Celebrating All Things Mass Media.
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Former Mass Media Student Dwane Simmons Honored with Posthumous Degree
Story by Emma Palasak and Emma Wittmer. Photo by Peggy Clark of the Simmons’ family accepting degree with President Jerry Farley and Vice President Julie Mazachek.
Caps and gowns gathered on a cold December weekend while Washburn University Ichabods walked in front of their families, friends and faculty and received their well-earned degrees. The crowd echoed cheers for each student, much like the ones heard in Yager Stadium during football games, and for former athlete and mass media student Dwane Simmons, his family assembled on stage to be awarded his degree posthumously by university administrators.
Both the university administrators and the mass media department decided to award a posthumous degree to Simmons following his tragic death in April 2019, after careful consideration for how they could best honor Simmons’ family.
“The student has to be in good standing for a posthumous degree, as well as a senior who is close to graduation; Dwane met all the criteria,” Stover said. “The request started with mass media, but had to be approved by our dean, the vice president of academic affairs and then Washburn’s board of regents.”
Simmons was a well-known student athlete, and he had completed most of his academic career in public relations before he was murdered last spring. When heartbreak like this occurs, Washburn faculty considers how best to remember and honor the student who was lost and over the summer, the mass media department informed Simmons’ family that his Bachelor of Arts degree in mass media would be awarded to them in his honor at winter commencement.
“Dwane always brought positive energy where he was, be it on the field or in the classroom,” said Nigel Burgess, one of Simmons’ football teammates and a fellow mass media major. “He would make you laugh on a daily basis.”
Mass media senior lecturer Regina Cassell recalls several interactions with Dwane after having him as a student in her Media Bootcamp course.
“He was in my class just after the semester he had one of his surgeries,” Cassell said. “He had a lot on his plate, but always had the same smile and charismatic personality. He worked hard, and it showed that he worked hard.”
Cassell remembered Simmons’s positive energy and him “stealing the show” at the Yell like Hell dance competition event when he competed with the Black Student Union.
“Anytime you award a degree in this way, it’s bittersweet,” Cassell said. “We want to honor Dwane and all he accomplished; it’s just so upsetting that we won’t be able to see his future.”
Cassell also spoke about the positivity that Simmons brought to every class, including his desire to encourage other athletes. Even after tearing his ACL twice, Dwane was able to motivate other athletes to accept the challenges thrown their way and conquer them. He was an example of that himself.
“Awarding the posthumous degree during commencement is yet another way for us to pause and remember him,” Stover said. “And he deserves that honor for all his hard work and what he contributed to mass media and to Washburn.”
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Mass Media Alumni Survey
Help us learn what skills are important for mass media students to graduate with by taking this short survey. Your answers will be used as we update our mass media curriculum so that we ensure our graduates are the most prepared for the workplace.
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Calling all Filmmakers
The 2020 WIFI Film Festival is accepting film submissions from amateur and professional filmmakers across the globe for a variety of categories. All films submitted will be considered for awards and we’re passionate about having our alumni filmmakers represented.
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Get in Touch with Mass Media
We love hearing from our alumni so email us story ideas about your life successes for our publications and let us celebrate with you!
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Story by Breckyn Rowley
As a Topeka native with big dreams of making it into the radio industry, Dan Bennett started his path to becoming Cumulus Media’s Regional Vice President of Dallas and Houston at Washburn University.
Bennett attended Washburn in the fall of 1972 and majored in communications. For three of his four years in college, he balanced his full-time course load with a full-time job at WREN radio.
Looking back now on this time in his life, Bennett believes that the method of learning and then applying his education heavily contributed to his success.
“I broke into the radio industry at age 16, but what Washburn did was give me the opportunity to learn some great things at school and then use them on the job training,” Bennett said.
Additionally, with a full schedule between work and school, Bennett learned how to prioritize his time, and stay more organized, a skill he says is still crucial in his daily life.
After graduating from Washburn in 1976 and spending some time in the Topeka radio market, Bennett and his wife decided to jump into Dallas’s major market. While his wife was offered a full-time job, he was only guaranteed a part-time position. Regardless of the uncertainty, they decided to take the chance.
“I had to give up being a big fish in a small pond, and go to a top ten market,” Bennett said. “It was a big adjustment, but when you go and work around some of the most talented people in the market, it helps you get better.”
Bennett encourages current college students and recent graduates to keep an open mind when it comes to a job search and to always be open to jobs that didn’t meet your xpectations.
“A job is a job, and breaking into the industry is breaking into the industry,” Bennett said. “You should not limit yourself.”
As he watches Washburn from afar these days, Bennett is proud to say he is a Washburn alumnus. He is proud of the programs Washburn has in place and its graduates.
“You can get there from here,” Bennett said, referring to his highly successful career in radio. “I run the biggest radio market that Cumulus has, and I graduated from Washburn and I got a really good education. I got here from there and you can do the same thing.”
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Mass Media Celebrates Homecoming Tailgate with Monster Mash
Story by Kassadee Clark and Nikki Kraaijeveld
The Department of Mass Media celebrated Washburn University’s 154th Homecoming football game with a Halloween-themed tailgate party on Saturday, Oct. 26. Alumni, faculty, staff, students, prospective students, friends, and family all gathered for the Monster Mash hosted by mass media’s advertising professor Andrew Anglin.
Anglin and his class, Sports Branding and Promotion, set up the tailgate tent on the Memorial Union lawn.
Anglin first started mass media tailgates in 2018 at Washburn after being a student at major universities in the south where he was very involved in school spirit.
“For us to come together to network with alumni, to get to know professors, faculty and staff outside of the classroom, and really just build that emotional connection with the university, is really important,” Anglin said.
When it comes to Anglin’s primary objective for the tailgates, he said, “[it’s] just to provide a way for students to connect with each other, wind down a little bit, take a break from their studies, and network with alumni who come back for the university.”
The mass media homecoming tailgate allows for alumni, families and students to celebrate their Ichabod pride and meet new people before cheering on the Bods during the football game.
“Last year, I helped host the mass media homecoming tailgate so this year I was really interested to see the tradition continue and reconnect with old friends,” said Dustin Wallace, a May 2019 graduate.
Even the Bods from abroad had a chance to celebrate starting with the homecoming game.
“I loved trying apple cider for the first time, although it was really sweet, but it was fun to try more American food,” said Eriko Hiranoi, a film and video senior from Japan.
For some, the connection to the mass media tailgates didn’t start until recently.
“I enjoyed being able to reconnect with mass media faculty and stay in touch with the field,” said Michelle Hodges, a 2014 graduate.
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The Mass Media Alumni Newsletter is managed by The Department of Mass Media at Washburn University. Content for the newsletter is reported and designed by the Public Relations students.
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