Twenty-two industry experts will join the Experience Lab as professionals-in-residence at UNL’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications for the spring 2024 semester.
Various Nebraska-based agencies and media outlets volunteer the time of professionals from within their organizations to mentor and guide Experience Lab students each semester.
The Experience Lab gives students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience at the very start of their college journey. Students work four to six hours weekly in one of the college’s media outlets or agencies. The seven college-wide program areas are:
- Buoy, an advertising agency for nonprofits
- Heartland Pulse, a digital webzine for Nebraska audiences
- 90.3 KRNU, UNL’s campus radio station
- Nebraska News Service, a state news wire service
- Nebraska Nightly, CoJMC’s weekly live news show
- Production House, a video and digital media creation service
- Unlimited Sports, a sports reporting program
"Professionals-in-residence play a crucial role in enhancing our students' experiential learning through offering invaluable feedback and fostering industry connections," Jill Martin, assistant professor of practice and Experience Lab co-director, said.
In addition to offering guidance to students, professionals-in-residence also recruit students for internships or full-time roles at their place of employment.
"Our professionals-in-residence program amplifies our commitment to staying at the forefront of experiential learning," assistant professor of practice and Experience Lab co-director Dave Remund said. "Professionals-in-residence play a pivotal role in the college keeping pace with industry trends and ensuring our students learn to navigate and thrive in the media landscape."
The spring 2024 professionals in residence are listed alphabetically by program area followed by their name, job title and organization:
Buoy
- Kelley Peterson, founder, Pug&Pen
- Sarah Wischhof, assistant vice president of marketing, Union Bank & Trust
Heartland Pulse
- Jeff Deans, copy director, Nelnet
- Tony Sattler, executive vice president; director of experience & insights, Swanson Russell
90.3 KRNU
- Austin Pistulka, broadcast/digital production director, Rural Radio Association
- DeWayne “D-Wayne” Taylor, radio host, NRG Media’s Red 94.5; master of ceremonies, D-Wayne
Nebraska News Service
- Ryan Hoffman, managing editor and Lincoln reporter, Flatwater Free Press
- Stefanie Monge, editor, Silicon Prairie News
- Mary Kay Quinlan, emeriti associate dean and associate professor, UNL CoJMC
- Mike Tobias, senior producer, Nebraska Public Media
- Kent Warneke, editor emeritus, Norfolk Daily News
- Matt Wynn, executive director, Flatwater Free Press
Nebraska Nightly
- Bayley Bischof, senior reporter, KOLN 10/11
- Mikel Lauber, director of news, KOLN 10/11
- Mike McKnight, investigative reporter, WOWT-TV
- Heath Miller, KOLN 10/11
- Jon Vanderford, executive producer and anchor, KOLN 10/11
Production House
- Beau Poehlman, video production supervisor, Ameritas
Unlimited Sports
- Brett Baker, senior producer, Straight Arrow News
- Abby Barmore, staff writer, HuskerOnline at Rivals.com
- Zach Carpenter, Inside Nebraska publisher, Rivals.com
- Erin Sorensen, founder, hello eso: marketing + branding
To learn more about the Experience Lab, visit https://journalism.unl.edu/experiencelab.