevareid, Arthur
Godfrey, Howard K. Smith and Lowell Thomas. Both WLTX and WUSA are
owned by Gannett Co., Inc., the international diversified news and
information company. At WLTX, McCrary served as everything from
weekend producer to field producer to launching the station's new
7 p.m. newscast.
 Amber
McCafferty,
a 2002 Elon grad, is working with Trone Public Relations Inc. in
Greensboro, N.C., as an account coordinator. She was hired to fill
the position about two weeks before graduation. "I have no
doubt my previous experience built through internships got me the
job," she said. "My work portfolio included coursework,
but it was primarily work done in my internships." During her
undergraduate years at Elon, she capitalized on experiences gained
through internships at two agencies: Richard French & Associates
in Raleigh and Dome Communications in Chicago. "Richard French
is a sister company of Trone, and that probably helped me land this
spot," she said. Trone is a full-service agency that offers
media relations, event marketing, executive visibility, issues and
crisis management and media training. McCafferty is working on Trone's
Syngenta, Cricket Wireless and Quick Step account teams. Her e-mail
address is amccafferty@trone.com.
Lisa Farnkopf,
a 2002 grad, is working as a reporter/editor for Construction Data
Corporation, a company that publishes three weekly trade newspapers
for the construction industry. It has offices in Texas, California
and along the East Coast. Farnkopf is located in the Trenton, N.J.,
office. Her e-mail address is lisamarie215@hotmail.com.
Shelby Brown,
class of 2002, lives in Columbia, S.C., where she works for WIS,
the NBC affiliate (broadcast television market #83). She works in
the programming and promotions department, and has assigned tasks
that involve her in every aspect of the operation, including maintaining/distributing
the station's program schedule, acting as a children's programming
liaison to the FCC, producing/editing promotional spots for air,
arranging community projects, filing the Neilsen log and most recently
producing segments for the sports department.
"I got
the job the old-fashioned way, answering an ad and sending my resume,"
she said. "My internship the summer preceding my senior year
was an indispensable resource. Aside from hands-on writing/producing
experience, it enabled me to get great references. What I think
was a sole factor in my motivation and preparedness for life after
graduation, was Senior Seminar with Connie Book. She showed me how
to think and reason in this industry. She provided me with research
skills and knowledge that enabled me to secure a job before graduation."
Brown said
she wanted to share the message that it is not that important to
have a big title or salary on your first job after graduation. "All
you need is a foot in the door," she said. "If you demonstrate
a strong willingness to learn and tenacity, superiors will give
you more responsibility and high-profile projects that will get
you noticed." She said she plans to take her career direction
into news or programming. Her e-mail address is shelbyvbrown@att.net.
Jaya Martin,
a 2002 grad, has been working full-time for Blessed Sacrament Catholic
Church in Burlington, N.C., since mid-July. She is the coordinator
for the Faith Development program, which serves about Grad300 children
in kindergarten through eighth grades. She also travels throughout
the diocese of Raleigh for workshops and retreats. More than half
of the families involved in the church are Spanish-speaking. "I'm
like an assistant principal," she said, "and it's been
fun so far." Martin expects to spend about a year in this job
before she goes to graduate school. Her e-mail address is ParaJaya@aol.com.
Kelly Allen,
class of 2000, taught broadcast journalism at the Robeson County
Career Center in Lumberton, N.C., before beginning graduate school
at Duquesne in January 2001. While there, she worked with local
non-profit organizations and WTAE-TV. "It was wonderful to
meet Jim Hefner (WTAE executive and a member of Elon's School of
Communications Advisory Board) while I was up there," she said.
She completed her master's degree in corporate communication in
May and is now teaching in the Humanities and Fine Arts Department
of Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, N.C. She also teaches
public speaking courses as an adjunct at the University of North
Carolina - Wilmington. Her e-mail address is kallen@capefear.cc.nc.us.
Alecia Pynn,
a 2000 graduate, is now employed in the sports information office
at the University of Florida. She works with the football and basketball
programs. "I hear lots of compliments about Elon grads,"
she said. "Thanks to Elon for a great experience." Pynn's
e-mail address is AleciaP@gators.uaa.ufl.edu.
