Now, as a graduate, I can attest how those connections 鈥� first planted on the university鈥檚 campus 鈥� grow into strong bonds well beyond Elon鈥檚 brick pathways and oak trees. That is true of my connection to Dr. Anthony Hatcher.

Although I only took a few of Dr. Hatcher鈥檚 courses at Elon, our paths crossed countless times inside McEwen Communications Building. Every conversation included a kind word, encouragement and a quiet chuckle. But it was a senior-year trip to Hong Kong that revealed why so many students held him in such high regard.

Traveling with Dr. Hatcher and a cohort of classmates for an Imagining the Internet project, I truly understood what great teaching looks like. Dr. Hatcher let us students take the wheel and learn by doing, producing the interviews, choosing our story angles and cutting the video. By knowing when to offer guidance and when to step back, he let his students discover how to do journalism.

But it was in the 鈥渂etween鈥� moments 鈥� a shared meal at the top of Victoria Peak, wandering the chaotic shopping markets and navigating the busy streets 鈥� that made the trip special, where I and my classmates could share stories with him, listen to the advice of a seasoned journalist and just talk about our hopes and dreams upon graduating. They say that travel often brings out the best or worst in a person, and I can say unequivocally, Dr. Hatcher shared the best of himself with us. We successfully completed that trip, bonded by adventure and nearly 24 hours of straight travel.

I鈥檓 happy to say that connection is still present today, whether through emails exchanged or virtual coffee chats. And while Dr. Hatcher鈥檚 time at Elon may be ending, his impact on students and alumni like me will live on long after departing campus.

An Emmy Award-winning communications leader, Addie Haney 鈥�14 has built her career around storytelling and audience engagement. Earlier this year, she joined CNN Newsource as a content producer.

A new chapter in 福利亚洲国产精品鈥檚 global sport education programming officially began Sept. 7 in Pistoia, Italy.

Five Elon students arrived in the Tuscan city as the inaugural cohort participating in the university鈥檚 partnership with Lumos Pistoia Basket 2000, a professional basketball organization, and the Accademia Europea di Firenze (AEF). Their arrival was marked by a from the club as the students prepare to begin a semester combining study abroad with hands-on experience in the professional sport industry.

As part of their initial visit, the students explored Pistoia鈥檚 historic center before making their way to LumoSquare, the 3,835-seat home of Pistoia Basket and a growing community hub. Accompanied by Professor Marco Bracci and Elisabetta Santanni, academic director of AEF/福利亚洲国产精品 in Florence, the group toured the facility, met members of the club staff, and received a personal welcome from Pistoia Basket President Joseph Mark David.

The visit offered the students their first look at the organization, where they will soon become part of the day-to-day operations. Beginning in mid-September, they will work alongside Pistoia Basket staff on projects involving sport management, marketing and social media.

鈥淭his experience is over a year in the making and couldn’t have come together without the amazing work of our partners at AEF, especially Elisabetta Santanni and Marco Bracci,鈥� said David Bockino, professor of sport management. 鈥淎s we launch the partnership this semester, we’re already discussing how to make it accessible to more students moving forward. The reception on campus has been great 鈥� we have students lining up to participate in the future.鈥�

A global professional experience

Announced last fall, Elon鈥檚 partnership with AEF and Pistoia Basket was developed in collaboration with the Department of Sport Management to expand experiential learning opportunities for students studying in Florence. It combines two hallmarks of an Elon education 鈥� global engagement and professional experience 鈥� placing students inside a European professional sport organization while they study abroad.

鈥淭his experience was the logical next step as Elon grows its sport-related experiences,鈥� Bockino said. 鈥淎s a university, we’re great at study abroad and at helping our students get internships. Why not put those two together? When these students eventually hit the job market, they’ll arrive with a true resume differentiator: an internship with a professional Italian basketball club that allows them to better understand sport from a global perspective.鈥�

As part of a mentored, two-credit internship with Pistoia Basket, students will spend approximately 10 hours each week gaining practical experience in event operations, fan engagement, marketing, communications and social media. Their responsibilities will be tailored to their academic backgrounds and professional interests.

