The College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus, hosted its second Communication Day March 29, kicked off by keynote speaker Roz Plater, a news anchor for WTTG DC, Fox 5.
The Communication Day provided area high school and college students the opportunity to learn about the communication field and to explore related courses offered at CSM.
The theme Communication in the Global Age resonated in presentations and discussions throughout the day. Students heard from professionals working in the communication field, attended sample college classes in the communication discipline, toured the new TV production studio, and participated in a public speaking competition.
Eric Millham, a TV/video production instructor at the Forrest Technology Center, in Leonardtown, returned this year with a group of students in the television/video product program offered at the center.
Millham said the students, several who attended Communication Day last year, looked forward to a private tour of the new TV production studio, which was just a room then. He said the tour gives students the opportunity to see a real working studio.
Roz Plater a Washington, D.C., reporter and Calvert County, Md., native gave the opening keynote address. In her address Plater shared with students that international interest in what is happening in the U.S. offers more media outlets to work in, the impact that technology has had on how information is received from the media, and the importance of networking.
“Always do your best your first time at bat, and every time at bat,” said Plater. “You never know who may be watching or listening and where that may take you in life.”
Plater offered advice to students interested in a career in the communication field. She encouraged students to never stop learning.
During the professional panel discussion panelists were also asked what advice they would give to someone considering the communication field given the diverse global society we live in. All four panelists emphasized the importance of learning another language and embracing other cultures and encouraged students to join a professional group for networking.
Alan Lifton, a panelist with more than 40 years of experience in the television and higher education fields, responded by saying, “Explore and enjoy the world around you and embrace change.”
Lifton encouraged students to follow their heart, be passionate about what they enjoy doing and to go into journalism because they are interested in it.
The Communication Day closed with a public speaking competition by CSM students. The three students participating presented on the issues of pet adoption, social media and interpersonal communication. Sofiya Schug, who was born in Russia and speaks English as a second language, closed her presentation on interpersonal communication with a song.
Schug joked that to make up for her struggle with giving her presentation in English she would sing a beautiful piece in Italian, one of the five languages she can sing in. Schug said that she hoped that she was able to express that there is more to a person than their accent by singing for the audience.
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Stephanie Davis is a student at CSM and wrote this story as part of the Introduction to Media Writing course.