Comm Week 2023 Event Schedule
Monday, April 24
10:00am - 1:00 pm PDT
Communication Device Comparisons & Exploration: Meet the Vendors
This event features aided AAC speech-generating devices, with representatives from Tobii Dynavox, Lingraphica, and PRC-Saltillo. Students will have the chance to explore these devices and engage in comparing the unique features of each of these devices to see which device would best suit the unique needs of different individuals based on a variety of factors such as age and physical ability. These speech output/assistive technology devices are designed for people who cannot speak due to various disabilities.
Speakers: Charles Dixon, Jorge Jacobo, Caitlin Mueller, Emily Cunningham, Alexandra Thompson-Flanick
Hosted By: The AAC Club
Board Advisor: Professor Lisa Erwin-Davidson
Location: Ontiveros ABC
1:00pm - 2:00pm PST
Breaking Into The Sports Industry: Los Angeles Lakers Interns to Full-Time Employees
Join Lakers employees as they share their journey from interns to full time employees and what it takes to succeed in the competitive, fast-paced world of sports. They will speak about their current roles, answer questions and offer advice to those looking to break into the sports industry.
Speakers: Jose Ledesma, Madison Fessia, Thomas Dunne
Hosted By: Professor Henry Puente
Location: Titan Theater
1:00pm - 2:15pm PST
Producing Compelling Long-Form Dateline Stories
Coming from NBC’s acclaimed show Dateline, learn from two industry professionals that have been working on the show as producers as they speak about the challenges and rewards of producing long-form storytelling. Many of the stories they have produced focus on crime in California.
Speaker will be presenting via Zoom.
Speaker: Ann Preisman
Hosted By: Professor Gayle Brisbane
Location: Alvarado B
2:00pm - 3:00pm PST
Podcast Editing Workshop
Come learn the basics of podcast editing with Titan Radio! Bring device with Adobe Audition installed and follow along as Titan Radio demonstrates how our shows are edited.
Speaker: Cameron Macedonio
Location: Bradford AB
2:30pm - 3:30pm PST
Securing Your First Communications/ Public Relations Position; What Employers are Looking for in Candidates and How to Find the Best Culture Fit for You
Join Heather McLaughlin and Taylor Byers for an informative session on kickstarting your career in PR! Their presentation will be packed with valuable insights to help you thrive in this dynamic field. Discover exciting new prospects in the world of PR and leave feeling inspired and ready to take on the challenge.
Speakers: Heather McLaughlin, Taylor Byers
Hosted By: Professor Cylor Spaulding
Location: Hetebrink AB
4:00pm - 5:30pm PST
From COMM Student to COMM Professional: Exploring Public Relations Careers
Explore the comprehensive public relations field with our panel of professionals, all of whom are alumni of Cal State Fullerton’s Department of Communications. Not sure what PR is? We’ll try to define it. Wondering what sorts of opportunities are available in the PR world? Come over and discover a variety of PR-oriented careers. Get motivated and inspired with our career-centric discussion.
Speakers: Brooke Schlesinger, Darlene Vasquez, Emma Rose Rowell, Nina Nasr, Yuridia Perez
Hosted By: Professor Waleed Rashidi
Location: Titan Theater
5:00pm - 6:30pm PST
Modernizing Journalism
Opportunity for journalism students to learn more about the ever-changing journalism industry, through guest speakers who have worked for networks like NPR, Politico, and the LA Times. Although speakers will be on Zoom, guest speakers will also get the opportunity to interact with students through questions and answers. Hosted by AAJA and NAHJ, members of these organizations will also get the chance to network and learn from industry professionals.
Speakers will be presenting via Zoom.
Speakers: Steve Padilla, Nicholas Wu, Anh Nguyen Gray
Hosted By: Professor Penchan Phoborisut
Location: Tuffree AB
7:00pm - 8:30pm PST
Black Success in Entertainment Communications
This panel will highlight Black leaders in the entertainment industry. Panelists Leshelle Sargent, publicity principal at Amazon Studios; Krandall Brantley, editor at Fox Sports Radio; Jonathan Landrum, Jr., entertainment writer and producer at the Associated Press, Chrystina Woody Train, executive vice president and general manager at Buckshot Marketing, and Ahmadou Seck, vice president of scripted television at MACRO, will share insights about their experience working in publicity, journalism, marketing, and production. The event will be moderated by National Association of Black Journalists-CSUF president Endika McCauley and food will be provided. Please join us for this collaborative Comm Week event with the Department of Communication's Black CommUnity program and NABJ-CSUF.