For example, students interested in media analytics may evaluate the club鈥檚 social media performance, while students studying sport management or strategic communications will work to increase Pistoia Basket鈥檚 visibility among college students studying abroad in Florence. Participants will also meet regularly with accompanying professors and complete applied and reflection-based assignments.

The cohort will also contribute to a video storytelling project designed to introduce Pistoia Basket to new audiences in the United States. Funded by the Elon Innovation Council and coordinated through Elon鈥檚 Sports Media Lab and Elon Sports Vision, the project will use footage captured by the students to tell the story of Pistoia鈥檚 2026-27 season. According to Bockino, the resulting videos are expected to appear on Elon social media channels and during Elon Athletics broadcasts.

This fall鈥檚 inaugural cohort includes Robbie Pataky ’28, a strategic communications major; Amelia Weaver ’28, a sport management and media analytics double major; Riley Greenwald ’28, a sport management major; Olivia Tichnor ’28, a marketing major; and Max Edelstein ’28, a sport management major.

can vividly remember the exhilaration of running onto the field this past weekend with the University of Pittsburgh football team, gimbal in hand, as more than 40,000 fans roared around him.

What happened next is a little hazier.

鈥淚 essentially blacked out on adrenaline for the first 10 minutes of game action,鈥� Henneman laughed.

It was Henneman鈥檚 first game day working on the sidelines for Pitt football 鈥� and a surreal introduction to his new role as the program鈥檚 assistant director of creative content.

The Elon alumnus was there to capture an up-close look at Pitt鈥檚 season-opening 59-14 victory over Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 5. Once the final whistle sounded, his responsibilities only grew. Henneman took the lead editing 鈥溾�� Pitt鈥檚 long-running video series that tells the story of a victory through behind-the-scenes content.

For Henneman, the assignment represented another milestone in a professional journey that has moved quickly.

His path to Pitt began shortly after his May 2025 graduation from Elon, where he majored in journalism and built a portfolio that stretched well beyond traditional reporting.

As a student, Henneman worked with Rising Phoenix and Elon Athletics video production. He also spent nearly two years interning with The Burlington School, chronicling its high-level prep basketball program. Following graduation, he continued sharpening his skills as a videographer with the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Those experiences ultimately led him to Pittsburgh.

In January, Henneman initially joined Pitt Athletics as an assistant director of video production, creating content across the university鈥檚 athletics programs. After six months, he accepted a position supporting Pitt football. But Henneman wasn鈥檛 quite ready to give up basketball.

He negotiated a hybrid role that allows him to remain the secondary video contact for Pitt men鈥檚 basketball.

鈥淚 couldn’t get myself to leave my basketball roots behind,鈥� Henneman said.

Being a major content contributor for both programs, he said, is a 鈥渄ream come true.鈥� It has also brought considerably more responsibility.

While the football staff was away during July, Henneman filmed basketball summer workouts, helped lead the rollout of new NIL initiatives for Pitt Athletics, and traveled to New York City to cover volleyball standout Olivia Babcock at the Collegiate Women Sports Awards.

Then came football season.

When fall camp opened in August, Henneman鈥檚 days regularly stretched from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. He produced short-form content from daily practices and longer-form mic鈥檇-up features while documenting the weeks leading into the season.

“Practically living in the facility gave me an eye-opening perspective of the upper echelon of college athletics.”

鈥� Cap Henneman 鈥�25

Amid that demanding schedule came one of his biggest opportunities.

At the end of fall camp, Henneman spent a week shooting and editing the 鈥溾�� his first true 鈥減assion project鈥� since arriving at Pitt. The finished video was shown at the program鈥檚 kickoff luncheon and student bonfire pep rally, played on the stadium scoreboard before the season opener, and released on social media.

