Scripps Visual Communication students make career connections in NYC and Atlanta

About 30 undergraduate and graduate students from the Ohio University Scripps College of Communication’s School of Visual Communication program spent time building their professional networks in New York City and Atlanta, Ga. last month. Twenty students from the Ohio University Multimedia Society (OUMS) traveled to New York and visited design and photography studios, while about a dozen photojournalism students went to the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar.

“Every semester the Ohio University Multimedia Society travels to cities across the country to meet with creative industry professionals,” said OUMS Co-President Lauren Adams, who is a senior studying visual communication with a minor in marketing. “The purpose of these trips is for students to make connections with company contacts and gain insight for prospective careers.”

The group visited New York City from Nov. 7-11 and split into two networking groups: a photography and video focused group, and a design and multimedia focused group. The design team visited Pentagram Design and Landor. The photography team visited TALS Photography and Joel Goldberg Studios.

“The networking trips are important for fostering professional development and making a strong network between creatives,” said Adams. “It is a great opportunity to learn how to interact in a formal environment and speak with higher-level professionals. Along with that, it’s a chance for creative students at Ohio University to spend time with one another and create bonds.”

School of Visual Communication Professor Sam Girton is the group’s advisor. Students return to Athens from these trips with a new sense of inspiration.

“Many times, we will end up visiting Bobcat alumni who are very enthusiastic about telling their story and provide students with advice. Along with that, we often see how current designers and photographers are adapting to new industry trends and how we can embody that into our current work. For me, the experience has given me a better idea of how to prepare for higher-level conversations with professionals, how to properly make connections, and how to update my online profile to better stand out in the workforce,” said Adams. “We will be planning another networking trip in the next semester as well. Our current plan is to go to Atlanta.”

The other group of students, who just went to Atlanta, connected with several Bobcat alumni. The 2024 Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar took place on Nov. 15-16, marking 52 consecutive years of the longest continuously operating photojournalism conference in America. Visual Communication Professor Gary Kirksey, Visiting Professional Terrance Reimer and Visual Communication Professor Stan Alost attended with the students.

“The students who attended range from freshmen to seniors and graduate students,” said Alost. “Some have been to the conference before, for others it was their first time.”

Three of the speakers at the seminar were Ohio University alumni: Erin Clark, Ann Farrar and Richard Tsong-Taatarii.

Clark, an Ohio University non-degree visual communications graduate program alumnus, is a photojournalist at the Boston Globe where she has worked since 2019. Farrar, who graduated from the College of Fine Arts with a degree in photo communication in 1993, is the senior photo editor at National Geographic Magazine and leads the visual storytelling for environmental and adventure features within the National Geographic ecosystem. Tsong-Taatarii, who has a master’s degree in visual communication and graduated in 2017, is a documentary photographer and a staff photographer at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He was part of a team who won a Pulitzer Prize in breaking news for covering the aftermath of George Floyd's death.