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Rebecca Jane
𑁍 𑁍 𑁍
Journalism & Photography & Creative Writing
About
I was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Media Arts & Design (Journalism Concentration) from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. During high school, my friends would poke fun at me for my essays being “novels”. Little did I know writing would be the start of my career path. It was a natural element in my “toolkit”.
Nevertheless, learning and bettering my abilities doesn’t stop there. One of my goals is to always continue educating myself. Whether it's a new aspect in my career path, learning a new language, or gaining a new word for the day... I desire to make the most of this life, as I'm blessed to be alive and have the ability to.
During college, I was initiated into the Phi Mu Fraternity. Leaving a small town, and being hours away from home... I was clueless about where to start with getting engaged in the community. Our philanthropy was Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. We’d fundraise all year by sending letters asking for donations, hosting proceeds nights at different restaurants, and arranging fundraising events such as “Cheesin' for Children”. MadiTHON, our 12-hour Dance Marathon, was the biggest event itself. We’d dance all day while raising money, playing games, participating in arts and crafts, hanging out with the Miracle Kids who’d been patients at UVA’s Children’s Hospital, and more. We raised money specifically for them and their families. MadiTHON meant everything to me. It was a sight to see, that not only our chapter, but various JMU student organizations came together to save kids’ lives. I knew from that day on I wanted to be more involved. A childhood friend of mine beat cancer, and I saw somewhat of the struggles that she and her family went through. Sadly, I also witnessed her lose a close friend to cancer. I strived to play a small part in the bigger picture of helping better lives and making this organization the best it could be, especially with meaning and passion.
Click here to view my "LITERARY WORKS".
MadiTHON
I was instrumental with MadiTHON Executive Board for two years after my first time attending MadiTHON. For my first year, I was the Family-Relations Chairman. Through consistent communication, I worked with our Miracle Families and kept them informed on all our endeavors and events planned. I organized visits at UVA Children's Hospital for our participants to tour, where we could see first-hand who we were raising money for. We met some patients along with their family members and were touched by their impacting stories and the everyday lives they lived at the hospital. It’s not an easy life for these families. However, the wonderful staff at UVA’s Children’s Hospital, does all they can do to make it feel as normal and comforting as possible.
I strived to bring the Miracle Kids and our team together to form a tighter bond, so I planned and managed a "Miracle Event" on JMU’s campus for the kids and their families to enjoy. I reserved a room in Madison Union and created fun activities such as a "treasure hunt”, where the kids searched the building high and low for gifts. We did Thanksgiving-themed arts and crafts, musical chairs, and shared some snacks. It was a day to remember! I still envision all the smiles on everyone’s faces. I’m glad we spent some one-on-one time with the kids, as we were truly thankful they could be there.
When MadiTHON arrived, I created banners highlighting our Miracle Kids, helped families navigate and settle into the event, ran the official JMU Snapchat for the day, and spent some quality time with the kids along with helping oversee the event. I worked closely alongside the Executive Director, Kelsey, to assist in preparing and showcasing MadiTHON. From that relationship, I learned that you can make above-average changes when you work alongside someone who shares the same drive, ambitions, and goals. It’s all about patience and persistence, along with keeping your head up when things don’t go your way.
Today, I still talk to one of our Miracle Kids, Ray-Ray, as she's like a little sister to me! She’s involved in many extra-curricular activities, and I couldn’t be more proud of her and who she’s becoming day by day.
For my second year on the board, I was the Digital-Media Chairman. Sadly due to COVID-19, almost everything, including the Dance Marathon, took place online. Still, we’d push through the obstacles to raise as much as possible for our Miracle Families.
Through media, I ran our Facebook and Instagram accounts keeping participants updated on online fundraising, proceeds nights, and any crucial news for the year. I'd share the Miracle Kids’ personal stories to boost everyone’s morale. To creatively showcase our theme, I'd create charismatic graphics along with editing photos that I could get my hands on from previous years. With the lack of in-person events, I’d reach out to multiple participants for past content and get innovative with what I had. One of my favorite aspects of this job was editing videos for Thanksgiving and the main event itself. With MadiTHON being online instead of in-person, the video gave a sense of nostalgia and energy to our participants. On the day of MadiTHON, I uploaded our schedule, posted each hour's event, uploaded pictures, stories, and video clips, answered participants' questions through messages, and showcased our total raised at the end of the event. For nine hours, I was online, behind the scenes, and I loved every second of it. Staying busy and connected is where I thrive!
