Homecoming at Penn State means welcoming back alumni and many traditions. For a group of students who are producing a webcast of the annual parade, it also means seeing hard work pay off.
Students enrolled in COMM 383A Webcast Production, taught by Maria Cabrera-Baukus, a senior lecturer in the Department of Telecommunications, annually produce the parade webcast. The event begins with a magazine show, which will be streamed at 5:50 p.m., before the live webcast of the parade begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 9. It can be watched at http://homecoming.psu.edu online.
“It is a very interesting, hands-on, real-world experience for the students,” said Cabrera-Baukus. “They get to be involved in a live, multi-camera production that goes beyond the walls of a classroom project.”
This marks the 11th consecutive year students from the College of Communications have led the webcast of the nation’s largest Homecoming parade.
As part of the course, students receive training in many facets of television production. They then put all that work together for the live parade webcast. Along with gaining practical experience, the students in the course provide a service for the University -- and for Penn State alumni and friends all over the world.
“We are very excited to provide this opportunity to our students and the community,” said Matt Jackson, who is head of the Department of Telecommunications. “They learn how to deal with a vast array of issues from the logistics of arranging lighting, audio and crowd control, to dealing with the ever-changing October weather. It is a testament to the students’ work ethic and skill level that this annual webcast has become such a success.”
All positions related to the production are staffed by members of the class. Collaboration from College of Communications faculty and staff, personnel from WPSU-TV and staff from Information Technology Services at Penn State help make the webcast a reality.
The two student hosts for the magazine show are Oniqua Higgins (senior, journalism) and Angela Trovato (senior, journalism). Anchors for the webcast are Gabrielle Chappel (senior, journalism and Spanish), Dalila Lewis (senior, journalism) and Shannon Ryan (junior, journalism and political science).
“I feel blessed to get an opportunity to gain hands-on experience like this because I get to actually do what I would love to do once I graduate,” said Lewis, a Philadelphia native. “This opportunity is preparing me for the real world.”
Ryan, a Clifton Park, New York, native, echoed Lewis’ statements.
“The Homecoming webcast is phenomenal preparation for my intended career as a broadcast journalist,” said Ryan, who has plenty of on-camera experience, including hosting the 46 LIVE webcast of THON last year. “As a journalist, you have to be flexible and prepared to work with whatever is thrown at you.
“The opportunity combines two of my favorite things in the entire world, broadcast journalism and Penn State.”
The webcast also has a Twitter presence (@psuwebcast) with behind-the-scenes information and photos.