Speakers: Jonathan Landrum, Jr., Krandall Brantley, Chrystina Woody Train, Leshelle Sargent, Ahmadou Seck
Hosted By: Professor Miya Williams Fayne
Location: Alvarado AB
7:00pm - 9:00pm PST
ETC Annual Mixer
Annual Mixer, taking place April 24th, is ETC's biggest event of the year. We have around 30+ professionals from different parts of the entertainment & tourism industries. During this event, students get to network with them for the entire time while enjoying food and entertainment. People can stick to one professional or mingle around and get to meet anyone they would like to speak to. This is a ticketed event.
Hosted By: Professor Waleed Rashidi
Location: Fullerton Arboretum
7:00pm - 9:00pm PST
Investigative Reporting, From Finding the Story to Bringing it Home
Investigative reporting is one of the hardest, most expensive jobs for a news organization. We'll talk about getting the story, sourcing, interviewing and writing. We'll look at one story, "What happened to Jack?" that used feature writing to drive the narrative.
Speaker: Tony Saavedra
Hosted By: Professor Anne La Jeunesse
Location: Hetebrink AB
TUESDAy, April 25
12:00pm - 1:00pm PST
US Bank Presents a Film Pre-Screening
U.S. Bank will award a grant for $5,000 to the Latino Communications Institute during the film pre-screening. A slice of life film that sheds light on three remarkable first-generation children who translate adult life for their families. And the incredible bond between these kids and their families. U.S. Bank partnered with Emmy-award-winning filmmaker Rudy Valdez to tell the story of 3 child translators helping their families navigate daily life through language.
Free lunch will be provided for the first 140 attendees.
Speakers: Joe Hensley, Carlos Tornell, Ramiro Padilla Klein
Hosted By: Professor Ricardo Valencia and the College of Communications
Location: Titan Theater
1:30pm - 4:30pm PST
Diversity and Content Creation in the Major League Baseball
Sanchez will discuss the challenges and opportunities that the MLB content department faces to make its newsroom more diverse.
Speaker: Jesse Sanchez
Hosted By: Professor Ricardo Valencia
Location: Hetebrink AB
4:00pm - 5:15pm PST
Life After College
Whether employed or not upon completing their college degree, many undergraduates experience a significant “culture shock” while transitioning from student to professional life. In Life After College: Ten Steps to Build a Life You Love, author and communications scholar Betsy Hays shows soon-to-be college graduates what they can do to successfully transition into this new stage of their lives. Focusing on more than just success in the workplace, Hays offers ten easy-to-follow strategies and practical advice for all points of life—from time management at home and at work, to making friends in a new city, to budgeting. Life After College will help any soon-to-graduate Communications student build a fulfilling life—in and out of the office. There is so much more to being happy and healthy post-college than getting a job, and anyone looking to successfully adjust to life beyond college needs to know about Life After College.
Speaker will be presenting via Zoom.
Speaker: Betsy Hays
Hosted By: Professor Douglas Swanson
Location: Tuffree AB
4:00pm - 5:30pm PST
From Linear to Digital: Sports in the 21st Century
This panel will address both linear and digital sports programming and media content. Through Matthew Demeke's digital experience working with iHeartRadio for the LA Sports radio station, Samanaz Kapadia's experience as a Senior Director with FOX Sports, and with Chris Hayre's experience in sports anchoring and news reporting with KCAL News, attendees will gain insight into the industrial media complex that is broadcast sports.
Speakers: Matthew Demeke, Samanaz Kapadia, Chris Hayre
Hosted By: Professor Martina Baldwin
Location: Alvarado AB
4:30pm - 6:30pm PST
Intercollegiate Forensics: Showcase
The speech and debate team will present speeches of personal identity, interpretation events, platform speeches, and a public debate (topic will be released later).
Speaker: Erika Thomas
Hosted By: Professor Erika Thomas
Location: Ontiveros ABC
7:00pm - 8:00pm PST
Graduate School: Right Away, Wait Awhile, Mid-Career, or?
This session brings together a small panel to discuss the options undergraduates face when they think about possibly going on to graduate school. There are pros and cons for each option- whether an undergraduate continues to graduate school right away, waits a while, or goes back for an advanced degree later in their career. The panel members will share their opinions and experiences. There will also be a discussion of how COMM students in particular select the ‘right’ graduate degree. Is it a Master’s in COMM, an MBA, or something else? Will it be in person or online? Attendees should come away with a greater understanding of the many options involved when considering graduate school.
