By Raquel Hughes, Junior Advertising and Public Relations Major
Many people think graduate school is enough to juggle, but Emily Case isn’t afraid to add Visual Communications course leader to her to-do list.
Born and raised in Gibbon, Nebraska, Case decided to stay close to her roots by attending Hastings College for her undergraduate studies. After graduating with an English degree Case wondered what to do next. She spent time working in communications, marketing and doing some freelance work, which led her to her passion for journalistic writing. So, she chose to attend graduate school at Nebraska to earn a master’s in journalism.
“I ultimately want to be a multimedia storyteller in a journalistic capacity, working to inform the public,” Case said. “I chose Nebraska because I wanted to make connections with the professors here and continue building my portfolio while working on projects that I care about.”
Building her own portfolio isn’t the only thing Case is doing at Nebraska. After accepting the position as a visual communications class leader, Case has spent the past two semesters teaching JOMC 131 and 132. These classes include self-paced modules where students learn to use various Adobe programs, digital coding, photography and videography skills. Case leads weekly critique sessions for her classes and spends time in the digital lab assisting students with projects outside of class time.
Case has a wide range of expertise when it comes to the different skills and programs used through the visual communications courses, which made her an ideal candidate for the job.
“I think visual communications is a perfect application of my skills and strengths,” she said. “I would much rather work in small groups and I don’t have to confine myself to one skill, program or idea.”
Although being a visual communications leader suits Case well, it can sometimes be overwhelming with her own school work. It has taken a lot of prioritizing, commitment and passion to keep up. Case said that the biggest asset to keeping herself on track is prioritizing every week. Case divides her focus based on what is most important now, whether that be her own school work or grading modules.
One of Case’s most memorable experiences as a visual communications leader came at the end of the Fall 2017 semester. She spent hours on end during the week before and following the final deadline grading assignments so that her students had as much time and opportunity to get the best grades possible. Case said that she admires her own professors who put extra care and timeliness into each student, and she tries to reflect that in her own classes.
“I make a policy to try to respond to my students immediately, but I understand that other professors might have more students to deal with or more of a workload," she said. "I’ve learned you can’t take it for granted, but I try my best to do it for my students.”
Case is thankful every day that she decided to follow her goals of being a journalist and digital storyteller and for the opportunities she has been able to seize during her time at COJMC.
“It’s great,” she said. “I get to do it all and talk about all the different things I’m passionate about.”
