Murrow Days: Thursday, October 6 & Friday, October 7
DAY 1: OCTOBER 6
Connect with Murrow College and WSU Everett leadership, and meet successful Murrow grads! Enjoy free breakfast and lunch, and interact and socialize while learning about life beyond graduation. Professional resume and LinkedIn profile reviews will be available, so bring your most updated content with you!
AGENDA
8:30-9 AM: Meet the Dean
Free Breakfast Bar/Social Meet & Greet
9-10:30 AM: “That Was Then, This Is Now” (Moderated by Dr. Robert Richardson)
Moving into the marketplace after graduation can be an exciting and uncertain time for many students. In this session, former Murrow – Everett students return to campus to share their post-graduation experiences and advice for successfully navigating the path from campus to career.
Speakers:
- Alyssa Gorrell, Communication Specialist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Autrina Martindale, Sr. Regional Leader, Premerica
- Adam Householder, Commercial Strategy Manager, Fluke Corporation
10:45-11:45: AM: Resume critiques
Murrow Career Ready Program Manager- Wendy Wegner
NOON-1 PM: Lunch – Meet & Greet with Murrow Leadership & Staff
Pizza provided by WSU Everett
1:30-2:30 PM: The Path To Success – Words of Advice from Former WSU Everett Student Adam Householder and “Where Can Murrow Take You?” Presentation
Meet former WSU Everett student Adam Householder and learn more about how Murrow College can help jumpstart your career. Director of Student Services Sara Stout will also be on hand to share highlights of the Murrow College experience and what it takes to apply to become a Coug!
2:45-4 PM: “Help! I Need Some-bot-y!” Digital Bootcamp Interactive Workshop (Conducted by Corrie Wilder)
An interactive learning session where students build experiences with an AI assistant while considering various social implications on users (sexism, gender stereotypes, etc.).
4-4:45 PM: Apply for WSU Everett Admission
Ready to apply to Murrow College at WSU Everett? We’ll answer any questions and help you get started!
5-7 PM – Community College Students: Career Ready Experiential Games – and Free Dinner
Students are invited to join Murrow Career Ready Advisor Wendy Wegner for an evening of fun activities and a free dinner! Discover and learn more about career exploration during this two-hour event to wrap up the day.
DAY 2: OCTOBER 7
WJEA is at EvCC and WSU Everett for a day where student journalists—newspaper, yearbook, news broadcast—can hear from media professionals to learn what they do and why they do it.
AGENDA
9-3 p.m. – EvCC Whitehorse Hall Lobby (table located near room 249): Murrow College Promo Table
Learn more about Murrow College at our booth and meet Murrow Career Ready Advisor Wendy Wegner and our advisor Nannette McGrath.
9-11 am at WSU Everett Room 101: Digital Bootcamp: Backpack Journalism
Take your storytelling to the next level and learn the basics of “backpack journalism” in this special two-hour workshop led by veteran reporter Vanessa McVay.
1:30-3 pm : WSU Everett Campus Tours – Meet at Whitehorse Hall Lobby at EvCC
Learn more about WSU Everett, a new option for community college students seeking to advance their communication and media careers. Join us for a guided tour of the all-new facilities across the street from Everett Community College. Meet at the Murrow College promo table in Whitehorse Hall to join a tour!
Brett Atwood: On the comeback of Murrow Day
Murrow Day – an educational and social event for communication students – is set for Thursday, Oct. 6, 8:30 a.m. The daylong event organized by Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at WSU Everett resumes for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a recent interview, Brett Atwood, the founding faculty member of Murrow College at WSU Everett, talked about what the post-pandemic Murrow Day looks like and the continuing attempt to elevate the visibility of Murrow EverCougs and prepare students for college-to-workplace transition.
Q: What is unique about Murrow Day?
A: Prior to the pandemic, Murrow Day was known as Communication Day. It is a day of workshops and panel discussions through which current students get to meet successful alumni. It’s a great way for students to network with those who have been through the same journey as they are and know the good and the bad of what that journey looks like. It also opens the doors for students to connect with potential mentors and get leads on potential job opportunities.
In the morning, the focus will be on current students; the afternoon focuses on prospective students from regional community colleges. We have invited several community college faculty members and academic advisors to join in Murrow Day.
Murrow Day has been a tradition since 2015. But the pandemic happened, and everything halted for a couple of years. This will be the first in-person activity that Murrow College at WSU Everett will host since the pandemic, and I am honestly nervous about it. I expect it will be a lighter attendance than it was before. But it will still be exciting as we will have people coming back on campus for the very first time.
Q: WSU has invested a lot in STEM programs at the Everett campus. While that clearly meets a growing need, many Murrow students, such as myself, might feel underrepresented. Would you say that’s part of the reasons why Murrow Day is necessary?
A: Absolutely. Murrow Day is, first of all, for people to learn that WSU Everett is even here. We are the newest campus in the entire WSU system and events like Murrow Day help spread the word about WSU Everett. And then, internally, Murrow Day helps enhance the visibility of Murrow students on campus. Members of WSU Everett leadership will be there to learn more about our communication students, who may not be the largest percentage of the student population but serve a significant portion of it. While it is true that most of our programs are engineering and science-driven, there are a lot of interdisciplinary projects going on, such as the Boeing Scholar program in which communication students learn to become STEM storytellers building a bridge between science and society. There are abundant STEM-meet-Communication career paths in this region. Two of our Murrow Day alumni panelists, Alyssa Gorrell and Adam Householder, are communication specialists for two STEM companies, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Fluke Corporation.
Q: WSU Everett serves a unique student body. Most EverCougs are transfer students, have a job, or have children. How has this impacted the way Murrow College organizes Murrow Day?
A: I never want to oversimplify or put a label on our students, but there are definitely some differences between the primary student demographic on this campus versus that of the Pullman campus. Many Murrow students here are older and have more diverse life circumstances. WSU Everett only serves transfer students who are in their third and fourth years of college and getting closer to graduation. That’s why we have a session on Murrow Day called “This Was Then, This Is Now,” in which three former WSU Everett Murrow students share with the graduate-to-be what it was like to launch a career after their degree. One of them even graduated in the midst of the pandemic, and all three have gone on to successful careers. They are at different levels in their careers, which helps give students an understanding of what the possibilities are or aspirations can be.
Q: What other future plans does Murrow College at WSU Everett have that students can look forward to?
A: I think we are still looking at what the post-pandemic world is going to look like. We are still in the transition stage and trying to learn about what the students want and expect from online availability and in-person availability. Murrow College will basically serve the students where they are.
Q: Is there anything I should have asked but didn’t?
A: Personally, I am just excited to get the word out for Murrow Day and know that we are doing something for the students. There will be free breakfast and lunch, and you cannot really beat that… (laugh).