Journalism students take advantage of King’s College study-abroad program
As Trevecca’s multimedia journalism program grows, more students are choosing to take advantage of the University’s partnership with The King’s College, which allows students to spend a semester studying journalism in the largest media market in the United States.
Recently, two more students joined the list: Princess Jones, who is studying in New York right now, and Maria Monteros, who will participate in the program during the Spring 2019 semester.
The program allows students to learn from seasoned journalists and media professionals. Participating students also complete an internship in New York City. That was an opportunity Monteros couldn’t pass up.
“What really got me interested into the program was the 6-credit internship that they [offered],” Monteros said. “I’m quite aware how competitive journalism internships are. I can get an advantage here.”
Jones, who completed her coursework at Trevecca last spring, is currently completing her internship at the Amsterdam News in Harlem. She says the experience has helped her to grow as a journalist as well as prepare her for the future.
“You’ve got great experience to start you off in your profession,” Jones said. “There’s nothing to lose.”
Applying for the program isn’t much different than applying to go to any college. Students need recommendations and class schedule requests. One major difference, though, is that students must submit several articles they’ve written, or “clips.”
Monteros first submitted several stories from her work as a reporter and online editor at the TrevEchoes, the University’s student newspaper. But then the admissions director asked for more.
“The admissions director emailed me about another story,” Monteros said. “She had heard about one of my other stories from JoEllen and wanted to read it.”
JoEllen Werking-Weedman, assistant professor of communication studies, is no stranger to students asking for her advice during the application process for the program.
“Since I am the faculty advisor, students typically ask me to fill out recommendations,” Werking-Weedman said. “I want to encourage [students] and be a sounding board.”
Monteros says she was excited to learn that she had been accepted for the Spring 2019 semester, but it didn’t come without some difficulties.
“I have never been separated from my parents before,” Monteros said. “I’m also kind of hesitant because I’ve never been away from home and alone.”
While adjusting to a new environment can be stressful, participating students can count on Werking-Weedman to stay in touch.
“I keep in contact with students while they’re in the program,” Werking-Weedman said. “They’re learning life skills all at once—just navigating the city can be hard.”
That’s something Jones has appreciated, since the culture shock and size of the city were a bit daunting at first.
“Being at a small Christian college is great, but it is a culture shock going out into the world. Even Christian faith up here is different,” Jones said. “It’s helped me prepare for when I hear bizarre things in the future.”
Werking-Weedman also encourages her students to venture outside of their comfort zones to discover if journalism is the path for them.
“I encourage my students to do this because we can do a lot at Trevecca, and Nashville is great, but in this program students get the benefit of different perspectives from faculty at The Kings College and the hands-on learning experience of an internship in New York City,” she said. “I’m really proud of our students who go there. They test their calling in journalism, and I think testing their calling outside of Trevecca is brave.”
In addition, Werking-Weedman says the program can help Trevecca’s journalism students build a larger professional network, which will be helpful when searching for post-graduation jobs.
“There is definite benefit to meeting and studying with journalism students from other Christian colleges and so much we can learn from others,” Werking-Weedman said. “In addition, this will also give students greater access to an alumni network when entering the industry and searching for jobs.”
For more information on the program and the application process, visit https://www.tkc.edu/nycs or stop by Werking-Weedman’s office in Tidwell for a brochure.
By Audrey Yawn
Media contact: Mandy Crow, mmcrow@trevecca.edu, 615-248-1695