Through the power of Zoom video chats, School of Communications alumni – nearly two dozen of them – continue to maintain the connections they first made while producing Elon University’s student-run newscast, “Elon Local News.”
Every relationship has its milestones. And inevitably there are inside jokes made along the way.
As Gary Grumbach ’16 detailed the backstory behind the virtual social gatherings recently held by alumni of “Elon Local News,” the broadcast news program of Elon News Network, the Elon alumnus couldn’t help but share one of the latter.
“This is something only the ENN staff will get, and that’s fine, but Rich Landesberg actually let us ‘upstairs,’” Grumbach said.
This was a breakthrough of monumental portion for the nearly 20-some School of Communications alumni participating in a March 31 Zoom video chat with the associate professor of journalism and longtime adviser of Elon News Network. The student news organization has regularly held end-of-semester celebrations at the Landesberg residence, but undergraduates are restricted to the basement – albeit it is a nice basement. Upstairs was off limits.
“But when Rich joined us on Zoom, he actually let us see the upstairs of his house, which is a big step for many of us,” Grumbach said. “It is literally a whole new level of friendship.”
According to Katie Maraghy ’15, a co-organizer with Grumbach, the informal online chats with fellow Elon alumni began, well, informally.
“What started as a quick text to the group chat to gauge interest in a virtual happy hour has grown into a semi-regular meet-up of ‘Elon Local News’ alums full of laughter, goofing off, and reminiscing,” said Maraghy, a writers assistant at “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.”
“It can get a little hectic – I think our max was 21 attendees – but it’s somehow comforting to know that nothing has changed over the years, and that we’re the same group of friends, whether in-person or on a Zoom call.”
“It started out as a Snapchat group chat,” Grumbach explained further, “and we quickly realized that wasn’t feasible for the number of people we wanted to talk to.” So, the alumni put out an invite on a Facebook group and had an open call to join them on Zoom.
The March 31 session, the second or third such gathering, kicked off at 9 p.m. and ran until midnight.
Because of the chat’s causal nature, and people coming and going, a participation list is bound to miss someone. But here are a few definite attendees: Neima Abdulahi ’13, Jeff Ackermann ’14, Justin Biegel ’16, Joe Bruno ’14, Courtney Davis ’14, Al Drago ’15, Lauren Duncan ’18, Audrey Engelman ’17, Meagan Gitelman ’19, Ryan Greene ’15, Selina Guevara ’19, Nicole Chadwick Hansen ’14, Elizabeth Kantlehner ’14, Brennan McGovern ’15, Matthew Mintzer ’15, Julie Morse ’13, Jackie Pascale ’18, Paige Pauroso ’17, Alex Rose ’14, Stephanie Butzer Rose ’14 and Brooke Wivagg ’18.
The majority of this list is currently working in the television news industry, which means many are covering the biggest story facing the globe: the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The pandemic has impacted life everywhere, including their work schedules.
“Getting together to reconnect is something we would have loved to do at any time, but with many of us at home and not having a whole lot to do, we now have the time we wouldn’t normally. We have the time to connect and talk with people we maybe have not seen for months and, in some cases, years,” Grumbach said. “In a way COVID-19 has brought us together.”
For Grumbach, a 2020 campaign embed for NBC News, instead of shadowing Bernie Sanders in person, he’s following the presidential hopeful online from New Jersey, reporting from his childhood home. (Yes, there is a stay-at-home order in Vermont and Sanders is adhering to it.) With the additional down time, Grumbach has enjoyed seeing his family, and got the added benefit of helping celebrate his brother Cole’s 21st birthday in person.
The live chats have been a welcome distraction, with those sentiments shared online and in conversation.
Ackermann, a news producer for WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C., called it “refreshing” to catch up with friends and former “ELN” staffers during what is a difficult, and maybe life-altering, time for many. “My Elon TV family has always been there for me, and speaking with these people always puts a smile on my face,” he said.
Likewise, Abdulahi, a TV journalist based in Atlanta, said she appreciated the opportunity to strengthen the personal ties she enjoyed so much on campus.
“The ‘Elon Local News’ alums are a tight-knit group, so we’ve all been in touch regularly,” she said. “This just gave us an opportunity to reconnect while we’re all social distancing and quarantined.”
The topics of the late-night chats run the gambit, and the conversation often turns to talking shop: broadcast news.
One of the recent challenges the young reporters in the chat have faced is broadcasting from their homes and what the travel restrictions have meant for them personally and professionally. Several talked about what they have done to make their living rooms look more like a TV studio for interviews and live hits.
“We are all covering the story in our own way – some from the local angle, or the evening news angle, or the campaign angle,” Grumbach said. “It has been helpful and interesting to throw ideas back and forth, and talk about different topics and how we are coping through it. How we and our families are staying safe, while also doing our jobs.”
Certainly, the Elon alumni have changed since graduation with new career paths, and addition of significant others or children here and there. All welcome on the video chat. “It is great to grow the ‘ELN’ family a little bit,” Grumbach said.
One of the constants is Landesberg, and his wife, Ginette Archinal, Elon’s university physician. The ElonComm professor served as Grumbach’s surprise guest for the March 31 video session.
“Rich is not just a professor to us,” Grumbach said. “He has turned into a mentor and a friend after graduation. We care about him. We care about his wife, Ginette. So, it is great to see them, include them, and hear from them.”
Added Abdulahi, “Rich Landesberg is part of our family. He stays in touch with all of us regularly so it was nice to catch up as a group like the old days.”
While the “old days” might be five, six or seven years ago – a long or short time depending on a person’s view point – the Elon alumni have found that personalities and people don’t change. And the ties remain despite any physical distance between them.
“We have found that we are, by and large, the same people. The jokes are the same, and what we found funny as juniors and seniors, we still find funny. We still have a great laugh about them,” Grumbach said. “In some ways, it is like we never left Elon. It really feels that way.”
“I’m not sure how to couch this without sounding sappy, but there’s something truly wonderful about knowing all these people are there for you in such a real way,” Maraghy said. “Whether you want someone to talk you through this weird time we’re living in, or you just want to laugh so hard you start crying, they’re good for it.”