Alumni Spotlight - Communication and Media Studies

Graduates of the multimedia journalism major are finding full-time jobs.

Chelsea Birdsall was hired near the end of her senior year at ABC10 in Ishpeming, and she recently won two professional awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. Birdsall won a Merit Award for News Anchoring and a Merit Award for Investigative reporting. “I started working for ABC10 as a multimedia journalist in March 2016, and it is incredibly humbling to receive such amazing recognition only a year into my career. With graduation coming in a few short weeks, I feel extremely prepared to leave Marquette thanks to my time at the station and all of my professors in Communication and Performance Studies, English and Political Science who have helped shape my in the last four years. I cannot express enough gratitude to each and everyone of them,” said Birdsall.

Birdsall is one of several multimedia journalism students working at ABC10 while they attend classes at NMU. According to NMU Professor Dwight Brady, other local and regional media outlets are snapping up his multimedia journalism graduates as 24/7 demand for content continues to drive the business. Birdsall plans to continue working at ABC10 while she pursues a master’s degree in Public Administration at NMU.

Birdsall is currently the evening anchor for the 10 and 11 o'clock Newscasts and is responsible for monthly features and daily stories. She works 40 hours at the station plus another part-time job on campus as a Personnel Supervisor for the MP. “It has certainly been a challenge learning to balance all of my activities, but I feel strongly that it will better prepare me for the real world, which has a tendency to come at you with full force when you least expect it,” said Birdsall. At some point, Birdsall plans on moving to somewhere she can escape the snow.

Junior Mikenzie Frost divides her time between being a resident advisor, president of the NMU Figure Skating team and volunteering time at Public Eye News, all the while pursuing a degree in multi-media journalism, with a double-minor in criminal justice and art and design.

While Frost’s favorite classes this semester are Intro to Multi-Media Journalism and Sports and Special Events Programming, her favorite experience right now is the time she spends at Public Eye News.

“I love getting the hands-on experience in the field, and learning all the things that it takes to produce a news broadcast,” she says.

When Frost isn’t in class or down at Public Eye News, a large majority of her time is devoted to figure skating. After her mom put her in Learn to Skate lessons at age 4 in hopes of Frost playing hockey, she has rarely left the ice since.   

“Once I saw the girls doing jumps and spins, I told them I didn’t want to play hockey, I wanted to figure skate,” she says.

Frost has been competing since age 7, and has been in roughly 95 competitions in the past 11 years. These competitions have ranged from being Michigan based, to most recently, the Nations Cup in Spain. When at home, she finds herself back at the rink as a Learn To Skate coach, as well as a private coach, teaching other inspiring young skaters.

Though being the president of the NMU Figure Skating team has its stressful moments, Frost loves it. Her job requirements include recruitment, organization of the team, registering, entering the team in competitions, choreography, and organizing appearances to name a few.

Frost looked to start the club during her freshman year with the help of her resident director, Jackie Jorgensen, after realizing that there was none on campus. “I wanted to give other girls the chance to skate after high school and continue to do what they love….. Skating isn’t something that you can just drop,” she says. “For me, skating is a lifestyle and I know that I wouldn’t be able to be successful wherever I am if I didn’t have the opportunity to skate.”

Though skating is a huge part of her life, Frost also devotes numerous hours a week to her job as a Resident Advisor of Concert House, a co-ed house in Van Antwerp Hall. Coming into a house with a majority of freshman, Frost has found her patience tested as she challenges herself and her house out of their comfort zones.

“I have realized that you cannot make people do things they don’t want to do. The only thing you can do is provide the resources and opportunities for people, but in the end, they have to want to do it. “ she says.

Though it is a task, Frost enjoys seeing her residents grow into young adults and leaders. “I love seeming them create things and succeed with a project, “she says. “The majority of them were timid and not eager to try new things. Now they are in this club, and that club and they are always bringing up new ideas.”

When Frost does find some free time in her hectic schedule, crafting and running are her go-to activities. Her favorite is taking her camera with her while out for a relaxing hike.

Ultimately, Frost hopes to be a news anchor on a national news network. Her dreams stems from her childhood, when her mom would turn the news on at night while she did homework. Even then, Frost thought they had the best job in the world.

“They (anchors) are the people that families trust to get their news; they trust them and allow them in their homes” she says. 

She thinks her experiences in and outside of class will help set her apart from other prospective applicants.  Her advice to other students is “to get involved as much as possible, and don’t be afraid to go out in the field to find stories. Also, make as many connections as you can!”

Seven Northern Michigan University students have won awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.

The team of Tyler Schwemin, Trent Bailey, Justin Berkel and Mikenzie Frost won first place in the College Sports Television category for their play-by-play and production of the NMU v. Ferris State Hockey series in November.

The team of Tyler Schwemin, Cody Boyer, Jill Willman and Jenna Kirby completed the sweep by winning second place in the same category for their announcing and production of the NMU v. Alabama Huntsville series.

This is the third time in the past five years that students in Professor Dwight Brady's Sports and Special Events class have won first place among all universities and colleges in Michigan.