Kent State Professor Shares Her Experiences in Good Enough is the New Perfect

By Brianne Kimmel

 JMC Assistant Professor Jan Leach is one of dozens of working women featured in Good Enough is the New Perfect: Finding Happiness and Success in Modern Motherhood.

 Since her arrival at Kent State University in August 2003, Leach has shared her journalistic background and personal experiences with hundreds of Kent State University students.

 “I enjoy every minute at Kent State,” Leach said. “I’m still a professional journalist; I maintain professional contacts; I study journalism trends, and I also have the opportunity to interact with great students and people within the university.”

 In October 2008, a professional contact surprised Leach with a rare opportunity.

 “I was very honored Becky [Beaupre Gillespie] wanted to include me in the larger story of women finding self-worth,” Leach said.

 Good Enough is the New Perfect by Becky Beaupre Gillespie and Hollee Schwartz Temple features research on today’s working women and a number of firsthand accounts from working mothers balancing success in the office and at home.

 Leach was interviewed about experiences after having twins, “finding myself after pregnancy was a very important lesson for me,” Leach said.  “Being on bed rest for 29 days, while also having a three-year-old daughter was challenging. I remember thinking after I gave birth, what does Jan want to accomplish with her life.”

 After leaving her position as managing editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Leach became editor and vice president of the Akron Beacon Journal where she coordinated coverage of the September 11 attacks, including publishing an “Extra” edition, covering the local impact, and helping to launch and promote the “Fire Truck Fund” that raised more than $1.3 million for new safety equipment in New York City.

 Leach currently teaches media ethics, copy editing and other news courses and is director of Kent’s Media Law Center for Ethics and Access. She is also an Ethics Fellow at the Poynter Institute for Journalism Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla.

 Leach was the editor of two books by Terry Pluto. She is the author of four chapters in the book The Edge of Change: Women in the 21st Century Press, published in 2009.

Visit the Web for additional information on Good Enough is the New Perfect and Kent State University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

CCI Welcomes New Marketing Assistant & Blogger!

Hey fellow Flashes! It’s Britany Ruby here, the newest Public Relations and Marketing assistant with the College of Communication and Information. I would describe myself as a little Anna Wintour mixed with a lot of Carrie Bradshaw, with plans to pursue a career in the Magazine Industry after graduation in December 2011. I am a native of Dayton, Ohio, and a senior at Kent State University pursuing a bachelor of arts in communication studies with a concentration in applied communication.

I studied fashion merchandising here at Kent for three years before realizing that my love of writing had overpowered my love for fashion. However, before I switched my major I was able to study fashion in New York, New York, for the spring 2010 semester. My time in New York greatly influenced my writing and lifestyle as a whole. It helped me to realize my ultimate dream of moving back to the Big Apple to work at a major fashion magazine.

In the past four years I have worked on the staff of Kent State University’s, UHURU Magazine and Artemis Women’s Magazine. I have interned with SELF Magazine in New York, New York. And, I also completed an editorial internship with Padosa.com in 2010, while at home in Dayton, Ohio.  

While I have had other internships in the past I hope to have a completely different experience here at the College of Communication and Information. Here I hope to not only better my writing skills, but to learn more about public relations and marketing as a whole. I hope that you will join me on my journey this summer and until then please let me know if you have any questions!

Britany is a senior applied communication studies student and marketing assistant for CCI.

CCI Student Focus: Student Athlete Inspires Fellow Players On & Off Court

By Emily Carle

Over the past five years, Kent State University’s Rodriquez Sherman has led the Golden Flashes Men’s Basketball team to 20-win seasons, back-to-back Mid-American Conference regular season championships all while maintaining a strong GPA and graduating in four years.

In August 2010, Sherman graduated from Kent State with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies with a concentration in organizational communication. Currently, he is working on his master’s degree in Exercise, Leisure and Sport with a concentration in sport management. Sherman is known for his positive attitude, significant work ethic and an overall great personality which all relates to his ability to manage the life of a student-athlete.

Sherman joined the Communication Studies program in 2006 after switching from business administration. Sherman liked what Communication Studies had to offer and how the discipline relates to basketball. “Being an athlete is like a business and you have to be able to communicate,” he said.

 “Being an athlete is like a business, and you have to be able to communicate,” Sherman said. Through his coursework, Sherman continued to get practice with communicating, “I was able to get past my fear of talking in front of people… I’ve turned into a great speaker even though I used to be nervous.”

From the classroom, Sherman applied his skills to the court. “With basketball, communication skills helped me develop a different role on the court. I was more vocal with my teammates and with my coaches and on the floor because I was able to speak fluently,” Sherman added.

Now that Sherman has fulfilled his goals as a student and an athlete, he is looking towards the future. Down to road, he hopes to stay connected with his love of basketball and work for ESPN as a sports anchor or as a coach. With his background in communication, Sherman feels confident about these job opportunities, as “communication is in everything we do; it’s everywhere… it all plays a part.”

Also in the Communication Studies program, Sherman found that fellow classmates and professors always understood his schedule, even when he would miss an entire week at a time.

“I had really good professors; I was always communicating with them and getting work done.” Through classmates, faculty and staff, Sherman “benefited from the program” and thoroughly enjoyed his time at Kent State. Specifically, he noted that Communication Studies faculty member and undergraduate advisor Rozell Duncan, Ph.D., was “wonderful and a great advisor.”

As a faculty member and undergraduate advisor, Duncan saw Sherman’s potential and recognized his commitment and hard work. “Rod applied himself not only to his academic work but as an athlete. I am confident he will do well in his graduate studies,” Duncan said.

 “It was my pleasure to be one of his instructors and help guide him along his academic path,” Duncan added.

With all of his hard work and perseverance during his time at Kent State, Sherman has learned a lot about what it takes to be a good student and is happy to pass along his wisdom to other students. A rigorous travel schedule and daily practice made it imperative to stay on task and master time management.

 “Stay organized. You’re not going to be able to deal with it all without being organized. Create an order, a plan. If you do that, you’ll be set,” Sherman advised.

Sherman’s academic success would not have been possible without his strong support system. “I would work while I was on the road and on the bus. I would get my assignments done ahead of time and stay in communication with academic advisors, athletic advisors and professors,” Sherman said.

 While not all students juggle demanding responsibilities of a being student athlete, many do stretch themselves thin to cover school, work, family and more, making it all the more important for students to have a grasp of time management and responsibility.

 Sherman, who is known for his positive attitude, significant work ethic and an overall great personality, shared this advice: “Take a deep breath, soak it all in and remember we were raised to get a better education.”

Sherman has been a role model not just for student athletes, but all students aspiring to do more while in college. Looking back, he only has good things to say about his time as an undergraduate.

“Kent State is a beautiful place, and it taught me a lot,” Sherman said. “A lot of kids come in and just think about basketball, but I made sure I had my degree so I would be educated. It was a big accomplishment. Communication Studies is a beautiful program inside and out, and so are the people here.”