Speakers: Andi Stein, Gloria Rodriguez, MaryAnne Curry-Shults, Jess Nerren
Hosted By: Professor Douglas Swanson
Location: Alvarado AB
7:00 pm - 8:00pm PST
Building Relationships in Media
This will be a discussion of how important it is to build and maintain strong connections with sources and colleagues in media. It is vital to network and never burn a bridge.
Speaker: Kristle Adler
Hosted By: Professor Robert van Riel
Location: Hetebrink AB
7:00pm - 8:00pm PST
The Secrets to Becoming a Successful Travel Writer
Discover the elements of great travel writing. Find out how to research story ideas, get invited to press trips, and learn how to pitch editors and get published.
Speaker will be presenting via Zoom.
Speaker: Rachel Ng
Hosted By: Professor Holly Ocasio Rizzo
Location: Tuffree AB
WEDNESDAY, April 26
9:45am - 12:10pm PST
Why Journalism Still Matters
How to filter out the noise and tell the truth in the era of "fake news." Scott will share stories from 40 years in journalism and discuss why reporting the news accurately and fairly still matters.
Session 1: 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Session 2: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Speaker: Scott Schwebke
Hosted By: Professor MaryAnne Shults
Location: Tuffree AB
11:00am - 12:00pm PST
Rocket Science Meets Advertising
Learn about how Envoy developed the creative advertising campaigns to support the launch of Viasat’s new satellites bringing high-powered, reliable satellite internet to rural America.
Speaker: Kristina Wade
Hosted By: Professor Michelle Kurland
Location: Hetebrink AB
1:00pm - 2:00pm PST
Steal My Job: How I Got My Start as a Theme Park Creative, and How You Can Too!
Matthew Lindblad has worked as a professional monster, cinematographer, and entertainment designer at Knott's Berry Farm for over 13 years. In this lecture, he will discuss how he got his start in creative communications and marketing for theme parks, and provide insights for students to begin their own journey into professional storytelling. He'll also give you a behind-the-scenes look at life on set and share how saving 7 people's lives made him want to go back to college. You don't want to miss it!
Speaker: Matthew Lindblad
Hosted By: Professor Henry Puente
Location: Titan Theater
1:00pm - 3:30pm PST
AdCon
AdCon will be an all-day experience to connect communications students to a specific industry: entertainment. AdCon 2023 will be themed around entertainment marketing and feature speakers working at renowned agencies and media companies. The goal of AdCon 2023 is to introduce students to this fun area of marketing and advertising while providing specific examples of project case studies.
Speaker: Aaron Rivera
Hosted By: Professor Carolyn Coal
Location: Pavillion C
4:00pm - 5:00pm PST
How to Get Started in the News Industry
How to get started into the news business and share stories of how other colleagues got started in the industry. This will allow students to understand how to step into the industry, and how to speak as news anchors and reporters.
Speaker: Cody Gion
Hosted By: Professor Penchan Phoborisut
Location: Alvarado B
4:00pm - 5:15pm PST
Communicating Mindfully for Yourself, Your Career, and Your World
Mindfulness is a meaningful life- and workplace strategy that communications students need to know about. Mindfully engaging with your personal and professional experiences can lessen stress and anxiety and help create deep personal satisfaction with life ‘in the here and now.’ Many people have heard of mindfulness, and at least 14% of Americans have reported engaging in mindfulness practice. Author and teacher Dr. Gail Stearns is an expert in this area. She is author of the new book, “Liberating Mindfulness: From Billion-Dollar Industry to Engaged Spirituality” in which she discusses the benefits of mindfulness as well as the many misconceptions about it. Dr. Stearns will discuss some of the ways in which mindfulness meditation has been coopted in Western culture as a tool for individualism and consumerism. She will invite us into a deeper understanding of mindfulness and its potential for individual and collective liberation in a world that desperately needs new ways of thinking about age-old problems.
Speaker: Gail Stearns
Hosted By:Professor Douglas Swanson
Location: Hetebrink AB
4:00pm - 5:15pm PST
Let's Talk About Sex, Part Deux
The second annual Let's Talk About Sex workshop will explore the ins-and-outs of human sexuality and sexual communication from a college student's perspective. Participants can ask questions about XXX topics including pornography use, sexual health, LGBTQ issues, online dating, and more. Civility and tolerance for others is expected at this session.
