when in _.. 1\orence The College of Communication constantly encouraged students to get out in the world and gain experience in their field. During spring break of 2010, communication students received an extraordinary opportunity to travel abroad in Europe to produce a promotional documentary on Harding University in Florence (HUF) and write for the college's multimedia website, The Link. A team of 22 students was selected to go on the ten-day journey and maximize their knowledge in the fields they were studying, including journalism, electronic media and public relations. These students were split into two specialized groups:one focused on the filming of a documentary featuring HUF students and directors, while the other group set out to find stories in the everyday lives of Italians to pubIish on The Link's website. Students writing for The Link produced broadcast packages on-site at famous locations, created photographic slideshows and conducted interviews with locals, including the Scandicci Deputy Mayor of Economics and several Italian dignitaries and public leaders of Florence. "As cliche as it might sound, traveling to Italy was an eye-opening experience for me," senior Link reporter Grant Sloan said. "I realized it wasn't just a place on a map or a picture in a textbook, but rather a Iiving, breathing society with a history that dates back long before our own. It is impossible for any higher thinking individual not [to] be impacted by their culture and way of life, considering that much of our art, architecture and government stems from the rich history of the Italian people." Communication professors Dr. Jim Miller and Dr. Jack Shock, as well as former dean Dr. Mike James, traveled with the students. "We wanted to challenge our mass communication students to practice their unique storytelling skills in a foreign culture, highlighting life and politics in Italy, while also promoting the excellent HUF program," Miller, who led the group of reporters for the Link, said. While in Italy, students were fortunate enough to receive personal guidance from Hollywood director Jay Russell, known for his work directing My Dog Skip,Tuck Everlasting and Ladder 49. Russell gave advice on being open to any story as it came instead of trying to make one happen. Russell also shared his personal experience in the media industry with students and gave advice about filmmaking in the twenty-first century. "It's always beneficial to get experience from real life projects," senior Lauren Schlabach, member of the documentary crew, said. "I think you find a passion for your work when it has a real goal, one that's not just about getting a good grade." Some of the stories featured the Italian scenery, the food, the locals and the activities of the HUF students. The students were able to attend a soccer game whtle in Florence and interviewed the head chef of Italy's World Cup-winning national soccer team, a celebrity among the nation's passionate soccer fans. The students on the documentary crew also produced often-untold stories as they followed HUF students into places where very few people were allowed to take cameras. "I think that my favorite part of the actual work in Italy would be filming the sequences at the Duomo," junior Gil Gildner on the documentary crew recalled. "Being able to actually carry cameras inside the dome, pant up hundreds of stairs, and then surface at the very top of Florence was something that I'll likely never be able to do again." These students' work during the course of the trip earned them three hours of credit as well as an invaluable career experience abroad, but the journey began long before the flight to Florence. For months, the documentary crew mapped out storylines, shots and interviews they needed to produce the film, and Link students prepared for their interviews by researching Italian history, government and culture. The journey did not end with the students' return to Searcy either. When the student-produced documentary was finished and published on the Harding website in the fall of 2010, students could return to the steps of the Duomo and Michelangelo's David. In the words of Dr. Miller, the Italian experience was one they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. Gabrielle Pruitt communication 211 ~
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