I’d like to thank Kelsey, all past members of the MadiTHON Executive Board, the Miracle Kids, and their families, along with the staff at UVA’s Children’s Hospital for everything that this experience brought. It truly shaped me as a person, and I'll forever be thankful for participating in this event and “For The Kids”!
Click here to view my work within "MadiTHON".
Photography
Reminiscing on my high school days, I recall when my father bought his first camera. He’d photograph my school play, dance recital, family, and his favorite genre… nature. I had great delight in capturing photos on my iPhone and desired to take it to the next level. The summer before my junior year in college commenced, I got my first camera, a Canon EOS Rebel T7i. A month into the fall semester, I walked through the aisles of JMU’s Student Organization Night. With majoring in journalism, I decided to stop and talk to the head photographer of The Breeze, JMU’s student-run newspaper. My talk with Tori animated me, with what I could gain through this organization. I timidly attended the first meeting and picked the Edge-Walkers Exhibition for my beginning story. I was super nervous! I still hadn’t mastered all the camera functions and I was officially on my own… not in a group. To my surprise, I naturally flowed (with flaws of course) into my role despite the jitters. I went up to the speaker, introduced myself, and asked her questions. I scoped out what was important, and used the eye of my camera to creatively capture shots. I was eager to take on additional stories!
Throughout my time as a photojournalist, I’d cover news, culture, entertainment, featured, and community event stories. Nevertheless, my favorite of all was sports! In my first year, Tori asked me to accompany him and take action shots of the JMU vs. New Hampshire football game at Bridgeforth Stadium. I was taken aback! I hadn’t a clue how to capture photos at the speed of the players. He told me not to fret, he’d mentor me, and as I look back… I’m appreciative that I took that leap in life. Being on the field, running back and forth with the press, and focusing on the gameplay close-up, was an adrenaline I’d never experienced. Of course, for the first time, I only got a few good shots. Throughout time and experience, I’d watch my skills, compositions, captions, and edits excel.
Another necessary truth I’d obtain through experience was that practice makes perfect and do it! You don’t learn unless you try, and take big steps, even if you fail. You learn the most through your mistakes. Especially, with the guidance of leaders.
I used to and still am afraid to fall at times, as I always want to do my best the first time around. Without falling though, you can’t look up and see where you want to go from there!
Aside from being a photojournalist, I took great pleasure in freelance photography, especially with nature. I have a special place in my heart for traveling, sightseeing, and hiking. I aspire to do more work in photography and perfecting my skills. We shall see what the future holds.
I’d like to thank Tori and Christine, who were determined leaders and mentors throughout my time with The Breeze. They taught me, challenged me, inspired me… and I hope my work from over the years, makes them proud.
Click here to view my work within “Photography”.
Multimedia Journalism
Even though I obtained a deep affection for photography, I wanted to invest more education in reporting. I’d describe aspects of my personality as curious, approachable, understanding, and a good conversationalist. I’ve always held an interest in learning about others, and their perspectives on subjects, experiences, and concerns. In a cliché way, “my heart belongs to understanding the world around me.” We humans, and our various ways of interpersonal communication… are how we interpret and bring insight into this world.
A day that changed the course of my life was while waiting outside of Professor Alessi’s office (a teacher and mentor I’ll forever appreciate and cherish) to ask for some advice about certain professions I was interested in. A student from my department, Zia, approached me and we chatted about our media experiences for a bit. She said she worked for Breeze TV, JMU’s “award-winning” student newscast. I was shocked and enlightened, as I’d always wanted to join, but doubted my abilities. It was my final year in college as well.
“Too late,” I’d think to myself.
She asked if I wanted to check out the show on Friday in the Alison B. Parker Studio. The studio, itself, holds a lot of meaning, as it’s dedicated to a JMU Alumnae reporter who was murdered during a live broadcast. (May her soul rest in peace).
