Student Spotlight: Travis Estell

Update September 09: Travis already has a job lined up. After he graduates in December, he'll be working full time for UC's Web Communications team.

When Travis Estell entered the Electronic Media division, he was here for audio engineering. Now Travis feels he has found his calling in the Web.

“I’m trying to work on a wide variety of Web sites,” said Travis, a senior from Goshen, Ohio who will graduate this December.

Travis has been designing and maintaining Web sites since middle school. Upon entering E-Media, Travis made his abilities known, when he took over the maintenance of the Bearcast Web site. Since then Travis has been voluntarily helping with many sites.

Travis has managed Web sites for his band, UC’s student radio station Bearcast, BearcatsSportsPage.com, and a site for his radio show Explore Cincinnati.

Travis was instrumental in helping develop the E-Media web site and continues to help with its maintenance.

"We could not have launched this Web site last summer and maintained and improved it through the year without Travis," said Professor Marjorie Fox.

His web skills were noticed by UC's Web Communications department, which hired him in the summer between his sophomore and junior years. Travis works on various Web tasks an average of 25 hours per week.

Travis says he enjoys working in multimedia and radio broadcast and looks at them as a future career choice.

“I would like to something in radio or for the Web,” said Travis.

His weekly radio show, Explore Cincinnati, covers issues the city is facing.  Travis spends hours each week researching topics to discuss and lining up guests to be on the program.  The show airs on Bearcast and is available as a podcast online.  Bearcast presented Travis with an Innovator award for his work on the show.

While his immediate focus is on his Web sites, Travis has not given up on his band. In fact Travis’ music career while on the backburner, is still taking up a lot of his time.

“I’m actually trying to start two bands now,” Travis said in May.

Travis’ first band “The Lukewarm” fell apart right after Travis started college. Travis then joined a band in his sophomore year, which also disbanded. He is now trying to form a band with fellow E-Media student Kurt Petrek and a member from his last band.

It hasn’t been easy for Travis to find time for his music. However his band mates are not too angry. Travis says that while they are just starting out, he can focus on his work in E-Media.  But when the bands get going, he may find himself onstage more than online.

Written by Dave Keaton, Posted August 2009.

Photo by Corey Bennett.