WHAT ARE MEDIA STUDIES ALUMNI DOING?
Peter Gloviczki ’06
I am currently a Ph.D. student in Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. My path was first set at St. Olaf, where I benefited greatly from the courses of Bill Sonnega, David Booth and others. They encouraged me to think critically about media and to ask crucial questions about ethical journalism--and the possibilities for it--in our changing media environment. I remain grateful to so many of my St. Olaf professors for their interest in, and support of, my intellectual curiosities. As a graduate student and instructor, I'm interacting with media and thinking about its implications on a daily basis. This is a skill that I try to encourage among my undergraduate students as well; there is a need to challenge students towards more holistic examination of media texts--in all their various forms--and I hope to inspire students in that direction.
As a student and a teacher, I surely benefitted from my media studies coursework, and especially from my CIS major in Journalism Ethics; I believe that St. Olaf College needs a Media Studies Major--not simply a concentration. Media are everywhere today, and their presence demands the close attention of motivated young people in a sustained manner.