Speaker: Chelsea Reynolds
Hosted By: Professor Tara Suwinyattichaiporn
Location: Tuffree AB
4:00pm - 6:30pm PST
AdCon
AdCon will be an all-day experience to connect communications students to a specific industry: entertainment. AdCon 2023 will be themed around entertainment marketing and feature speakers working at renowned agencies and media companies. The goal of AdCon 2023 is to introduce students to this fun area of marketing and advertising while providing specific examples of project case studies.
Speakers: Michael Huang, Mike Limón
Hosted By: Professor Carolyn Coal
Location: Pavillion C
6:00pm - 8:45pm PST
Working with AAC Users from Dual Language and Culturally Diverse Backgrounds
This is a two-part presentation focusing on current research and clinical service delivery considerations for children with complex communication needs who use various forms of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).
Session A: 6 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.
The first presenter for this session will be Alex Ibarra, who is a CSUF Communication Sciences and Disorders (COMD) alum, bilingual speech-language pathologist, and the first recipient of the CSUF COMD Multicultural Certificate. Alex will discuss the development of core vocabulary Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Boards for bilingually exposed preschool children using AAC in the classroom. He will share information from his multicultural certificate research project completed in 2021. Alex will also address how this research informs current clinical work as a bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). Additionally, Alex will talk about his career path leading to his current work as a bilingual SLP in the public schools and private practice.
The next two presenters for this session will be Dr. Gloria Soto (Professor in the Department of Special Education at San Francisco State University) and John Kim (another CSUF COMD alum and doctoral student in the Joint Doctoral program and San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley in Special Education). Dr. Soto and John Kim will continue the discussion on current multicultural AAC research and clinical applications by sharing information from their current research.
Session B: 7:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
Please note that this session is exclusively open to students enrolled in COMD 577 class and COMD majors. For COMD major who are interested in accessing this session, please reach out to Dr. Wyatt at twyatt@fullerton.edu for further information.
Speakers: Alejandro (Alex) Ibarra, M.A., CCC-SLP, Gloria Soto, Ph.D., John Kim, M.S., CCC-SLP, ATACP
Hosted By: Professor Toya Wyatt
7:00pm - 8:00pm PST
From Fangirl to Feature
Samantha Traches discusses how she went from a fangirl to writing a feature on Josh Duhamel. With Traches' wicked combination of personality, street and book smarts, she propelled a master's degree in Communications from USC to making network connections and landing a dream job of working for The Walt Disney Company.
Speaker: Samantha Traches
Hosted By: Professor Marie Loggia-Kee
Location: Hetebrink AB
7:00pm - 8:30pm PST
AdCon
AdCon will be an all-day experience to connect communications students to a specific industry: entertainment. AdCon 2023 will be themed around entertainment marketing and feature speakers working at renowned agencies and media companies. The goal of AdCon 2023 is to introduce students to this fun area of marketing and advertising while providing specific examples of project case studies.
Speaker: Mariam Salcido
Hosted By: Professor Carolyn Coal
Location: Pavillion C
7:15pm - 8:15pm PST
City and County Government
Learn about reporting on public affairs at the city and county level with Norberto Santana Jr., Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the Voice of OC. A Q&A with Santana will be about the importance of covering government actions and how to go about covering city, school districts, and county government beats.
Speaker: Norberto Santana Jr.
Hosted By: Professor Vikram Jolly
Location: Alvarado B
Thursday, April 27
10:00am - 11:00am PST
The Evolving Landscape of Advertising
The advertising industry is constantly evolving, and keeping up with the latest trends and techniques can be a challenge. In this presentation, Griffiths will delve into the ever-changing landscape of advertising and explore how digital marketing, social media, and emerging technologies are changing the way businesses promote their products and services. Whether you're a student, marketer, business owner, or simply interested in the latest trends in advertising, this presentation is sure to provide valuable insights and actionable strategies.
Speaker: Kristen Griffiths
Hosted By: Professor Michelle Kurland
Location: Tuffree AB
10:00am - 11:15am PST
What is Multicultural Marketing? How To Integrate Media + Community in Film Campaigns
Join alumna Shawntavia Ross as she dives into exploring the impact of Multicultural Marketing and what exactly it means to execute a strategy for studio film campaigns. For over 5 years, she’s excelled in marketing to communities of color through mega-watt films such as Coming 2 America, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, King Richard, Batman and more via media, community events, influencers and more. She’ll discuss the importance of strategy, media relationships, and how multicultural marketing can help push box-office and streaming success.
