School of Communications

Forget about orientation. Forget about easing into an internship. Lauren Murphy didn't dip in a toe to test the waters. Instead, she was thrust shoulders deep into her internship with MTV in Los Angeles: She had to work the MTV Movie Awards.

Three weeks in, and she's already been christened with a nickname. Her bosses call her Flash because she finishes her assigned tasks so much faster than they anticipate. But the name is perhaps more appropriate because of the multimedia training she is receiving on the job.

The Elon in Los Angeles program, a nine-week experience during which students live and intern in L.A., started its second year May 30 with a more ambitious structure and more enthusiasm from the students.

Mike Feldman wants to be the next Mel Kiper Jr. Feldman already studies the NFL draft and the college football players likely to be selected by professional teams every year. He already has experience on and behind the camera. And he already has a love of sports broadcasting. Seems like the only thing he's missing is a replication of Kiper's patented black, slicked back pompadour. But, hey, there's still time for that.

Being part of the Elon in Los Angeles program means learning, living and interning in L.A. It also means making a 2,500-mile, three-time-zone trek from Elon, N.C., to southern California. And that has the potential of breeding disconnectedness between the 28 students in the second year of the program and their friends, families and professors back east.

They form a circle and stand basically motionless, and she tells them that stillness doesn't mean nothingness. She gives a gentle push to their midsections and their backs to make sure they're balanced. Then she tells them to run and stop and run again, all as one, as an ensemble. And she's always slicing through the silence with lessons that should teach them about themselves, about how to react--about how to act.

Alumni Colleen Callahan '09 and Carolyn Klasnick '09 won the GLEE Photobucket Show Us Your Gold Star Potential contest administered by Photobucket, a Web site where users can upload their photos and videos, and sponsored by the Fox primetime comedy series "Glee." Their prize includes a trip to Los Angeles, attendance to the Teen Choice Awards and after-party, and $500.

Tony Weaver, an assistant professor in the Department of Leisure and Sport Management, wrote a July 9 summary for the UltimateSportsInsider.com titled “Diversifying donor bases - A review of the research.” Weaver will be a frequent contributor to the Ultimate Sports Insider web site as the site has added a new section relating academic research to current issues in college athletics.

Michelle Ferrier, an associate professor in the School of Communications, was awarded a $10,000 grant from the McCormick Foundation New Media Women Entrepreneurs initiative for her proposal of a Women's Community News Franchise.

Ken Calhoun, assistant professor in the School of Communications, has published a short story in the summer issue of The Paris Review, which is now available in bookstores.