Creating a longer, storytelling-driven piece reminded Henneman of the projects he pursued at Elon.

鈥淚t was refreshing to create a storytelling-centric piece that I could be proud of,鈥� Henneman said.

That same approach carried into his first football Saturday.

After documenting Pitt鈥檚 season-opening victory, Henneman shifted almost immediately from capturing the story to assembling it. For 鈥溾�� he storyboarded the video and constructed its game-action sequences, working alongside colleagues who handled the introduction, graphics, color grading and sound effects.

There was also a tighter turnaround. The popular series, previously released on Wednesdays, was now due Monday.

鈥淒espite the lack of social life and free time that football season brings, I can confidently say I am doing something that I truly love,鈥� Henneman said. 鈥淚 feel like I have found my footing within the creative team, and look to keep improving as the season moves forward.鈥�

The journey resulted in three intertwined research projects collectively called 鈥淢ission America.鈥� Abby Zampier 鈥�02, a psychology major, examined the effects of the attacks on volunteers; Cheryl Olsen 鈥�02, a business administration major, analyzed their impact on charitable organizations; and Mary Zappulla 鈥�02, a broadcast communication major, documented the journey in a film titled 鈥�.鈥�

鈥淲e really grew up,鈥� said Zappulla, now a showrunner, director and producer. 鈥淲e were independent. We were out driving across the country with no parents and with no maps and trying to figure it out. As a producer, it taught us a lot about how to make things happen.鈥�

The three friends were living together when the attacks happened on Sept. 11, 2001, and remember spending the entire day watching news coverage. Each also had a personal connection to the events. Zampier鈥檚 brother worked at the World Trade Center but was out of town on a business trip that day. Olsen鈥檚 father worked at the Pentagon, and Zapulla鈥檚 mother worked in government.

鈥淎t first everyone was talking about the attacks, and then it stopped,鈥� Zampier told the Magazine of Elon in 2002. 鈥淲e were still affected by Sept. 11, and we wanted to see how it was affecting everyone else in the country.鈥�

The three completed the project during Winter Term 2002. A faculty member who owned a car dealership loaned them a van, and they began their journey at the World Trade Center, just months after the attacks.

From there, they traveled across the country, stopping to interview people about how Sept. 11 had affected them and their communities. One of those stops was the site of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Zappulla told the Magazine of Elon in 2002 that interviewing people there left her emotional, and the three women say those conversations remain on their minds 25 years later.

鈥淭he people there felt for everybody because they had experienced something like that before,鈥� said Zampier, who now works in real estate.

The students accumulated more than 18 hours of footage for the documentary, conducting interviews in the winter cold as they made their way across the country to California. They took only one day off because of rain.

Looking back, Olsen is struck by both the circumstances surrounding their journey and the willingness of strangers to speak openly with three college students.

鈥淲e were at war at the time, and we were attacked. It鈥檚 crazy that we felt comfortable going out into the United States by ourselves and to talk to random people about this moment,鈥� said Olsen, who now lives in San Francisco. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so defining back then how the nation really came together and, now if that were to happen, it might be a little different going up to people and asking them how they feel about issues that are serious.鈥�

That spring, the three presented their work at Elon鈥檚 undergraduate research forum, then called the Student Undergraduate Research Forum.

For Zappulla, the project offered a way to process an event that had unfolded hundreds of miles from Elon while better understanding how people across the country were experiencing its aftermath.

鈥淚n North Carolina, you鈥檙e so far removed, and it made us feel part of what happened, not that it鈥檚 a good thing, but it was doing something to express how we were feeling,鈥� Zappulla said.

A five-minute clock was counting down. Fallon鈥檚 challenge was to lift Thor鈥檚 hammer before time ran out. MrBeast watched from outside the box, and Chris Hemsworth arrived as Thor to smash the glass and save the day.

