Mass Communications professionals give Texas State students insight
By Lionel Reynosa
Conversing with hitmen, managing a rock group and economic activism are just a few things you can expect to learn when speaking to someone in the mass communications field.
Mass Comm Week has begun, and there are many things to learn from professionals visiting campus this week. Many of these professionals have brought their experiences to share with the Texas State campus.
Professionals like Michael Vela, a marketing and communications manager for the San Antonio Tricentennial Commission, shared his insight on what it means to be successful in the mass communications workforce.
“I would say focus a lot on networking, on whatever community or area you’re deciding or wanting to be in,” Vela said. “I’ve been very fortunate that every job I’ve gotten has been because I know someone who has told me about the position, or has referred me to a job position.”
Vela also said it was important to keep an open mindset, find a balance and above all do not compromise yourself as a person.
Digital content producer for Community Impact Newspaper, Tara Pohlmeyer, also believes networking is the key source of success. Honing a good work ethic and a boundary-less attitude are also important for succeeding in the mass communications field, according to Pohlmeyer.
“Explore whatever is making you happy at that point. If you are in electronic media, but you want to go into PR, the transition is so easy, and there is so much overlap so apply to as many jobs as you can,” Pohlmeyer said.
Aside from her professional career, Pohlmeyer manages a rock band in her spare time and hopes to one day manage the band full time by utilizing the skills she has learned from mass communications.
Immigration and border affairs journalist for the San Antonio Express-News Jason Buch, also has a very important message for future Texas State mass comm graduates.
“If you want to get on at a paper you have to have clips,” said Buch. “Even if it’s just a couple of clips on the University Star. Even if it’s just a story that shows you can make a couple of phone calls and write a sentence.”
Buch said that many of his stories have led him to have exciting conversations with drug lords, hitmen and people he never thought he would ever come across in his lifetime, and thinks it is definitely a good career for those who seek adventure.
