When faculty in the Communication Studies major met at the start of the academic year they discussed the possibility of creating an event which would help students better understand future opportunities. "We wanted to start building a cohort of Communication Studies majors, interact with them more, and provide more services. We wanted them to Interact with communication professionals and network," said Professor Fairlie Firari, Ph.D.
From that conversation came the Communication Studies Mocktail Reception, a fun and informative gathering of students, faculty and industry professionals. The majority of the event was held in room 345 of Mawhinney Hall and began with a "Human Bingo" icebreaker. Each student was given a piece of paper with 24 questions on it and had to identify a different student or faculty member who could answer each one. Questions included, "someone who can name 4 Canadian provinces/territories," "someone who can name 5 shows on Netflix," and "someone with a cracked phone screen." Prizes were given to the first three students to finish the exercise.
Up next was a panel discussion and question-and-answer session with four individuals working in different communications-related professions:
- Cookie Caloia - Marketing and communications practitioner at Carrier Corporation.
- Farah Jadran - Morning news anchor at television station CBS5.
- George Lynch - Motivational speaker who went from homeless to selling homes as a real estate agent.
- Jennifer Sanders - Morning news anchor at television station Newschannel 9.
Each panelist shared their story of both professional achievement and the need to find personal happiness in life. They answered student questions on a variety of topics and discussed the importance of being able to communicate effectively. "I enjoyed hearing everyone's stories and how communication can lead to success," said Tyler Czyz, a freshman from Baldwinsville High School. "I learned from "Mr. Lynch you can pretty much overcome anything and do anything."
Following the discussion event attendees moved down the hall to the Communication Resource room where snacks were provided and Professor Firari served non-alcoholic beverages, or mocktails. A fun time was had by all!
