Meet Medill’s new class of media innovation master’s students
What do a software engineer, a digital media buyer, a community organizer, an Austin-based magazine editor, a Northwestern undergraduate and former intern at Facebook, a Seoul-based reporter, a documentary production manager, a software developer from Mumbai, a health news journalist, and an Oracle account manager have in common?
They’re the latest group to pursue the Medill School’s one-year master’s program in Media Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Like the previous cohorts, they bring an eclectic mix of backgrounds, career journeys, and perspectives.
What they share, however, is an interest in great storytelling (whether through an article, app, product pitch, user journey, or documentary), a passion for solving challenging problems, and a desire to prepare for the future of media. Not only are they keenly aware of the obstacles and strains facing the media industry today, they’re prepared to meet them head-on.
In their first quarter at Medill’s downtown Chicago campus, they practiced foundational reporting methods, coded mobile-responsive websites using HTML and CSS, studied journalism ethics and law and explored the external forces affecting media today. In their second term this fall, they are relocating to San Francisco, where they’ll have internships at Bay Area companies and take course on web development, user research and the business of media and tech.
Get to know MIE’s class of 2020:
Andrew Weiler
Twitter: @agweiler2020
Hailing from the Pacific Northwest — Washington state, specifically — Andrew worked for Chicago-based film production company Kindling Group before joining Medill. As operations manager, he oversaw their production, post-production, and the internship program.
Why did you choose the Medill program?
“To pivot into the journalism industry and become proficient in media product management.”
Future career and/or life goals?
“To be the COO for a local news initiative as well as a media entrepreneur.”
Favorite media publication or product?
“The New York Times.”
San Francisco internship: Berkeleyside, focusing on business issues in local media.
Ruby Thompson
LinkedIn | Twitter: @RubyGThomp
A born-and-bred Chicagoan, Ruby studied marketing and writing as an undergraduate at Marquette University in Wisconsin.
Why did you choose the Medill program?
“After graduation, I worked as a digital media buyer at a large media company in Chicago. At my job, I learned about digital targeting tactics and how to reach an audience for advertising purposes — but I wanted to know more about creating content for those audiences. MIE is the perfect fit to bridge my undergraduate work with my professional work and help drive me towards a career I will love.”
Future career goals and/or life goals?
“I’d love to work in content creation and/or strategy for a company that focuses on health, wellness, and fitness.”
One app you can’t live without?
“The health app! I love counting my steps.”
Favorite media publication or product?
“The Skimm.”
Surprising fact people may not know about you?
“I’m obsessed with taking Barre classes.”
San Francisco internship: Content creation and strategy, Healthline.
Sonia Singh
Sonia comes to Chicago from her native Mumbai, India, where she graduated from NMIMS business school with a degree in Computer Engineering. During her undergraduate studies, she worked on several projects related to journalism, including one that leveraged machine learning to detect fake news.
Why did you choose the Medill program?
“Its interdisciplinary nature. I’ve always been interested in the media and journalism industry, and MIE seemed to be the perfect intersection of computer science, media, business, and journalism. As a computer engineer, the program allows me to stay close to my technical background. The chance to intern in SF is a pretty sweet deal, too.”
Surprising fact people may not know about you?
“I used to swim — trained in Singapore, Germany, and India. I kind of miss that rigor (kind of).”
San Francisco internship: Product management, Quantcast.com.
Mark Stenberg
Twitter: @MarkStenberg3 | Instagram: @MarkStenberq3 | LinkedIn
Mark grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and studied honors English and history as an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin.
Why did you choose the Medill program?
“After working as the editor-in-chief of an Austin-based magazine, I found that I wanted to better understand the business side of editorial, and MIE seemed perfectly suited to accomplish that.”
Future career and/or life goals?
“Start a media company.”
One app you can’t live without?
“Twitter! Unfortunately.”
Favorite media publication or product:
“The New York Times or Bon Appetit.”
Surprising fact people may not know about you:
“I once ate nothing but corn for five days straight.”
San Francisco internship: Alpha Group, product incubator for Advance Digital.
Jack Kelly
Twitter: @byjackkelly
Born and raised in America’s dairyland, Jack calls Racine, Wisconsin, home. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in journalism and history. Before joining Medill, he worked as an intern at Wisconsin Health News, Health News Illinois, and was also heavily involved in UW’s student newspaper, The Daily Cardinal.
Why did you choose the Medill program?
“I have a passion for journalism. The work that journalists around the United States do on a daily basis is incredibly important, but it has become harder and harder for them to efficiently and effectively do their jobs. I selected the MIE specialization because I wanted to create tools that journalists can use to make their daily lives easier, and also be pushed to do serious reflection on the media industry to identify sustainable business models for news organizations.”
