Twenty-one industry professionals have joined the Experience Lab as professionals-in-residence at UNL’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications for the fall 2023 semester.
Media outlets and agencies throughout Nebraska volunteer the time of experts from within their organizations to mentor and guide Experience Lab students each semester.
The Experience Lab allows students to gain hands-on experience starting their first semester at the CoJMC. In the Experience Lab, 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, our newest video/photography-focused program launched in fall 2023
- Unlimited Sports, a sports reporting program
“Professionals-in-residence provide our students with invaluable feedback and professional connections that are essential to the experiential learning process,” assistant professor of practice and Experience Lab co-director Jill Martin said.
In addition to student mentorship, professionals-in-residence have the opportunity to recruit students for future internships or full-time positions.
“Our professionals-in-residence also help the college stay current on industry trends and hiring requirements,” Dave Remund, assistant professor of practice and Experience Lab co-director said. “Having this strong bridge with the professional world is especially important for helping ensure that students succeed and thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape.”
The fall 2023 professionals in residence are listed alphabetically by program area followed by their name, job title and organization.
Buoy
- Amy Ebbeka, co-owner/creative director, Ebbeka Design
- Kelley Peterson, founder, Pug&Pen
Buoy and Production House
- Beau Poehlman, video production supervisor, Ameritas
Heartland Pulse
- Ryan Rothman, marketing and digital media coordinator, University of Nebraska system
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
- Matthew Hansen, editor, Flatwater Free Press
- Ryan Hoffman, managing editor/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, Nebraska Journalism Trust
Nebraska Nightly
- Shaun Cummins, senior technical director, KLKN-TV
- Mikel Lauber, director of news for KOLN 10/11, KSNB Local 4, KNOP News 2
- Mike McKnight, investigative reporter, WOWT-TV
- Bayley Bischof, KOLN 10/11
- Jon Vanderford, KOLN 10/11
Unlimited Sports
- Zach Carpenter, Inside Nebraska publisher, Rivals.com
- Amie Just, sports columnist, Lincoln Journal Star
- Brett Baker, KOLN 10/11
To learn more about CoJMC’s Experience Lab, visit https://journalism.unl.edu/experiencelab.