Student Spotlight: J.T. Rooney
Collaborate with other students and professionals to produce media content? Work 20 hours a week in an E-media related field? Check. Check. Hold an office in every Electronic Media related student group on campus? Check.
Does this sound like a little too much to handle? Not for J.T. Rooney, an E-media sophomore from Findlay, Ohio. He is able to balance a full schedule of classes along with a job, multiple extra-curricular activities, and still maintains a 3.6 GPA. It may seem like a lot, but he wouldn’t have it any other way, “being involved has enabled me to get experience in things that I would not have been able to until junior or senior year.”
So far into his E-media career, J.T. is most proud of his collaboration with Bullcrank in creating The Greatest Fan Film of All Time, a nationally recognized animated film. He was responsible for all of the sound effects of the 42-minute adventure that has been featured on the Independent Film Channel as well as multiple websites. J.T. also developed the sound effects for a live action short film called The Wimp Whose Woman Was a Werewolf.
J.T.’s passion for audio has led him to work with fellow E-media student Wendell Gibbs in their project, Hit Tracks. J.T. and Wendell develop hip-hop beats and teamed up with Cleveland artists to produce original rap tracks. They met last year as E-media freshman and began working together during this past spring.
J.T. volunteers on the weekends at the University Christian Church, in Clifton, as the soundboard operator. He believes that the experience you get in the classroom is enhanced greatly by hands on experience in a real world setting.
He also works alongside 1994 E-media grad Ginny Volle editing video at the Cincinnati Health Department. This allows J.T. to get hands on practice with industry standard software on a daily basis.
J.T. is highly involved on campus. As the treasurer of MEISA (Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association), he finds funding for students to travel to Boston for the annual MEISA conference. He is also the training director of Bearcast, UC’s student run radio station, and is responsible for training new DJs in terms of equipment operation and etiquette. If that’s not enough for you, J.T. is also the communications coordinator of the National Broadcasting Society (NBS) and chief operations manager of UCast.
So how does all of this come together? J.T. is a perfect example of someone who goes above and beyond and who truly values his education. He takes what he learns in the classroom, and enhances that alongside fellow students on campus. He then takes it a step further to work with other students, professionals, and in the community outside of a classroom setting. This type of work ethic can only help him succeed in his future E-media career.
Written by Alejo Delgado, January 2009.
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