Future career and/or life goals:
“I hope to work on the business side of a media company, empowering journalists to tell stories with innovative tools, helping build online communities around an organization’s coverage, and most importantly, making sure that my future employer is financially stable and can focus on producing top-notch journalism.”
One app you can’t live without?
“Twitter, sadly.”
Favorite media publication or product:
“Axios.”
San Francisco internship: Audience development, Healthline.
Ju Park
From Seoul, South Korea, Ju studied journalism at Ewha Womans University. She interned at ABC News’ Seoul bureau and the National Assembly. Before entering Medill, she worked for Korea’s English-language newspaper, the Korea Herald, as a full-time reporter.
Why did you choose the Medill program?
“To pivot my career path from a reporter to an entrepreneur in the media industry, I thought MIE would be a perfect fit.”
Future career and/or life goals?
“A future goal of mine is to make more people interested in news.”
One app you can’t live without?
“Uber.”
San Francisco internship: User experience and analytics, Smartnews.
Avery Dews
Twitter: @neonarcadeblues | LinkedIn
Avery is originally from Plymouth, Michigan. Before Medill, he worked as a software engineer at Lakeside Software in Ann Arbor, where he focused on back-end development for their network analytics tool.
Why did you choose the Medill program?
“I chose MIE because I have always been interested in the intersections between technology and media. Professionally, I come from a software engineering background, but while I was in undergrad I also took media studies courses. MIE seemed like the perfect way to combine the two in an exciting way.”
Future career and/or life goals?
“I think I would like to pursue a career path in product management. My life goal is to have my own ceramics studio.”
One app you can’t live without:
“Spotify.”
Favorite media publication or product:
“I love public radio — WBEZ, Michigan Radio.”
Surprising fact people may not know about you:
“No one ever believes me but I’ve never had a paper cut!”
San Francisco internship: Product management, BestReviews.com.
Meredith Gallo
Twitter: @gallo_meredith
Before attending Medill, Meredith worked for Oracle in Reston, Virginia. Originally from the Washington, DC suburbs, she majored in global studies as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia.
Why did you choose the Medill program?
“I chose MIE because it offered me storytelling training within the context of a changing industry. The innovation and content strategy elements of the program were a major reason why I chose Medill and MIE.”
Future career and/or life goals?
“I would like to create content (and eventually content strategy) for a lifestyle publication or brand.”
One app you can’t live without:
“Google Maps — I’m always going someplace!”
Favorite media publication or product:
“New Yorker, “The High Low” podcast, and Man Repeller.”
Surprising fact people may not know about you:
“I rode an ostrich when I was a kid. An ostrich’s neck has the unsettling feel of chicken skin.”
San Francisco internship: Content strategy and audience development, BestReviews.com.
Camille Galles
Twitter: @cegalles | Camille’s podcast about friendship: @youandmepod
Prior to Medill, Camille worked in community and political organizing in her native Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was part of a team that contributed to the highest state voter turnout in the nation in 2018, and led the creation and programming for Representative Ilhan Omar’s 2016 district office. Most recently, she was a marketing coordinator at American Public Media, where she designed and executed the marketing strategy for Glen Nelson Center, a media innovation and entrepreneurship lab.
Why did you choose the Medill program?
“I chose the MIE specialization for the opportunity to learn interdisciplinary approaches to solving problems in the media and information sharing space, and to gain real-world experience through the San Francisco internship and NUvention project.”
Future career and/or life goals:
“I hope to work in an audience, engagement, or project management role where I collaborate with a team to build strategies that connect people to resources they need. That could be at a major media organization, a tech platform, or an exciting brand. I’m especially interested in exploring and innovating in the podcast space.”
Favorite media publication or product:
“Vox Media, City Bureau, ‘The City’ podcast.”
Surprising fact people may not know about you:
“I am a classically trained oboist!”
San Francisco internship: User research and product development, Reveal / The Center for Investigative Reporting.
Kerrie Vila
Twitter: @kerrievila | LinkedIn
From Sag Harbor, New York, Kerrie is in Medill’s accelerated master’s program, through which she completed three years as an undergraduate before heading straight to the master’s program. She spent the summer interning at a CRM platform for publishers, Pico, in New York City and has previously interned at CalMatters, Axios, and Facebook.
Why did you choose the Medill program?
“After doing the Bay Area immersion program as a Northwestern undergraduate, I knew I wanted to go back to SF and learn more about the ways technological innovations shape and change the way we consume news.”
Future career and/or life goals?
“Not sure what I want to do when I graduate, but I hope it is fulfilling and impactful.”
Favorite media publication or product?
“The New York Times and Axios.”
San Francisco internship: Audience development, KQED.
About the MSJ media innovation specialization
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