Ask any School of Journalism and Communications (SOJC) student you see in Allen Hall what their favorite moment in the J-school has been, and chances are it will take them a while to narrow it down to just one. That’s because the years spent in the SOJC program are filled with collaborative and creative opportunities for students in each major.
As a journalism major, my best advice for incoming students unsure of their place at the University of Oregon (UO) is to check out the SOJC. My time as a “super-j” major – a nickname in Allen Hall for anyone who chooses the journalism concentration – provided me with countless opportunities to grow as both a journalist and a person. I’ve had incredible professors, engaging classmates and countless memorable moments. From my first days sitting in a sea of other SOJC students in lecture halls, to now seeing familiar faces around Allen Hall and having lively discussions in my smaller classes, each moment has contributed something special to where I am today. As I wrap up my final term at UO, I decided to ask a few of my fellow SOJC students to tell me about one of their favorite memories from their time in the J-school.
Cam Brown finds her home in the SOJC through Media Professions course
Whether you’re an aspiring advertising, public relations, journalism or media studies major, your first stop will be J100. Aptly titled Media Professions, it’s a course designed to show you the many career paths the SOJC will prepare you for. It’s also one of the most entertaining SOJC courses – featuring a lineup of the most fascinating and engaging guest speakers – and one that will likely leave you ready to join the J-school.
For Cam Brown, that’s exactly what happened.
“You get so many different, unique perspectives about what it’s like going into the J-school here and what it’s like going into journalism, and that really intrigued me,” she said, thinking back on the class.
She remembers a day sitting with her friends in Columbia 150, a 400-person lecture hall that every freshman will undoubtably experience, and hearing from a student group called Combined Culture. Their mission as a collective was to create brand campaigns that inspired others to make a positive impact in their communities. Brown remembers they brought something to their presentation that is sacred to UO students: Yerba Mates. They handed out the canned energy drinks to anyone willing to answer questions during the class.
“They kind of spoke to our generation in a way that we could really identify with,” Brown said. “I got hooked. I was so excited.”
Following J100, Brown applied to be a journalism major and has since focused on sports journalism, reporting on games for UO men’s tennis, women’s basketball and women’s lacrosse. She plans to pursue a career in television sports in the future.
Kaeleigh James breaks out with a feature in student publication Align Magazine
One of the biggest benefits to being an SOJC student is the endless number of ways to get involved with your peers, professors and even professionals outside the university. Chances are you can find a student group or publication that matches your personal interests. For Kaeleigh James, that was fashion.
She found her home at Align Magazine. While not directly affiliated with the SOJC, the magazine’s staff is filled with majors from all areas of the J-school. It’s a publication where “fashion meets lifestyle,” and the mission is to provide a creative community for UO students where they can showcase their own fashion and lifestyles.
James found the magazine her freshman year and had her first big breakthrough as a writer. Her story, “The French ‘It’ Girl,” was all about embodying the persona of the French “it” girl, commonly characterized with a red lip and beret, cappuccino in hand, and a love for books and baguettes — in James’s words, “the balance between modest and bold.”
James got to collaborate with a handful of other SOJC students in the process. She met up with her art director and photographer, and two other SOJC students for a photoshoot at a local market. It was her first time being on set with models and a team, an experience she still remembers fondly. Taking her skills learned in Writing for Communicators with Charlie Butler, James produced her first piece for Align.
Some of James’s favorite memories are meeting with her design team in the Allen Hall computer labs picking out cover art, assembling pages and creating the table of contents. Four years later and in her final term of the advertising program, James is the editor in chief of Align.
A Creative Strategy campaign ignites Jenna Curro-Edelman’s love of advertising
Jenna Curro-Edelman came to UO unsure of her path. She started in the business school but quickly realized one important detail: math was not for her. She enrolled in the J100 Media Professions class, hoping to get a sense of what four years in the SOJC would teach her. Throughout the lineup of guest speakers, those that talked about advertising resonated with her the most.
She enrolled in the first course in the advertising sequence called The Creative Strategist. Working as a student ambassador in her third year at UO, she now tells prospective students it’s like a “media professions part two, where you can have more of a centered focus into ad specifically.”
In the class, students work in groups to create their own ad campaigns. Curro-Edelman says that professor and Associate Undergraduate Dean Deb Morrison introduced them to different roles, likening it to “finding your seat at the table.” That might be as an art director, strategist, creative director or copywriter – whatever plays to your strengths the best.
Curro-Edelman and her group developed a campaign called the “Love Your Look” line. It was designed with the idea of being a partnership brands could join to show they are on board with an initiative that promotes size inclusivity, not stealing ideas from smaller brands and being conscious of the designs they put on their clothing.
“We thought about it as that verified check on Instagram or something that can notify a user, ‘Like, oh, they have been vetted and it’s clear they’re working on this initiative,’” Curro-Edelman said. “And brands that don’t have it, it’s noticeable.”
They also created a toolkit with ideas on how to be a better brand, which influencers to partner with and predesigned social media campaigns brands could use. It was this project that solidified Curro-Edelman’s decision to stay in the advertising program.
“I knew that was a space I felt comfortable allowing myself to grow in,” she said.
Since her freshman year, Curro-Edelman has been involved with Women in Business on campus, a space that she now brings her advertising expertise to make their campaigns creative and experiential. She hopes to enter the live event space after graduating in 2023, focusing on brand activation, experiential marketing and getting people excited to attend events.
—By Haley Landis ’22
Haley Landis is a third-year journalism student from Portland, Oregon. She has a passion for writing and is driven by her desire to meet new people and learn about new and challenging topics. She strives to engage an audience through compelling storytelling across a variety of subjects.