WOUB Student Staff Support Fund helps three students gain professional experience

Three Ohio University students, Alison Patton, Jamey Spears and Shane Scalfaro, are being paid to work at WOUB through the Neil Mahrer and Sonia Franceski WOUB Student Staff Support Fund this school year to help further develop their professional media skills.

Patton, an Ohio University senior, is from Zanesville, Ohio and has volunteered at WOUB for more than a year. She is a journalism news and information major and most frequently reports and anchors for WOUB TV’s nightly news program, NewsWatch. She also reports for WOUB radio and writes articles for WOUB’s website. Patton enjoys talking to people with different backgrounds and learning how to improve her visual storytelling through broadcasting.

“The Neil Mahrer Fund is truly a blessing,” said Patton. “As a first-generation college student, I didn’t know much about what it took to go to college, especially when it comes to funding. I have racked up quite a bit of student loan debt, and I can’t roll my rent expenses into that. So, I needed a job to make rent. For a while I had an on-campus job driving an Ohio University Parking and Transportation bus, on top of my responsibilities at WOUB. It was really stressful. Now, I get to further my job skills and earn money for rent. I spend almost my whole day in the newsroom, and I love it.”

Spears, an Ohio University sophomore, is from Cincinnati and has also been volunteering for WOUB for more than a year. He reports for WOUB TV’s high school sports programs, Gridiron Glory and Hardwood Heroes, and is studying journalism news and information with a minor in sports management. Spears’ favorite part of his job at WOUB is being surrounded by sports media all day and training to become great in his field.

“The Neil Mahrer Fund has helped me to focus all my efforts on WOUB and get paid,” said Spears. “I get to focus on my time with WOUB instead of getting a job off-campus and get to learn from everyone at WOUB what it means to be great at something.”

Scalfaro, an Ohio University senior, is from Findlay, Ohio and is a journalism news and information major. He has worked at WOUB for four years now. Scalfaro also reports for Gridiron Glory and Hardwood Heroes, and works on two WOUB sports podcasts. His favorite part of the job is working with talented people that he can learn from while getting to cover stories from many different communities in Athens and surrounding areas.

“The Neil Mahrer Fund has allowed me to put more time and effort into the things I do at WOUB,” said Scalfaro. “Before, I was splitting time between a job and WOUB, and oftentimes would miss WOUB meetings or have to get out of work for WOUB events. I felt like I was progressing slower in my profession. I feel like I have taken a massive jump forward since receiving the funding, and it's thanks to having more time to work at my profession and grow with WOUB.”

The Neil Mahrer and Sonia Franceski WOUB Student Staff Support Fund provides year-round support, in the form of wages and benefits, for students employed by WOUB Public Media.  Mahrer, who is a former PBS executive, worked at WOUB while he was a student at Ohio University to hone his broadcasting skills and learn about the media industry. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts focused on general speech, TV/Radio and Theatre. Mahrer had a very successful career after leaving Athens, serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer at PBS during his 17-year tenure with the organization. Mahrer has also held positions at some of the nation’s premier NPR and PBS stations, including WETA, WQED, WVIZ, WMHT, WJCT and WBAA. Both Mahrer and his wife, Franceski, believe in the value of public broadcasting, today and in the future.

If you’d like to support tomorrow’s media professionals today, you can donate now to the Neil Mahrer and Sonia Franceski WOUB Student Staff Support Fund as part of the #WOUBProud Giving Tuesday Campaign at https://bit.ly/WOUB.

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