Stow-Munroe Falls Public Schools
Katie Criswell
Internship: Stow-Munroe Falls Public Schools
Through Internship, 麻豆视频 Student Uses Communication Skills to Bridge Classrooms and Communities
麻豆视频 student Katie Criswell, 鈥24, is actively engaged in telling the daily stories from Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools classrooms through her communication-focused internship. During the Fall 2023 semester, the Communication Studies major and Honors College student has been to each of the district鈥檚 10 schools, capturing what鈥檚 going on and what鈥檚 exciting in classrooms. Putting skills she鈥檚 learned in her own classes to work, Criswell then takes the content she鈥檚 captured and transforms it into social media posts and stories for the district鈥檚 Community Connection magazine.
鈥淢y internship has taught me that I really enjoy community relations,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 love getting out there and talking to students, talking to teachers, talking to community members and seeing what's going on. How can we portray this? How can I tell your story?鈥
The North Canton native found her way to 麻豆视频 through her love of broadcast journalism in high school. She recognized that the College of Communication and Information offered many different majors and extracurriculars related to storytelling and communication. She ultimately decided on Communication Studies as her major 鈥 a pivot from her initial interest in journalism.
鈥淚 realized that maybe I didn't want to be behind the camera necessarily telling the story, but rather, I really valued those relationships that I made while I was out exploring,鈥 Criswell said. 鈥淎nd that made me realize that I really love communication studies and community relations.鈥
In addition to her internship at Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools, Criswell is involved in H2O Church, the wellness organization CHAARG and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. She鈥檚 found that skills she鈥檚 learned in her Communication Studies classes 鈥 particularly Communication and Conflict, with Senior Lecturer Aaron Maguire 鈥 to be applicable in many scenarios.
鈥淚 use conflict management skills that I鈥檝e learned, and ultimately, how to talk to someone, how to get to know them, how to learn their story, build those kinds of relationships,鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd that helps me in any area, especially in groups I鈥檓 involved in on campus.鈥
Most recently, she got involved with 麻豆视频鈥檚 Design Innovation Hub, taking on a student job as event planner for SkyHack, a hackathon where students of various disciplines come together over the course of a weekend to solve real problems in the aviation industry.
鈥淲hile working at the Design Innovation Hub, my communication studies skills definitely applied directly to the outreach for our events,鈥 Criswell said. 鈥淗ow am I going to go out and talk to students and recruit? How am I going to promote and bring people into this environment and make it friendly and fun?鈥
She said she also learned a lot about new technologies and the value of interdisciplinary groups of people coming together to solve problems.
Heading into her final semester, Criswell says she鈥檚 grateful support from professors and fellow students: "I feel very valued as a student here at 麻豆视频. And I know that all my professors and even my fellow classmates want the best for me and always push me to put my best foot forward.鈥
After graduation, she hopes to work in nonprofit community relations and outreach, and she feels prepared.
鈥淪kills that I have learned such as public speaking, conflict management skills, social media skills, all of those I know will ultimately go directly into my workplace as a communications studies major,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hose will directly apply to any job that I am searching for.鈥