For the past few years, USIU's Journalism Club had gone silent, and in order to improve the students' experience and practical skills, the communication department decided to revive it with the help and participation of the students.
And the objective was achieved on Thursday, November 17, 2022. The Journalism Club is back!
Journalism club, Media Day
Prior to the club's roaring return, the organizers had conducted several activities including taking part in media publicity avenues and working with outfits like Film Club to cover Mr and Miss USIU which is the university's biggest annual event.
This time, as part of its formative activities, the club has partnered with USIU Radio and, from this fusion, was born USIU Media.
The two clubs, now one, joined forces to organize their first Media Day on November 17.
The idea was to allow students to network with media personalities and interact with journalism students from other universities such as Daystar, Mahanaim, Saint Paul's, Riara, KCA, and Africa Nazarene.
Post-event analysis
Notably, planning this event had been very instructive for the team involved and they, as hoped, gained a lot of knowledge on how to organize such a big event and the dos and don'ts to achieve success.
“I’m so happy because this event has been successful. I believe that students have learned a lot during the event and I’m hopeful that the next edition will be bigger and better,” John Kennedy, the student in charge of media content creation for USIU Media, said.
“I’m grateful to my team for doing a good job and to the guests for showing up and guiding the students accordingly,” he added.
At the same time, they strengthened the ties between members of the USIU Media team.
The most challenging thing for the team was to make the event appealing enough not only for USIU students but also for the other invited schools.
Interestingly, this event did not only reunite universities as Davasha Media Academy and Ruaraka High were part of the attendees.
It was for all students a great networking opportunity as they got to talk to the media practitioners who graced the occasion.
Speakers, media teams present
Guest speakers included; Nimrat Kaur, Rachel Ombaka, Eugene Mbugua, Esther Masaa, Neville Musya, Daniel Mule, Martin Munene, Coralie Sefu, and Maureen Okore.
Media teams that were present included Mediamax Digital, Capital FM, and the Media Council of Kenya, among others.
The event was divided into two sections: the first was a succession of panel discussions led by the different invited media personalities giving students the opportunity to meet and exchange with them, and the second was an outdoor exhibition in collaboration with Wave 360 that featured singers (the Music Club and other artistes), dancers, and some modeling by Mr and Miss USIU contestants, and Mr and Miss USIU 2021-2022.
The new VC
The media day was not only USIU Media's first event, but it was also the first departmental event for Professor Margee M. Ensign, PhD, as the university’s new Vice-Chancellor.
Prof Ensign has a distinguished academic background and has served for 12 years as a successful Vice-Chancellor in Nigeria and the US, where she was also a powerful fundraiser and ambassador.