The setup was ridiculous by design. Dyer and his team had started with a simple question: What kind of challenge could bring together MrBeast鈥檚 oversized videos, Hemsworth鈥檚 history as Thor and Fallon鈥檚 willingness to play along?

For Dyer, the segment worked because it did more than copy something popular online. It gave 鈥淭he Tonight Show鈥� its own way into the joke.

鈥淲e never really did trendy content just because everyone else was doing it,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥淲hat is our spin on it? What is our story? How can we subvert people鈥檚 expectations?鈥�

Dyer has been asking versions of those questions since his time at Elon. He arrived on campus already interested in broadcast, having focused his college search on communications programs. As a broadcast and new media major, he learned how an idea moved from a script to a finished piece.

Professors Staci Saltz and Thomas Nelson gave him room to work across writing, videography, photography, editing and directing. In the studio and in the field, he learned how to build a project 鈥渟oup to nuts.鈥�

鈥淭hey really allowed me to flex my creative muscles,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥淚 learned all aspects of media production and strategy. That was pretty formative for me.鈥�

He graduated in 2011 as digital video was beginning to change the television business. Dyer started in digital operations at TV Land, then moved to Comedy Central, producing online content for programs including 鈥淪outh Park,鈥� 鈥淜ey & Peele鈥� and 鈥淣athan For You.鈥�

The platforms were still developing their identities as places to watch video, which gave Dyer room to test ideas and learn what worked. He credits his early progress to an eagerness to take on assignments beyond his job description.

鈥淚 never said no to an opportunity,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥淚 had a drive to continue to push the envelope, learn more and become better every day.鈥�

In 2015, he joined the team building the digital presence of 鈥淭he Daily Show鈥� as Trevor Noah became host. The group had the chance to establish a new voice, try original formats and respond to the news with the speed of an online newsroom.

One of those formats was 鈥淏etween the Scenes,鈥� which captured Noah talking with the studio audience during commercial breaks. Dyer helped launch and produce the digital series, and the team won a 2017 Creative Arts Emmy Award for outstanding short-form variety series.

The series grew from a culture in which writers, producers, correspondents and members of the digital team could all shape an idea. Dyer remembers Trevor Noah telling the staff that a good idea could come from anyone, whether it came from an intern, a writer or a producer.

鈥淎 great idea really can come from anywhere and anyone,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥淪hare, bounce things off each other and engage with your team. Through collaboration, the best ideas will come.鈥�

That lesson followed him to 鈥淭he Tonight Show鈥� in 2021. Dyer joined as head of digital while the show was still navigating pandemic-era production and remote guests. As performers and live audiences returned to Studio 6B, he began expanding the show鈥檚 digital originals, videos made specifically for people watching online rather than repackaged television clips.

His team worked with nearly every part of the show. They collaborated with writers, segment producers, talent bookers, NBC press, marketing, and the larger staff and crew at the show to turn an appearance into something that could connect beyond the television broadcast.

Dyer approached each idea 鈥渇an first.鈥� Before the cameras rolled, he wanted the team to understand the audience, the guest and the platform where the video would land. A TikTok video should feel natural on TikTok, he said, but it should still sound and look like 鈥淭he Tonight Show.鈥�

During Dyer鈥檚 tenure, he said, the show鈥檚 following across digital platforms grew from just over 50 million to more than 100 million. The show generated 50 billion views during his five years there. He points to those numbers as a team accomplishment, shared by Fallon and the people working across the production.

Leading that growth also changed how Dyer viewed his own role. He began paying closer attention to what each person on his team could become instead of limiting people to the jobs they had been hired to do. Delegating decisions and tasks gave younger producers room to grow and freed him to keep learning.

By the time he left the show in February 2026, Dyer felt confident that the team could continue without him. That made the timing right for another shift.

