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Journalism:

 

 

 

Studying journalism at IUB was one of my favorite experiences of graduate school; it allowed me to study photography, cinematography and story telling. Different from science, journalism is all about the human element and moving your audience. I knew I needed to gain knowledge of this field if to begin properly communicating science to the general public (lots to learn!).  I am a science writer for NPR’s “A Moment of Science” and Co-founded the Science Writers at Indiana University with Amanda Solliday.

 

Check out the Science Writers at IU presentation! 

 

 

Check out some of my projects below!  

Founded by Professor Iris Rosa in 1974, the African American Dance Company (AADC) at Indiana University Bloomington aims to illustrate keen dynamic expression, articulacy and class; AADC seizes and expresses the spirit of dance styles of the African Diaspora. The company's repertoire comprises original choreography in a combination of modern, jazz, African, and Latin American dance styles. This year marks the 15th, annual AADC Workshop. The workshop brings in guest artists such as Dr. Sheila A. Ward, a former Indiana University Alum, to teach company members new ways to express themselves through dance.

 

A native of Richmond Virginia, Ward is a tenured Professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Exercise Science at Norfolk State University, Virginia. She earned her B.S. in physical education with an emphasis in dance from Indiana University and a M.Ed. and PhD in exercise physiology from Temple University. Ward is the Executive Director of and professional dancer with Eleone Dance Theater, Philadelphia, PA.  She is a Certification Candidate for the Umfundalai African Dance Technique and the Katherine Dunham Technique.

 

This year’s workshop also brought in artists from Cuba, Jamaica, and Ghana to educate student company members various forms and techniques of dance.  The two-day workshop brings in young dancers from all over Indiana to extend their dancing skills. Friday workshop participants take their first wave of classes, leave for a dinner break, and then return to the studio for a panel discussion with all of the guest artists. Saturday is full of classes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a break in the middle for lunch.  

 

After dancing all day, participants take a break for dinner, and then return to the studio for the last event of the workshop, a performance. The performance incorporates all workshop participants and is comprised of choreography learned earlier in the workshop. Dancers will perform to an audience in full costume.  


Come out and play at Uncle Elizabeth’s

 

Bloomington, a college town in rural IND, is a good place for LBTQ folk.

 

Bloomington is the “home to the nation's fifth largest per capita population of same-sex couples” in the United States, according to a travelers website (www.visitbloomington.com). This city is considered one of the most socially and politically progressive in the Midwest.

 

A local bar “Uncle Elizabeth’s” provides the abundant gay community with Bloomington’s only full time LGBTQ bar.

 

When asked what the craziest thing was that has ever happened while she was working at Uncle Elizabeth’s bartender Katie Dieter responded “What happens at Uncle Elizabeth’s stays at Uncle Elizabeth’s. “The crowd at Uncle Elizabeth’s depends on the night” says Dieter “It is extremely diverse. You get all walks of life in there, which is one of the things I love about it so much. A busy night could easily have a balanced mix of all genders, sexualities, races, and social classes. It’s one of the things I love about the bar.”

 

Dieter is a native of Terra Haute IND. She is PhD student studying African American and African Diaspora Studies and Gender Studies at Indiana University during the day, and is a bar tender at Uncle Elizabeth’s, by night.  

 

The bar hosts nights like Dieter Days every Monday, Free pool on Tuesday, Hump day celebration Wednesday, Karaoke Thursday, special events on Saturday and Chill Sundays. Dancing and drag shows are also on the list of events commonly held at Uncle Elizabeth’s. The bar opened in 1997 and serves the Bloomington community as a unique hangout for those who are 21 and older.

 

Indiana University Bloomington has also received recognition for being a LGBTQ friendly campus and was given the highest rating for LGBTQ friendly Campus Pride Index for two consecutive years. In a list of 10 LGBTQ Vacation Destinations Bloomington was listed as a desirable visitation spot on the small cities and towns list.

 

The website: http://www.visitbloomington.com/visitors/gay-travel/ provides visitors with LGBTQ supporters, community resources, a visitors guide and more! Making it easy for any LGBTQ travelers to access and enjoy the Bloomington area.  

 

 

 

I crafted the above projects in my "Seminar in Visual Communication Class" at Indiana University with Jim Kelly (also a Saluki!! #SIUC). Not only did we learn about the history of photography and how to take photos, but the components that make up a good story. 

Video story telling at Indiana University Bloomington with Mike Conway gave me the skills to plan, organize, shoot, edit, narrate and finalize a story in video form. I greatly enjoyed gaining these skills for a different mode of communication.

 

Below are two videos I put together in class; one is about a Bloomington volunteer keeping a youth orchestra alive and the other is a personality profile about Iris Rosa and the African American Dance Company.

 

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