School of Media and Communication

Chelsea Livers Gowdy

Major: Journalism

Graduated: Fall 2019

Share your journey to NKU. Why did you choose NKU?

I originally began my college journey after I took a semester off of school after high school graduation. I attended Dean College Palladino school of dance as a dance major. I always knew I wanted to be involved in journalism. However, Dean did not offer the major/minor. As a student at Dean I created my ‘Own” journalism minor by taking classes that would credit when I decided to transfer. After a year at Dean I attended The Washington Center for Leadership and Success as an intern for the company ACTE. While at this internship I learned marketing, Public relation and journalism skills that eventually helped me decide that journalism was the major and career I wanted to pursue. After my internship I transferred to NKU as a journalism major with a communications minor.

Favorite NKU memory:

I decided to join The Northerner to gain experience as a journalist and writer.

My favorite memory

While at NKU was when I had my first story published. It wasn’t a big story- it was just about housing on campus. But this gave my the confidence and push I needed to pursue journalism as a career and to take it seriously.

Experiential Learning/Involvement in College

I attended the national NABJ convention in 2019 in Miami Florida. NKU funded the trip and this was by far the best educational experience I had while attending the university. NABJ introduced me to a plethora of professionals and career fields within news that I did not know existed. Just being in the atmosphere was thrilling and an experience in itself.

Advice for future students.

I advise all students who are interested in a career in news to take a creative route. Journalism is a career field that is not black and white. There is no “blueprint” on how you get there. I started as a dance major and now I am a morning show producer. The only experience I had in journalism before getting this job was published work at the northerner and a internship with FOX19. I suggest every student to take an internship within the news broadcast field if that is what they want to do. This is the easiest way to get in the door in a difficult industry like this. During an internship you can specifically telling managers and news directors that you want to work there and ask questions on how to make it happen. Always ask for what you want when it comes to your career and your dream; because no one is going to “hand” it to you.

Tell us about your current role and what you do.

I began at FOX19 as an intern during my last semester senior year. The day I graduated from NKU I was offered a job as a weekend news producer at FOX19. Currently I am the 8am and 11am news producer and I serve as an Executive Producer over the morning show team. As a news producer we are responsible for our show- which is typically one hour. Producers select stories, write scripts for anchors, select video and soundbites related to the story, assist in deciding reporter stories and oversee their live show from start to finish (in the booth with the engineer). Overall Producers are the people who CREATE the various TV/news shows that you know and love.

Brian Bramer

Major: Health Communication

Minor: Human Services and Addiction

Graduated: Spring 2022

Share your journey to NKU. Why did you choose to attend NKU?

Being originally from Louisville, KY I always knew I wanted to venture out and go away to college. NKU was the perfect fit. It wasn't too far from home, I could still go back and visit if I wanted. I chose NKU because of the relatively small class sizes and how welcoming everyone was when I toured. The location is perfect as well. You get the feeling of a small town on campus but you are so close to big cities.

Favorite NKU memory

My favorite NKU memory was just living on campus my first two years and being apart of a community where everyone was trying to accomplish the same goals. It was a fun experience that taught me how to be independent and I was able to meet a lot of people.

Experiential Learning/Involvement in college

Throughout my time at NKU, I worked with several different professors in my classes on a variety of research papers/projects. Doing this taught me how to write academically, conduct research and think critically. These skills have been a huge help in my career. I also served as a victor guide for incoming freshmen and worked on campus in the Housing Office for 3 years as a Desk Assistant. My senior year I interned at St. Elizabeth as a Marketing and PR intern.

Advice for future students

My advice would be to step out of your comfort zone. College can be scary and overwhelming, but it's what you make of it. I chose a major, health communication, that was literally brand new. No one knew what that was and honestly I didn't either, but I wanted to learn. I can truly say that the content I learned in these classes helps me every day with what I do in my career. If I didn't step out of my comfort zone, I would not be where I am today. Don't be afraid to fail or make mistakes and just have an open mind coming into college and you will be successful.

Tell us about your current role and what you do.

I'm currently a Communications Specialist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. I work in the internal communications department. Everyday I am in charge of the "Connect Daily NewsLetter" that is sent to over 22,000 employees and board members. I gather and write stories, retrieve images, and interview employees. This process happens every day so that I have enough content for the newsletter and website. I enjoy what I do because of how many people my work reaches!

Tierra Baldwin

Major: Health Communication

Minor: Healthcare Ethics and Policy

Graduated: May 2019

Tell us about your current role.

I am a Disability Adjudicator I for the State of Kentucky. I develop the skills that are needed to properly adjudicate Social Security Administration disability claims pertaining to (the Social Security Act) the medical, vocational, and legal standards for disability.

Co-curricular activities at NKU?

Throughout my time at NKU, I was involved in organizations such as NKU R.O.C.K.S, student support services (TRIO), health professions club, Ethics Bowl 2019, Lambda Pi Eta (honor society of the National Communication Association), peer mentor for the Campbell County Drug-Free Alliance Summit at NKU, and student representative for the faculty search committee for the health communication department. I had a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the analysis and write-up of a research article on disability health care under medicaid with Dr. Whittney Darnell.

Favorite NKU memory?

I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to intern at the University of Kentucky International Center where I was a journalism and copyright intern. I also interned at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield as an inside sales intern (licensed health insurance agent). I had many great memories at NKU, but my all time favorite was having the opportunity to speak at the 2019 commencement ceremony. I will always be thankful for the time and connections that I made during my experience at NKU.

Advice for student?

My advice to students: In the midst of adversity, always seek to find the upside. Reach out of your comfort zone and always have a willingness to learn. If you have a specific goal you’d like to achieve, write it down, affirm it, put in the work, and most importantly trust the process.

Dan Griffin

Major: Electronic Media & Broadcasting

Minor: Political Science

Graduated: 2012