He joined Ampersand, the production company founded by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, as head of digital programming and development. The move has taken him from building digital extensions of established television programs to developing series from their earliest ideas. His current work includes 鈥淐elebrity Substitute鈥�, a YouTube series where some of the world鈥檚 most recognizable stars step in as teachers for unsuspecting public school students.

Dyer sees that move as part of television鈥檚 future. A series no longer needs to begin with a network time slot and find an online audience later. It can start on YouTube and reach viewers directly, without asking them to change their habits.

鈥淎 show is only good if people watch it,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥淚 want to meet people where they already are.鈥�

The screens and platforms keep changing. His reason for making the work has remained simple: to give people something that brings them joy or laughter.

For Elon students hoping to enter the industry, Dyer鈥檚 advice is equally direct. Do not wait for perfect equipment, the perfect idea or the most recognizable company name. He remembers carrying a BlackBerry as a student; today, students have a 4K camera in their pockets and an immediate way to share what they make.

鈥淛ust start making things,鈥� Dyer said. 鈥淪tart creating. You鈥檝e got to start somewhere. Make things that you鈥檙e passionate about, and let your passion guide you.鈥�

福利亚洲国产精品 instructor of communications聽Pate McMichael was featured in a recent Wall Street Journal article examining Wake County鈥檚 decision to remove roughly 400,000 mug shots from its public website, a move that has sparked debate over privacy and government transparency.

The article, explores the county鈥檚 plan to eliminate online access to booking photos spanning two decades. County officials say the change is partly prompted by concerns that the database continues to display mug shots associated with charges that have since been expunged. Once the portal is taken offline, members of the public will instead be able to access the records through two in-person kiosks in Raleigh.

McMichael, director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition, told The Wall Street Journal that he understands the county鈥檚 reasoning but views the decision within a broader trend of restricting access to public records in North Carolina.

鈥淚f government is out there arresting people, taking pictures of them,鈥� McMichael said, 鈥渨e should be able to access that.鈥�

The article examines competing concerns surrounding the public availability of booking photos. Advocates for greater restrictions argue that mug shots can remain online long after charges are dismissed or expunged, potentially affecting employment and housing opportunities.

The students have already been immersed in their new city, where they met alumni at the Queen City Connections ice cream social and heard from local alumni about living and working in Charlotte. Several former Study USA Charlotte participants attended, some of whom now work full-time for the organizations where they interned as students in the program.

Students completed a scavenger hunt to familiarize themselves with the Queen City, public transit and major landmarks. They also conducted test runs to their internship sites, many of which are located along the light rail, which provides easy access from South End to Uptown, and into the university area.聽Since many students are living in an apartment without a meal plan for the first time, they participated in a cooking class to learn meal preparation basics.

Cara Picariello ’28 sees this fall as an opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.

鈥淟iving in a city is something that I have never experienced before, so I wanted to take聽full advantage of the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and experience a different lifestyle,” said Picariello. “In addition, Charlotte is a rapidly growing sports hub with many career opportunities, and I wanted to build connections and gain experience in the area before graduating.鈥�

Aidan Sweeney ’28聽also understands聽the many benefits of this program. 鈥淚 wanted to experience living in a big city while also working and furthering my career. I came in knowing very few聽people, but I’ve already became friends with everyone by exploring the city together or finding a room to chat in with people.鈥�

Five classes are offered this fall: Sport Sales and Promotion, College Athletics Administration, Sports and Media,聽Event and Venue Management, and an internship course. Students are required to complete 320 hours at their internship.

Students are interning with a variety of organizations including the Big South Conference, NASCAR, Sports Business Journal, Charlotte Knights, Charlotte Checkers, the National Junior College Athletic Association, the Atlantic Coast Conference and more.

