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Behind the big moments in sports that bring cities, families and friends together are sports media professionals. We caught up with three ����Թ� State alumni who share their advice, favorite moments and how sports have enriched their lives and careers. 

A year after a train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, the consequences are still unfolding, but as national media have moved onto covering other stories, a news gap has emerged. Four ����Թ� State journalism seniors have been filling that gap.

Through actively pursuing opportunities to make connections and market herself, ����Թ� State alumna Grace Petitijean, ’21, has found a fulfilling communication-based career she is passionate about. As a Copywriter for FCB Health New York, part of the IPG Health Network, Grace takes high-science medical content and crafts messages that tailor the information to be understood by the general public, ensuring everyone has equal access to health information.

����Թ� State student Katie Criswell, ’24, is actively engaged in telling the daily stories from Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools classrooms through her communication-focused internship. During the Fall 2023 semester, the Communication Studies major and Honors College student has been to each of the district’s 10 schools, capturing what’s going on and what’s exciting in classrooms. Putting skills she’s learned in her own classes to work, Criswell then takes the content she’s captured and transforms it into social media posts and stories for the district’s Community Connection magazine.

From helping build safer and inclusive communities to opening new lines of communicating and sharing knowledge, technology touches nearly every facet of society. Students in the ����Թ� State School of Emerging Media and Technology are working on the front lines of helping Northeast Ohio organizations solve problems through technology this semester in the capstone class Interdisciplinary Projects.

Each election season, we're all surrounded by more and more political content circulating online. David E. Silva, Ph.D., assistant professor, is studying online conversations and shedding light on how online civility plays a role in building a stronger democracy. 

 Serena Gestring, ‘25, has developed a passion for the role technology plays in the lives of others. “Technology is fascinating to me, and I love that we can use technology to make people’s lives better and also to create things in new and exciting ways,” she said. “What I love about coding and web design specifically is that it allows me to be creative without needing to be traditionally artistic.”

Based on ideas, design and experiential learning, IdeaBase is celebrating 10 years of being powered by ����Թ� students with a showcase of student work from over the years in the gallery on the second floor of the DI Hub through Oct. 26.

At Nationwide Insurance, ����Թ� State alumna McKenna Gammon, ’22, works at the intersection of design, technology and communication as a software engineer.

The technical skills and project management experience she developed as an Emerging Media and Technology major first caught the eye of her employer during her junior year of college.