Speaker: Shawntavia Ross
Hosted By: Professor Miya Williams Fayne
Location: Hetebrink AB
1:00pm - 2:00pm PST
Selling Advertising Post-Pandemic
Learn the best and most efficient ways of prospecting, cold calling, presenting, sales strategies, overcoming objections, and closing the sale from this seasoned professional and multi-media advertising account manager. Nickie will share her best practices and sales tips as a result of her 20 years in the business, and focus on how to sell after the pandemic.
Speaker: Nickie Hill
Hosted By: Professor Michelle Kurland
Location: Bradford AB
1:30pm - 2:30pm PST
Changing Demographics, Changing Audiences: How LA Times is Adapting to a New Market
Fidel Martinez will explain the transformation of the LA Times and how the newspaper is appealing to a new diverse market.
Speaker: Fidel Martinez
Hosted By: Professor Ricardo Valencia
Organized by : Latino Communications Institute, and Latino Journalists of CSUF
Location: Tuffree AB
2:00pm - 3:00pm PST
How to Get Started in the News Industry
Meet Hiba Bary, a CSUF alumna and 2x Emmy-Winning Associate Producer at Entertainment Tonight. Learn the useful tips on how to get started in the news industry and how to thrive when you get there.
Speaker will be presenting via Zoom.
Speaker: Hiba Bary
Hosted By: Professor Penchan Phoborisut
Location: Alvarado B
2:30pm - 3:45pm PST
Effective Communication for a Successful Career
The ability to communicate effectively is essential no matter what industry you work in. Nearly every job posting contains the words “strong communication skills” or “effective communication skills.” Come to this workshop to learn how to be a better communicator by exploring the different styles of communication!
Speaker: Gloria Rodriguez
Hosted By: Professor Peter Lee
Location: Hetebrink AB
2:30pm - 3:45pm PST
Writing and Storytelling in Entertainment/Tourism PR
Strong writing skills are essential for communicators in the entertainment and tourism industries. Disneyland Resort Public Relations Manager and CSUF Alumna Jessica Pineda will share storytelling processes and best practices that you can apply to press releases, blog posts, social media content, and beyond. Jessica will also share her career journey and advice for starting a career in communications.
Speaker: Jessica Pineda
Hosted By: Professor Miya Williams Fayne
Location: Ontiveros BC
4:00pm - 5:15pm PST
Navigating White Newsroom: Asian American Journalists at Work
Join the conversations of the sociology of news and how racial identification and activation matters in news production. Asian American reporters for whom racial identities are important questioned what counted as news, questioned the implicitly White perspective of objectivity, and actively worked toward providing more complex, substantive coverage of Asian American communities. For Asian American reporters for whom racial identity was not meaningful, they were more invested in existing professional norms. Regardless, all journalists understood that news is a predominantly and culturally White institution.
Speaker will be presenting via Zoom.
Speaker: David Oh
Hosted By: Professor Penchan Phoborisut
Location: Tuffree AB
4:00pm - 6:45pm PST
Assessing Children from Bilingual and Diverse Cultural Backgrounds as a Monolingual and Bilingual SLP
This presentation will focus on important clinical considerations for speech-language pathologists working with a diverse cultural and linguistic (bilingual) student population. Amanda will discuss some of the strategies used as a monolingual SLP to evaluate the skills of children who speak languages other than English. Jaime will discuss the various ways in which he has worked as bilingual SLP to evaluate and provide services to bilingual children from diverse language backgrounds. Both presenters, who are CSUF Communication Sciences and Disorders alums, will also discuss the career paths that they have taken to the jobs that they currently hold as SLPs in the school setting.
Please note that this session is exclusively open to students currently enrolled in COMD 544. Students currently enrolled in COMD404 may also attend this session with instructor approval. Please contact Dr. Wyatt (twyatt@fullerton.edu) for more information.
Speakers: Amanda Akens, M.A., CCC-SLP, Jaime Vasquez, M.A., CCC-SLP
Hosted By: Professor Toya Wyatt
7:00pm - 8:00pm PST
Career Pathways: SLPA Panel
S.T.A.N.C.E. will be hosting a panel on the career pathway of SLPAs. The interest in the field of Speech Language Pathology Assistants is rapidly growing among COMD students. Join us as we explore this field with experienced SLPAs who have worked in a variety of settings. This panel will also consist of a Q&A portion where students will be able to ask our speakers questions.
Speakers will be presenting via Zoom.
Speakers: Hannah Bruchet, Kimberly Horta, Ruth Osornio, Susie Villanueva
Hosted By: Professor Minjung Kim
Location: Hetebrink AB