Mass Comm Week Schedule

Monday, October 12 | 9:00 a.m to 9:50 a.m a.m - RM232 | 10:00 am to10:50 a.m | RM234 | Public Relations      

Your professional brand is more than a polished résumé, LinkedIn profile or job title. It’s the reputation built through how you show up, the relationships you cultivate and the skills and experiences you bring with you. In this session, Saliyah M. Parker, founder and principal consultant at PR with ParkeR, will draw from her own professional journey in strategic communications and public relations to challenge students to think beyond traditional ideas of professional branding and intentionally build a professional identity that extends beyond any one job or employer. 

Students will explore how networking, intentional follow-through and strategic positioning can strengthen their professional reputation, cultivate meaningful relationships and open doors to unexpected opportunities as their career paths evolve.

Monday, October 12 | 2:00 PM - 3:20 PM | Old Main 234

Pam Nemec helps leaders build organizations that win. Over more than two decades at Whataburger, Pam rose to Senior Vice President, leading Brand Communications, Culture, and People strategies as the beloved brand grew from 350 restaurants and 30,000 employees to nearly 1,000 restaurants and 50,000 employees. 

Pam shares practical strategies for building organizations where people take ownership, work together, and consistently deliver on the brand promise. Because winning isn't just about hitting goals or outperforming the competition. Winning is what happens when people take care of the work, the customer, and each other.

Monday, October 12 | 3:30 PM - 4:40 PM | Old Main 232 | Journalism

Elissa Jorgensen is a breaking news reporter at The Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of Texas State University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in English and master's degree in mass communication.

Monday, October 12 | 3:30PM - 4:50PM | Old Main 232 | Journalism |  

Amira graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor's in Journalism and Mass Communication. While studying at Texas State, Amira interned for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football and wrote for The University Star. She also did some contract work with the Associated Press during the 2020 elections. 

In her final semester as a full-time student, Amira worked full-time at The Hays Free Press covering Hays County. After graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2022, she found a new opportunity to report on local government, development, business and transportation with Community Impact Newspaper, working her way up from reporter to editor.

Tuesday, October 13 | 11 am - 12 pm | Old Main 234 | Advertising | In Person         

Some ad programs teach ideation and execution as separate disciplines: one glamorous and one logistical. This talk argues that's a false split. Production, done well, is one of the most creative jobs on a project. It's the discipline of solving problems in real time across every discipline simultaneously: budget, casting, timeline, creative intent, client expectations, and making the project better because you understand how all the pieces fit together. 

I'll draw on experience split between agency production and in-house brand work at Patagonia, building narrative and production frameworks. The talk is for students who like having their hands in everything, who get energy from solving problems nobody assigned them, and who want to know what that instinct looks like as a career.

12 - 1 PM | Wednesday, 10/14 |  Online and In person |  OM 320

Sevilla will share how he broke into journalism after graduating from Texas State and built a career that led to newsroom leadership and nationally recognized coverage. Students will hear practical insight on standing out early in their careers, earning responsibility and developing the judgment needed to work on major breaking and investigative stories.

5:15 - 6:15 PM | Tuesday, 10/13 | In person |  OM 212

Wednesday, October 14 | 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM | Old Main 232 | In Person

Twister Marquiss is a strategic leader with more than 30 years of experience in higher education communications, marketing, media relations, and academic affairs. 

From 2021 to 2026, he served as the first-ever Director of Marketing and Communications for the McCoy College of Business at Texas State University.

3:30 - 4:50 PM | Wednesday, 10/15 |  Online |  OM 201

Calzada will take students behind the scenes of a career spent documenting major news events, professional sports and everyday life through photography. He will discuss visual storytelling, gaining trust in sensitive situations and adapting to new tools such as video and drone journalism.

Wednesday October 14 | 5:00 p.m - 6:20 p.m | OM 201| Electronic Media    

What makes television news writing work when the words actually have to be delivered on the air? Award-winning former sports and news anchor Greg Kerr brings more than 40 years of local television experience into the classroom to share lessons learned both in the field and behind the anchor desk. 

Drawing on nearly three decades in sports broadcasting and another 14 years in television news, Kerr will discuss writing for the ear, crafting compelling packages and sound bites, reporting live, telling stories under deadline, and adapting copy for effective on-air delivery. A Lone Star Emmy winner who has worked in television markets across the country, Kerr will give students a firsthand look at how strong writing, sound news judgment, compelling visuals and authentic delivery come together to tell great television stories.

9:30 - 10:50 AM | Thursday, 10/15 |  Online and In person |  OM 232

12:30 - 1:50 PM | Thursday, 10/15 |  Online and In person |  OM 238

Calzada will take students behind the scenes of a career spent documenting major news events, professional sports and everyday life through photography. He will discuss visual storytelling, gaining trust in sensitive situations and adapting to new tools such as video and drone journalism.

Thursday, October 15 |  2:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. |Old Main 201    

Learn about the role of nonprofit news organizations like the San Antonio Report and Texas Public Radio in the Central Texas region. Munsil has experience in legacy media (including at the Dallas Morning News) and more recent experience at the San Antonio Report. This summer she assumed her new title when the report and TPR announced a merger.