The English major prepares you for so many careers. But don't take our word for it, listen to the podcast, "What are You Going to Do with That?" which interviews young professionals about how their humanities education shaped their careers. There are episodes on forging your own path, legal careers, tech careers, business, and the non-corporate ladder.
Coming up on Tuesday, November 12th...
This virtual forum features Jean Lutes, Denise Burgher, Trinity Rogers, and Brigitte Fielder of Taught by Literature, a collaborative digital humanities project that re-centers Black women writers, beginning with the work of African American author and activist Alice Dunbar-Nelson. The speakers will use Dunbar-Nelson’s short story, “His Heart’s Desire” (1900) to explore the challenges scholars face in recovering little-known African American texts when confronted by multiple textual variants, manuscripts without dates, and a readership unfamiliar with an author’s work. A remarkable short story about a boy who wants a doll, “His Heart’s Desire” is one of twelve short stories Dunbar-Nelson wrote in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries about children living in a poor urban neighborhood. The stories were inspired by her work teaching Black kindergarteners at the White Rose Mission in New York City.
Lutes, Burgher, Rogers, and Fielder will discuss Taught by Literature’s comprehensive digital resource for educators based on two different versions of Dunbar-Nelson’s story──the original written during the 1890s and published in a 1900 newspaper and a revision published at a later date──as well as its significance for the histories of boyhood, race, and material culture.
You can learn more and register for this virtual event here.
Professor Mary Mullen's Ghostly Matters class was recently featured on Villanova University's spotlight and on NBC 10.
WXVU’s listeners instantly recognize the voice. David Szczepanski’s signature energy and expertise transport his audience from their cars or residence halls to the excitement on the field or court. You feel like you are there, part of the action, even if you couldn’t make it to the game.
On Thursday, October 10, 2024, Szczepanski shared that infectious energy, reliable expertise, and journalism experiences at Villanova with students in Journalism 2023, a Fall 2024 course that meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 2:15 PM in Tolentine 405. Villanova junior and WXVU Sports Director David
Szczepanski visited Journals 2023 on Thursday, October 10
andshared his experiences as a student journalist
A junior Communication major from the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, Szczepanski serves as the Sports Director, Villanova Basketball/Football broadcaster, and Founder/Host of “Villanova Sports Talk” on WXVU 89.1 FM, Villanova’s student-run radio station, located on the second floor of Dougherty Hall.
Szczepanski’s deep commitment to his craft extends beyond WXVU’s airwaves. A self-proclaimed lover of talking, he serves as a Villanova Sports Network Broadcast Spotter and a Premium Services Host with the Philadelphia Phillies. He also founded the television station – HGPTV – at his high school, Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Bensalem, Pa.
“Going to games and covering sports,” Szczepanski asked, “could there be a better job?” Szczepanski loves traveling and exploring different cities, and his WXVU position allows him to scratch that itch. He travels extensively with teams to cover games, bringing that action to our earbuds. Most recently, Szczepanski has reported from Madison Square Garden in NYC and Stony Brook on Long Island.
Whether he’s reporting from the sidelines, pre- or post-game, or providing play-by-play coverage – standing throughout the game – Szczepanski strives to truthfully represent what he’s seeing and hearing so that his listeners remain informed. Context is key, Szczepanski said. Reporting information accurately and positioning it in its proper context helps journalists build trust with their audience and sources.
In addition, preparing for interviews in advance and asking smart questions helps student journalists develop their interviewing skills as they build rapport with sources.
“Instead of saying, ‘The offense was terrible. What happened,?’ say, ‘Coach, the defense played extraordinarily well tonight, but what happened with the offense? What didn’t work tonight?’” Questions framed more positively generally solicit greater and more nuanced responses and exchanges, allowing a journalist to go deeper, Szczepanski said.
Coming in with a playful, unique question – not a gotcha question but an unexpected and fun question – often relaxes the person you’re interviewing. For example, Szczepanski’s go-to question – What’s your favorite cheesesteak in Philly? – disarms his subjects. They might even smile as they share their answer.
For the record, Kyle Neptune, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Villanova, doesn’t have a favorite cheesesteak spot, favoring an arguably healthier clean and grass-fed diet, because that is what the players eat, especially during the season, as revealed during a sit-down interview with Szczepanski. Completely fine – more Cheez Whiz for the rest of us.
It’s important to remember that relationships between journalists and their sources are professional relationships, not personal ones. One of the many journalist responsibilities to their audiences is to ask tough, challenging questions to get to journalistic truth, and to be critical when appropriate. This gets complicated when the reporter and their sources are personally close.
Public Relations and Journalism are distinct, Szczepanski said. “It seems like the two are confused or conflated at times. Public Relations is concerned with promoting an individual or an organization, and with communicating certain messages that make an individual or organization look good,” Szczepanski reminded us. “Journalism looks for the real story and the facts.”
Active on social media, Szczepanski strives to share his reporting with a wider and wider audience in ways that they access information. Follow him here. And here. He’s also creating more and more videos, setting up his iPhone on an inexpensive tripod and reporting in video formats. Szczepanski, a one-person reporting/recording machine, seeks to develop his video production skills as he reaches broader audiences through this media. He’s doing it all, from producing the content to adjusting the lighting.
According to its Web site, WXVU went on the air in 1991 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted an educational license to Villanova University. On August 24, 2022, WXVU began full-time FM operations for the first time in its history. WXVU now broadcasts on the 89.1 FM frequency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You can listen on 89.1 FM, on the WXVU Web site, on the RadioFX app, or on-demand via the station’s podcast feed and YouTube channel.
Opportunities for Villanova students to get involved with media organizations on campus abound. VTV, the Villanovan, WXVU, Tech Crew, and the Belle Air Yearbook always need dedicated, reliable, and interested students who seek to inform our community as they strengthen their reporting, interviewing, writing, editing, and other journalistic skills. Contact these groups to learn more.
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Kate Szumanski, ’95, ’97, teaches Journalism 2023 through the English Department at Villanova University. She also serves as the Director of Professional Development and Internships in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova. Kate wrote this blog post with support from the great David Szczepanski, ’26.
Join the English department for the Pre-Registration Reception, which will take place on Friday, October 25th from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m., in the SAC East Courtyard. This will be a chance to join faculty and fellow students as we discuss our very cool line-up of Spring 2025 courses over lunch. There will be a raffle of books and Villanova English swag; students will talk about their recent internships; and there will be a fun craft project for those of you who are so-inclined. This is an ACS-approved cultural event, and all are welcome!
Please RSVP to Amanda Eliades by writing to her at amanda.eliades@villanova.edu
