by Hannah Hanson
As the fall 2016 semester starts, one thing on the minds of students, faculty, and the Farmville community is the Vice Presidential Debate set for Tuesday, October 4. Students that have volunteered for the debate have been anxiously waiting and have finally received their placements.
Macrae Hammond, the Special Assistant to the VP of Strategic Operations at Longwood University, has placed all the students that have volunteered. According to Hammond around 100 Communication Studies students have volunteered; which is about 20% of the student volunteers. A majority of these students got placed with several recognizable media outlets as well. This experience is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity for the students here at Longwood.
Michael Castanon, a senior with a public relations concentration, was placed volunteering with Twitter. As an active tweeter, Castanon is very excited to get “real world experience standing in with Twitter because it is such an important tool of public relations in our society today”. Castanon explained how he was influenced to volunteer for the debate because “It is an opportunity that most other students at other colleges won’t get to experience.
Ally Werner another senior with a public relations concentration, is thrilled that she will be working with CNN representatives for the debate. When asked how Werner thought her COMMunity has prepared her for her upcoming role she replied, “Communication has boosted my confidence, in a way, because they force you to step out of your comfort zone.” Werner was influenced to volunteer for the debate because of her internship working on Capitol Hill this summer. Werner obtained real world experience working with politicians and how they delivered their message to the media. Now with this opportunity she will get to examine how media portrays the messages they receive and how the media develops it for the public.
Current Editor-in-Chief of the Rotunda and digital media concentration, Halle Parker, was selected to volunteer with FOX News during the debate. Parker volunteered for the debate to have coverage of the event for the Rotunda as well. Parker believes her major has developed her communication skills all around which will be helpful as she helps FOX get acquainted with the Longwood Community.
These are only a few of the Communication Studies students that will be participating in the Vice Presidential debate. As the big day gets closer, Longwood’s anticipation grows. The eyes of America will be on our campus and we could not be more excited to show off our school and the Farmville Community.