Society of Professional Journalists: Programs in a Box

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Vice President, Campus Chapter Affairs
Neil Alan Ralston
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd #11070
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1070
(270) 745-5841
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Neil Ralston serves as vice president for campus chapter affairs, a position he was elected to in 2007 and re-elected to in 2009 and 2011. He began serving on the SPJ Board of Directors in 2003 when he was elected as a campus adviser at-large. Ralston is an assistant professor of journalism at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky. Before joining the faculty at WKU in 2006, he was an associate professor of journalism at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches (NAK-uh-tish), La., where he advised the student SPJ chapter. He also has taught at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. Ralston began a career in journalism in 1978 and has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer at weekly and daily newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana and Texas. His most recent full-time reporting job was in 1985-89 when he worked for the San Antonio (Texas) Light where he covered city hall, the police, federal law enforcement agencies and the federal courthouse.

Ralston has bachelor's degrees in communication and industrial technology from Northeast Missouri State University and a master's degree in journalism from The Ohio State University where he was a fellow in the Kiplinger Program of Public Affairs Reporting. He earned a doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2002. Additionally, Ralston was named SPJ's campus chapter adviser of the year for the 1998-99 school year.

Campus Advisers At-Large

George Daniels
The University of Alabama
Associate Professor
P.O. Box 870172
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
(205) 348-8618
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Now in his second term as a campus adviser at-large on the SPJ National Board, George L. Daniels is a former chair of the SPJ Journalism Education Committee. As a graduate student, Daniels participated in the University of Georgia’s SPJ Campus Chapter.

But, his first experience with SPJ came when he received a scholarship from the Washington DC Chapter of what was then Sigma Delta Chi (SDX) in the early 1990s. Daniels was a 2006 SPJ Diversity Leadership Fellow and 2007 Scripps Institute Fellow.

Daniels is an associate professor of journalism at the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences. He joined the UA faculty in 2003 after completing his master's and Ph.D. degrees at The University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Before moving into the academic arena, Daniels worked as a news producer at WTVR-TV in Richmond, Va., WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio and WXIA-TV in Atlanta. He is a cum laude graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC.

Kym Fox
Texas State University
601 University Dr.
San Marcos, TX 78666
(512) 245-3484
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Kym Fox joined SPJ while an undergrad at Arizona State University in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. She has been president of the San Antonio Pro Chapter and is currently the co-adviser to the Texas State University student chapter. Fox spent the first 20 something years of her career as a reporter and editor, first at the Mesa Tribune, a 40,000 daily in a suburb of Phoenix, and then 18 years at the San Antonio Express-News. She was the deputy metro editor when she left the Express-News to take to the classroom at Texas State. Most of her career, she spent covering courts and legal affairs, thus her affinity for Freedom of Information projects. Over the years she has covered everything from high school sports to George H.W Bush signing NAFTA. She has interviewed the Queen of England and Michael Jackson, though not at the same time. Along with her B.S. in journalism, she earned an M.A. in communications from the University of the Incarnate Word while an editor at the Express-News. At Texas State she is a senior lecturer and coordinator of the journalism sequence. She teaches a variety of writing classes as well as multimedia journalism. Her take on the future of journalism: “Newspapers are NOT dying. They are evolving.” Find her on Twitter @kymfox.

campus rep

Taylor Mirfendereski
Ohio University
614-975-6260
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Taylor Mirfendereski is a multimedia journalist from Columbus, OH with a passion for storytelling, technology, and diversity.

She joined SPJ in 2008 during her first year at Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She has served on the OU SPJ executive board for the past three years and currently serves as the vice president of the chapter.

Taylor sees life in the context of a story and finds herself viewing the world through the lens of a camera. As one of a select group of campus correspondents for CNN during the 2008-2009 school year, she produced a series of news packages to air on CNN.com. Through this experience, she gained knowledge and expertise in pitching focused story ideas, writing conversational scripts, capturing visually appealing b-roll, and editing packages with continuity.