I immediately lit up. It felt like a dream of mine was finally coming true when I thought it would never happen. Everything changed from there on out, and I grew an admiration and ambition for multimedia reporting.
During my time at Breeze TV, I’d shadow reporters to learn the gist of how things went down. I was camera trained on a Sony NX5, learning how to position the camera for interviews along with adjusting wireless lavalier mics and making sure the audio transmitted through. It all got a bit overwhelming at first. Yet, I caught on with practice. I’d learn how to edit clips on Final Cut Pro, record my tracks, and master how to bring a story together and flow with all the elements. Then, I took off into the reporter realm. I covered stories of various topics, which brought me incredible opportunities, such as flying on an airplane to Staunton, VA, and back for Dynamic Aviation’s “NEXTGEN Aviators”. I showcased a new LGBTQ+ center in the Friendly City, searched on how the community gave back for the Harrisonburg holidays, and even informed the public of “Great Community Give Day” where the organization raised almost two million dollars for over a hundred nonprofits. JMU is one amazing aspect of Harrisonburg, however, getting out into the community and learning about the town overall, is what made me truly appreciate a town, its people, personalities, culture, duties, and issues that make it what it is.
After I graduated in May of 2022, I was accepted as a Fall Intern at WKRG News 5 in Mobile, Alabama. Before I started the internship, I worked on a few stories for Professor Alessi and his independent news source, The Harrisonburg Citizen. I used my knowledge of photography, videography, and news writing, to bring the story’s perspective together with all the media components. To my excitement and honor, I was awarded third place in the 2022 Virginia Press Association News & Advertising Contest (Multimedia Report category) for climate protest coverage. Then I headed off to the Gulf Coast!
I was nervous upon arriving. I’d moved to a different state before on my own, nevertheless, college was a different story. I was truly on my own and had to make the most of this experience. Gene, the News Director, said the same thing my first day. I had two months to experience all that I could, and it was up to me to make the most of it.
With the internship being unpaid, I worked a waitressing job on the weekends and one weekday. The rest of the weekdays, I made an effort to be at the station, similar to a full-time work week. The insight I gained from being inside and outside of the newsroom was eye-opening. I shadowed reporters and videographers at City Council meetings, high school football games, community highlight events, political watch parties, a trial, breaking news scenes, etc. At those locations, I’d create my stand-ups and record them with the help of a videographer, along with sometimes recording B-Roll myself, and I even got to interview a few people for SOTs used. Accompanying that, I’d practice making my packages on Adobe Premiere Pro. I’d also shadow anchors and practice pronouncing and explaining stories on camera while tracking where to go for each segment in the studio. I worked alongside the digital content crew with practicing writing web articles from press releases and helped prompt for shows.
At the end of my internship, I wanted to test my skills and do a story myself. I grabbed my phone, wired lavalier microphone and tripod I borrowed from Anchor, Devon Walsh, and was on my way to Downtown Mobile to report on the Turkey Trot for Hope. I felt adrenaline and excitement interviewing staff and participants, as my story covered Mobile coming together to race for all kinds of reasons. When I showed a producer my edited package, he said they’d broadcast it live and I was ecstatic. The end of my internship came full circle, and it was hard to say goodbye to everyone at WKRG and the city itself. It became a home and will forever hold a place in my heart for the wisdom it brought me.
Within my future reporting, I aspire to tell people’s stories and bring awareness to certain aspects of the world around us. Everyone deserves to be heard, and people deserve transparency.
I’d like to thank all my past Breeze TV coworkers for showing me a “news family” like no other. We all grew together and had a love for what we did. I’ll always look back at our late editing nights and Friday shows with a smile. I’d like to also thank Professor Alessi for believing in me, and always being of amazing help to his students. He is someone who cares for and wants to guide his students to success. Finally, I’d like to thank Gene, Arnell, Josh, Rose Ann, Devon, Simone, Typhani, Thad, Nicolette, Jeremy, and all members of WKRG News 5. You all truly helped me grow as a journalist and would help me out with anything I asked. I admire and miss you all.
Today, I’m back at home spending time and helping out with my family, along with looking for jobs. I am ready and eager to start the next page of my adventure.
Click here to view my work within “Journalism”.
About Photos
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