Daniel Towery ’28 signed up for the Study USA Charlotte Sport and Community聽Experience program because 鈥渋t’s the perfect way to combine classroom learning and real-world experience in the sports industry. I am especially excited to intern with both the Charlotte Knights and the ACC Football Game Day Operations Center to continue to develop my hands-on professional skills. Exploring the city and making memories with my cohort has already made this semester unforgettable.鈥�

Griffin Conway ’28聽is聽excited about the聽program because it gives him the聽鈥渙pportunity to get an early start on my professional career, while balancing academic courses and living in a city.鈥�

鈥淚’m looking forward to my internship with ACC’s Student-Athlete Programs and getting to learn the ins and outs of how a big organization works,” Conway said. “Over the past week since I started, I have met and networked with so many wonderful people through events that Elon has provided, and I’m very excited for the rest of the semester!鈥�

Components of a fall Study USA experience include housing, academic courses, internship, enrichment activities and networking opportunities with alumni and industry professionals. Contact Study USA with any questions at global@elon.edu, 336-278-6700 or www.elon.edu/studyusa. Applications for the inaugural spring Study USA Charlotte program are currently open, while applications for fall 2027 are accepted Sept. 1-Dec. 1. Enrollment is limited. Non-Elon students are invited to apply.

福利亚洲国产精品 communications instructor聽Pate McMichael was featured in a recent examining North Carolina鈥檚 refusal to release detailed records about how the state compensates victims of violent crimes.

McMichael, director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition, told the newspaper that the decision reflects broader challenges surrounding government transparency and access to public records in the state.

鈥淣orth Carolina is a state that鈥檚 going in the wrong direction big time when it comes to public records access,鈥� McMichael said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e already made law enforcement records, criminal investigative records, nearly impossible to get, even when cases have been closed for long periods of time 鈥� cleared, as they would say.鈥�

The article examines the N.C. Department of Public Safety鈥檚 refusal to provide redacted applications from the state鈥檚 Crime Victims Compensation Fund, which reimburses survivors of violent crimes and families of homicide victims for expenses including funerals, therapy and lost wages.

McMichael said withholding even redacted applications makes it more difficult for the public to evaluate how the state administers the program.

鈥淭hese types of privacy restrictions are making it much harder for anybody to scrutinize what the government鈥檚 actually doing,鈥� McMichael said. 鈥淚t is very difficult to ascertain how they鈥檙e going about the process of deciding who gets compensation and who doesn鈥檛, and by denying even redacted applications for these types of compensation, it鈥檚 much harder to see if there鈥檚 a bias in the system.鈥�

Qian Xu, professor of strategic communications and A.J. Fletcher Professor, collaborated with Cheng Chen, assistant professor at Oregon State University, on a study examining how AI conversational styles interact with users鈥� expectations of the roles AI should play.

Their article, 鈥溾�� was recently published in Behaviour & Information Technology, a peer-reviewed academic journal that focuses on human-centered information technology.

The experiment randomly assigned 137 college students to one of three Microsoft Copilot conversational styles of Copilot 聽鈥撀燾reative, balanced or precise 鈥撀燼nd measured which role they expected the tool to fulfill: co-author, creator, curator or converser. Participants then completed at least three rounds of interaction with Copilot to develop a strategic plan addressing a public health issue in their home county.

Key findings include:

• Copilot鈥檚 conversational style affected the readability and linguistic features of its responses, including the use of words associated with analytical thinking and authenticity.
• Users adapted their writing based on Copilot鈥檚 conversational style, particularly in the readability of their prompts.
• Users and Copilot showed linguistic alignment in emotional tone and clout across all three conversational styles but diverged in analytical thinking.
• Mismatches between Copilot鈥檚 conversational style and users鈥� expectations of its role reduced perceived credibility and relevance of its responses.

“AI conversational style is more than a matter of preference. What matters is how well the style fits the roles users expect AI to play,鈥� Xu said. The findings point to opportunities for more adaptive AI interfaces that adjust conversational style based on users鈥� expectations and tasks.

Behaviour & Information Technology聽is an international peer-reviewed Taylor & Francis journal covering the human aspects of information technology, including usability, user experience, human-computer interaction and human-centered design.