Leigh Wheeler,
a 2001 grad, is the development coordinator for the Travel
Channel at Discovery networks. She tracks incoming and ongoing productions
and proposals. "It's a lot of paperwork and organizing,"
she said, "but I'm happy to have my foot in the door at a quality
organization, and it is a wonderful opportunity." Her e-mail
address is leighwheeler@hotmail.com.
Jessica
Vitak, a 2002 grad, is working in the Washington, D.C., bureau
of PR Newswire, an organization with 30 bureaus located throughout
the United States. She's one of eight people on the editorial staff
in D.C., where she edits, codes and distributes news releases. The
office is located about three blocks away from the National Mall,
near the Washington Monument. "I love my job because I am learning
a lot about the business and financial worlds," she said. "I
enjoy being able to 1) read releases before the media or general
public, and 2) work on a release in the morning and see it running
across CNN's ticker by afternoon or see a VNR about the topic. For
the first time since I entered college, maybe ever, I feel on top
of the news. I am working in one of the busiest cities in the world,
where news is happening all around me, and I am an important part
of it. It's an extremely rewarding feeling." Her e-mail address
is jessica_vitak@yahoo.com.
Erik Furlan
is a clerk/reporter in the Gaston, N.C., bureau of The Charlotte
Observer. His responsibilities include office administration, compilation
of an area entertainment calendar, writing features and covering
area religion and business news. The 2002 Elon grad is living in
the Charlotte area. "My ultimate goal is still in NASCAR media,"
he said. "Coming in as a broadcast major, I never imagined
that my first job would be in the print field. The School of Communication's
concentration cross-over allowed me to pick up the journalism concentration
as well, opening up so many more doors. So far, it's been an eye-opening
experience, classic 'first job' in communications." Erik's
e-mail address is efurlan@carolina.rr.com.
Suzanne
George, a 2002 grad, is an assistant account executive with
M Booth and Associates, a New York City PR firm. She works with
the company's Travel and Lifestyle team." I love my job,"
she says. "We have clients such as Royal Olympic Cruises, Ski
Utah (all of the ski resorts in the state), resorts in Las Vegas,
Trip.com and Cheaptickets.com, Beaulieu Vineyard in the Napa Valley
and several others. It's great to work with such wonderful clients
such as these. To think last year at this time I thought I was busy!
It's been a bit of an adjustment getting into the New York way of
life, but a good one. Billy Duffy and I are now engaged and planning
to get married June 14 in Raleigh. Life is truly coming together
for me." Her e-mail address is: Suzanneg@mbooth.com.
Allison
Deiboldt,
a 2002 grad,
is a research analyst for the TV research firm Petry Media Corporation,
a sister company to Blair Media. She is working in the main offices
on 5th Avenue and 54th Street in mid-town Manhattan. She works with
a number of broadcast clients from all over the United States, doing
statistical analysis and writing proposals and presentations in
regard to their best marketing strategies. She said she's thankful
to all of her Elon professors for their influence and support. Her
e-mail address is adeiboldt@yahoo.com.
Kristen
Nastasia, a 2000 grad, has moved to her second position in TV
News. She worked for about 18 months as a producer/reporter for
WECT-TV, the NBC affiliate in Wilmington, N.C., before moving to
WZVN-TV, the ABC affiliate in Ft. Myers, Fla. While she was at WECT
she won two AP Awards (Rookie of the Year 2000, First Place Spot
News 2000) and three RTNDA-Carolinas first places (political, consumer
and news series reporting). She has been working at the Ft. Myers
station for about a year now. She covers Florida's biggest county,
Collier, and she lives in Naples. "My career is going so well,"
she said. "and I credit much of my post-Elon success with my
hands-on training during college." While at Elon, she worked
at ESTV and completed summer internships with WBTV in Charlotte
and WWAY-TV in Wilmington. Her e-mail address is kristenn@abc-7.com.
Allyson
Brunetti,
a 2002 grad, is the production coordinator for "Change of
Heart," a Warner Brothers television series that is shot in New
York. The program is a dating show/reality series. One of Brunetti's
duties is to coordinate the intern program, and she says she would
like to hire Elon students for the positions. Her e-mail address
is Allyson.Brunetti@warnerbros.com.
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