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Sean Hibbard: Experience is Key

Sean Hibbard is an Ada, Oklahoma home native and a 2010 graduate of Gaylord College. He is 23 years old and currently resides in Norman, Oklahoma.

Right out of high school, Hibbard knew that he wanted to go to college for journalism and he knew that he wanted to go to a school that had a good program. After carefully selecting from different choices, Hibbard chose OU because he heard and decided that Gaylord College of Journal and Mass Communication would be the very best place for him to obtain an education.

Hibbard enjoyed his time at Gaylord, in particular the Practicum’s. “It is really important for students to have hands on experience, because in our field, there is only so much you can learn from books and lectures.” He indicated that the experience provided while in Gaylord college was what best equipped him to become a journalist and the Practicum’s did just that; they allowed him to exercise his journalistic muscles rather than just reading about them through a text book.

Hibbard got an internship the last semester of his senior year and he strongly recommends the same to current Gaylord students. “My internship helped me out a lot, especially on my resume.” According to Hibbard, in the media industry, having hands on experience is key. “It is hard to go out into the real world without any experience in your field, so having that helps.” He urges students to take advantage of all the tools provided in the college, to use them to their best ability because these are the things that make journalism students stand out; the tools provided at Gaylord will get you hired.

What’s next for Hibbard? His immediate goals are to find out what is out there and what is available job wise, “I want to make sure I find something that fits into what I want to do, even if I just find something that is a small part of what I want to do, I will do it because hopefully that will lead to my dream job.” Hibbard doesn’t intend to settle for anything less than that.

From Advertising to Stocks and Bonds: The Mark Johnson Story

Mark Johnson is a proud OU alumni, who has spent the last 13 years working as a successful Edward Jones broker. But before his workdays were filled with stocks and bonds, they were full of ads.

Johnson graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1992 with a journalism degree with an emphasis in marketing and advertising. Johnson got a job with Metro Buyers Guide, a direct mailing co. right out of college. He worked in the companies advertising department for two years.

After working in advertising, Johnson decided to make a change and became a broker for Edward Jones in 1997. Although the job does not directly involve journalism and advertising, Johnson says his degree has helped in his current job. “It’s helped me in handling my own advertising and knowing how to write a good ad.”

Mark Johnson in his office.

           

Johnson has advice for Gaylord students who are about to graduate and start their job search. “Make your own careers. Make yourself valuable, have a talent that others need and want", Johnson said. He hopes that students can utilize the tools provided by the journalism college in any field that they decide to go into. "College graduates have many opportunities and many doors to choose from. It is important to take the tools provided and use them to ensure that they are happy with their career choices”, Johnson said.

Today, Mark Johnson feels fulfilled in his career with Edward Jones and hopes to continue there. Although he is happy there, he still values the lessons and tools he learned in the University of Oklahoma’s journalism program and hopes to be able to continue to use them in his chosen career field.

'Blogging for Eltahawy': Activist/Journalist speaks to OU students

Award winning columnist and Muslim/Feminist rights activist Mona Eltahawy spoke to students at the University of Oklahoma on Wednesday. Eltahawy’s presentation was entitled “Blogging for social change.” Its focus was on the effect of social media on an international level.

Eltahawy, an outspoken Muslim who was born in Egypt, believes that blogging, especially in Middle Eastern countries, has the potential to become very powerful. Eltahawy spoke of a particular instance where police beat a young man to death, which brought on a wave of blog posts and Facebook pages speaking out against police brutality. “Facebook is not just for fun. It is an essential tool… Mainstream media is controlled by the state; Facebook is a way to get a message out there.”

The presentation was put on by OU’s Women’s and Gender Studies Center for Social Justice. Stephanie Heck, program coordinator for the Center for Social Justice, was thrilled to have Eltahawy back at OU. “We had her here last year and everyone loved her so much, we knew we had to bring her back,” Heck said.

Eltahawy’s ability to focus in on the real issue while combating ignorance is what attracts her audiences.  This is what attracted the Center for Social Justice to invite her. They know that there is so much to be gained by listening to Eltahawy’s powerful messages. “I love the way she gets her point across without going to extremes and screaming and shouting, saying ‘you have to listen to me or else’, which is a skill we could all use,” Heck Said.

Eltahawy’s “Blogging for social change” is a part of three seminars that she will be putting on here at OU. With the final being this Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Union Board of Regents room. The event will be a Panel discussion entitled “My Islam, My America”, which will discuss Muslim issues and the ‘9/11 Mosque’ controversy.