In addition to her work with CNN, Taylor has held several local and national internships. In 2008, she was a communication's intern for Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. During the summer of 2009, Taylor interned with Central Ohio's NBC affiliate WCMH-TV. Most recently, in the Fall of 2009, she held internships with NBC's TODAY Show and NBC Weekend Nightly News with Lester Holt.

While Taylor's internships have offered her hands-on opportunities, some of her most valuable experience has stemmed from her independent reporting. She has produced several stories on Iran, including an article about the treatment of Iranian homosexuals and transsexuals, and several Q&A stories about Iran's 2009 presidential election fallout. She also produced a story about the homeless in Columbus, OH, in which she sought out five homeless individuals and profiled their living conditions.

Beyond her passion for storytelling and reporting, Taylor is intrigued by technology. She's been producing and editing video for eight years and is proficient in both linear and nonlinear editing systems, including Final Cut Pro, Avid, and Grass Valleyâ€¨Aurora Edit. In 2008, she began work as a video editor for Best Light Video in Columbus, OH. She produced 30-second commercials for businesses in the area. Her editing on a project for the North Market in Columbus, OH helped to win the company an Ohio Interactive Award.

Taylor also has experience with video camera operation, still photography, computer assisted reporting, and web design (using XHTML and CSS).

Taylor is now a junior attending Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in the Honors Tutorial College. In addition to her involvement with SPJ, she serves as the president of the Radio-Television Digital News Association campus chapter. She is also an active member of Students for Global Media and Diversity and the Asian American Journalist's Association. Taylor is the co-coordinator of a new AAJA student broadcast organization called the Asian American Student Broadcast Journalists.

Taylor also volunteers at the Athens County Dog Shelter in Chauncey, OH. She is presently designing a multimedia website for the shelter to maximize pet adoption, educate potential adopters, and recruit volunteers.

When not in school, volunteering or reporting in the field, Taylor enjoys traveling, writing, and spending time with family, friends, and pets. She travels annually to Iran and has visited several other locations in the Middle East and Europe.

campus rep

Gideon Grudo
Florida Atlantic University
E-mail

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Home > Resources for Students > Tools for Leaders > Programs in a Box

Programs in a Box: What it is

Is your campus chapter in need of a simple, cost efficient program to draw in members or just have fun? If so, we can help!

Because we understand that sometimes the clock just moves too fast and budgets are just too small, we've recently created Programs in a Box to help you implement a successful program with little planning and little cash.

How it works

"PIB" contains a variety of pre-planned programs for your chapter to utilize at any time. Each program includes nearly all materials that you'll need — even fliers! Just choose a program that interests you, download the "stuff," and watch it come to life.

Feedback and suggestions

If your chapter has used one of the programs included in "PIB," we would love to know how it turned out! Please share both successes and failures so we can continue to build and improve.

Additionally, if you've held a successful program that you think another chapter could benefit from or just have something to add to our list, please let us know!

Direct all feedback to SPJ National Student Representatives Gideon Grudo and Taylor Mirfendereski.

Available Programs

Journalism Movie Night

If your chapter is worn out on all the professional skill building, resume critiquing and service projects, maybe it's time for some good, plain fun. Try out the J-Movies Night. We've got everything here for you in our little box of tricks, including fliers you can customize and a long list of movies having something to do with the profession we all love. The only thing we can't do? Pop the popcorn. Enjoy!

Slice 'n' Dice

Grab a slice and let the pros dice. That's right, it's Slice 'n' Dice, a program that brings together students and professionals for networking, résumé critiques and grub. We've got everything you need in the "virtual" box, including directions, flyers and a sign up sheet. There are even some nifty table tents to spruce up the place. All you need to do is bring in the pros and order some pizza.

First Amendment Free Food Festival

At the First Amendment Free Food Festival, students symbolically sign away their First Amendment rights in exchange for a free lunch in a make-shift land ruled by a dictatorship. Once students get their food, they cannot:

— Sit together (no right to peaceably assemble).
— Complain or protest (no right to petition for the redress of grievances).
— Exercise any form of religious demonstration (no freedom of religion).
— Report or cover the event (no freedom of the press).