Student AMA Panel Kicks Off New Students’ Term

Ask Me Anything (AMA) Panel

The recent New Student Orientation (NSO) for Summer term featured a dynamic student-produced event: an “AMA” (Ask Me Anything) panel. The format, inspired by a popular social media norm, encouraged live audience interaction and aimed to provide new students with a significant head start!

Each panelist was selected to represent a diverse range of professional backgrounds, geographic locations, and research interests, offering new students potentially relatable and/or relevant perspectives. The eclectic group, sharing their experiences and insights about university life, was composed of six “senior”-level students and graduates including:

1. Moderator/organizer Angel Burns, a PhD media psychology student, researching and working as a veteran in the movie industry in Los Angeles. As leader of MP peer social programming, she could explain the informal networking available to new students.
2. MA graduate Jeanine Riedl, a public relations professional in Chicago, interested in social justice advocacy. Her capstone topic on semiotics and psychology demonstrated how humorous messaging can combat complacency to motivate behavior change. Her goal is to apply media psychology to societal issues, leveraging her background in law and marketing. Jeanine offered specific insights about the MP master’s program.
3. PhD student Josh (J. David) Cohen, from New York State, a university professor and author of a media psychology textbook. He is developing a scale to help researchers understand why people enjoy re-watching TV shows and movies, related to theories of narrative transportation and social surrogacy. Known for his exemplary writing skills, Josh represented a viewpoint from academia.
4. PhD student Steven Bond, a packaging engineer and new father from South Carolina. He is studying videogame effects, particularly nostalgia and ‘sense of place’ in digital spaces. Balancing full-time work with running two Fielding MP research labs, he shared how students could apply to become research assistants and potentially co-author publications.
5. PhD student Ashley Vargas, a specialist in persuasive design and social media from New York City. Having pivoted from clinical psychology, she is investigating improving media literacy for middle school students. Ashley heads student membership for APA’s media psychology division and explained how students may get involved at the national level, including joining the division for free.
6. PhD graduate Holly Beavon, a Hollywood-based tribute character actor, who appropriately researched character identification for her dissertation. Known for her impersonations of Marilyn Monroe and Madonna, she plans to continue as a researcher of mediated social impacts, such as propaganda and misinformation. Holly offered organizational insights from her acclaimed oral defense presentation.

After brief self-introductions, the moderator highlighted each panelist’s unique expertise. Each member then shared personal advice with new and returning students. “I have such admiration for my colleagues’ various talents already, and here, they were so focused and thoughtful,” moderator Burns reflected.

The session allowed plenty of time for Q&A, with open mics and cameras fostering inclusive discussions. The moderator called on speakers like in a game show, as new students asked questions ranging from academic advice to social activities. The panelists, meanwhile, gained familiarity with the new students’ backgrounds, industries, and aspirations, offering personalized suggestions. Tips for success included proactive involvement, efficient citation management, and leveraging faculty relationships. Dialogues also covered alternative career paths and income sources, highlighting opportunities for writing, speaking, and media presence.

The Zoom chat box featured panelist emails for follow-up, LinkedIn invitations, and a crowd-sourced resource list of useful websites, social media accounts, inspiring podcasts, software/apps, key journals, and important conferences. This cloud-based list allows users to add future finds, discount codes, and comments, saving time and mitigating financial risks of paid options.

A list of social meetups, both in-person and online, was also shared, emphasizing ongoing community engagement. Several panelists have hosted Coffee Hours, ensuring new students will see familiar faces at future events.

Attendee feedback was wholly positive: “Thank you for making this transition exciting and motivating;” “It was really informative and welcoming!”

While the student AMA event was a fast-paced hour, its objective was to help everyone find tools and places to lean, particularly on each other. Media psychology, after all, studies how mediated interaction can positively influence thoughts and behavior. Social support in distance-learning aids productivity, coping, and enjoyment toward greater student success!

Welcome to all our Fielding students this term 🌱🤩🥳

Your fellow students are here for you too!