Student Spotlight: Miguel Martinez, a student – and teacher – of photography

On Tuesday afternoons, Miguel Martinez, a junior at Rowan University, drives from Glassboro to Northwestern Philadelphia to teach photography to high school students. He shows them camera settings, how to frame shots, and sends them out to document the surrounding area.

“Philadelphia is a fun neighborhood,” said Martinez. “There’s a lot to see, so I just take them outside sometimes.”

Martinez, a Radio, Television and Film major with minors in Journalism and Advertising, is also a photographer for The Whit. He hopes to pass on some of his love of photojournalism to his students and teach them “how to compose stories through photos.”

His passion for photography started while in high school when he joined an WHYY after-school program. He was later accepted as an intern in their photojournalism department, where he met freelance photographer Jessica Kourkounis. With the help of Kourkounis, he participated in the apprentice program for The New York Times and is also currently freelancing for WHYY.

He recently published his first article, which involved not only shooting photos, but writing in English, which is not his first language.

“I was really happy that I accepted the challenge,” he said. “By the end of article, I was really excited I have actually accomplished my first publication.”

Photos by Miguel Martinez

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Alumni Q&A with Emily Kostic, Director of Marketing for Canvs AI

Emily Kostic is Director of Marketing for Canvs AI. She graduated from Rowan University in 2010 with her B.A. in Journalism and a specialization in Women’s Studies. 

Briefly describe your job. What do you do on a daily basis?

I work for a tech startup focused on AI-powered topical and emotional analysis of social media content. In short, some of the biggest media and entertainment companies in the world (e.g. HBO, NBCU, Viacom, et al) pay for access to our data so they can better understand how people feel about the content they’re putting out into the world.

As Director of Marketing, I’m in charge of the overall branding, positioning, and lead gen for the company. Essentially, one of my core responsibilities is to incentivize and encourage adoption of our products among relevant key stakeholders throughout the media and entertainment industry.

What is one thing you love about your current job?

I thoroughly enjoy working in tech. It’s extremely interesting to me to work for a company that’s working hard to redefine how companies tell stories and develop new revenue opportunities using our data.

What is one of the biggest challenges of your current job?

Explaining what I do for a living when I come home to visit family. Ha, kidding! But seriously, in general, I think working in tech can be a bit of a challenge. You’re essentially raising your hand to say that you want to push forward the “traditional” way of thinking for any given industry. That can often lead to a lot of head scratching from the people around you. Don’t get me wrong — that can certainly be fun — but often times, constantly having to explain (and re-explain) your position on an entire industry can be a bit exhausting.

Rowan journalism students cover Kavanaugh vote in DC

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Photos and Article By Amanda Palma

On Oct. 5, Rowan journalism students traveled to Washington D.C. and covered one of the fiercest political debates of this generation – the Senate vote on the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Near the Capitol, students covered protests and rallies both against and in favor of Kavanaugh alongside professional journalists from around the world.

Akenda Steward, a broadcast journalism student, said talking to people in person gave her a deeper understanding of the news.

“I mean I’m watching it from a T.V., [but] this is my first time ever coming to D.C., covering a story like this,” said Steward. “So to hear other women share their experience, it was very chilling.”

The students conducted dozens of interviews, shot photos and video, and recorded stand-ups with the iconic building in the background, all of which they can add to their professional portfolios and resume reels.

“My first favorite part was probably doing the actual stand-up, because in that moment I felt like it was so professional, and it felt right, said student Jaryd Leady. “It felt like that’s what I was supposed to be doing.”