In addition to all of the other clubs Temple University has to offer, Klein College of Media and Communication is home to many opportunities for students to get involved regardless of their area of study.

We talked to the following students about how they get involved on campus:

• Alex Pombo, freshman, communication studies major with a minor in general business

• James Eberhart, senior, media studies and production major with minors in computer science and communication studies

What are you involved in on campus?

AP: I am the talent coordinator for Temple Tonight and, for me, being a freshman, I didn’t necessarily think I could get a role like that. And then I applied for the talent coordinator position and ended up getting it. 

I try to find talent. Usually, Philadelphia is where we primarily want to look for talent, but because Temple Tonight is still on Zoom, I can find talent anywhere throughout the entire country. 

For WHIP, I was first interested in the entertainment section and then I saw the music section and I saw that you could just be a DJ and play music and I’m like, “that’s so fun who wouldn’t want to do that?” And so, I came up with an idea to start my own show called Hidden Gems, and it’s a show about playing underrated music or maybe a song from an album that may not be as popular. It’s one of my favorite things to do now. I look forward to it every week. 

JE: I’ve been involved as an intern with ITS as a communications intern, basically writing content for their social media pages and website engagement. And I’m a TA for the Real Estate Institute; and I worked on the production team for WHIP.

You know those Tech Bits emails that get sent out? I’m in charge of writing those. I also write the captions for the majority of the social media pages for Temple ITS and put together analytic reports for the department.

For my TA job, there were classes Monday, Wednesday, Saturday that I would just sit in a Zoom call and help out the professor with the courses or scheduling, taking attendance and that sort of stuff.

And with WHIP, it’s basically editing and putting together commercials and advertisements that would be aired in between shows and music.

What made you get involved in those spaces?

AP: I just wanted to get involved and I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to get involved with. I was just kind of signing up for everything. With Temple Tonight, they made it so easy to get involved, which was a huge plus. I do all my work remotely and send it in so it’s not a huge commitment.

With WHIP, my friend was really interested in the radio section and we’re kind of doing stuff together, so I was like, “alright I’ll join as well,” and if it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out, but I was always going to try. I ended up loving it. I went to the first meeting, and it just ended up being really fun. It was a very big community so they definitely are there for you, they look out for you, you can tell they have fun, so that really drew me in.

JE: With the ITS internship, um, I just thought it married the two aspects of my studies very well, being a minor in computer science and the communication minor.

As for the real estate, I’ve always been interested in real estate, so, being a TA, I not only got to help out, but I also got to learn through the professor. You know, learn more about something I’m interested in.

With regard to the production team, I’ve always been interested in music, especially the production of such and that’s why I majored in media studies and production. That’s just something to get more professional experience within the production field.

What is the best part of your work?

AP: I would say, for WHIP, knowing that my friends are listening in. It’s really just you playing the music that you want to play and there may be people listening, there may not be people listening, but if there is, you can be making someone’s day, and that really makes my day. Someone on the other side could really need a happy song to put them in a good mood that day, and that makes me happy.

With Temple Tonight, finding musicians, for me, is really exciting because I like to look into new music. It kind of opens a whole new world because then I get to see, like, comedians, I get to meet people who I never met before, and I get to meet Temple alumni which is crazy. It’s just so much fun to go out there and try to find people who would want to be on the show.

JE: Just making new connections and meeting people in the field that I eventually want to be going into. It helps to have some recommendations for further job opportunities. And just to take that experience within the field outside of my normal course work, um, I’ve really just enjoyed working with people tied to the university.

How has Klein supported your involvement?

AP: Oh my gosh, Klein, I personally think Klein is the best school, obviously. They’ve been so supportive. Everyone just wants to help you out whether it’s in these clubs or it’s another professor like Dr. Gratson, he, he’s amazing. Everyone just wants to look out for you and wants to help you put your best foot forward and really push you into your future careers. Maybe these clubs will be my future career. Temple professors, Klein clubs, they all help you so much.

JE: I think Klein has always pushed getting involved and has placed great emphasis on getting involved, meeting people, building on your resume. Klein has been a great motivator to get involved, and I see that in a lot of my peers, as well. The Career Center has been a great resource, as well. I’ve really enjoyed talking with and, you know, planning out a career path with the career advisors at Temple.

What advice do you have for someone else who wants to get involved?

AP: Get involved with clubs that have to do with your major, but also get involved in clubs that are going to make you happy and are going to be fun. Yes, clubs in your major are important, especially if you want to go into a certain field that has to do with that club, but those can be a lot of work so try to find clubs that are going to be able to balance fun, and clubs that are going to be able to push you in your field.

JE: Get as involved as you can. Don’t let the fact that everything is online now discourage you. You could still meet people and have great experiences regardless, and I would just say, you know, get out of your comfort zone, and try to get involved, because it definitely helps in the long run.

Responses were edited slightly for length and clarity