Journalism colleges long have strived to offer real-world experiences, but usually after a year or two of basic skills learning. At UNL, under the leadership of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications Dean Shari Veil, MBA, Ph.D., the college’s motto is “do from day one.” Beginning this year, freshmen are required to enroll in an Experience Lab course their first semester on campus.
“Practice makes perfect, and we’re all practice all the time,” said Jemalyn Griffin, co-director of the Experience Lab.
The interdisciplinary lab breaks down barriers and silos, Griffin said, giving students a broad sense of different areas of opportunity. “We hope to respond to what the market is demanding,” she said.
The early access to hands-on experiences is already boosting enrollment. Veil wrote in December that the college’s 16.3% growth in incoming freshmen led the university, and transfer enrollments more than doubled.
A hub of this hands-on learning is the Don and Lorena Meier Studio, which opened in November in Andersen Hall. The foundation established by the couple pledged $10 million for scholarships over the next 25 years and $755,000 for the new television studio and newsroom.
The Meiers were familiar with quality broadcasting through their own media careers, which included producing the well-known “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.” Don Meier, who died in 2019, wanted to assist students because he recalled his own struggles to afford college.
The investments have continued, Veil recently told donors in a letter, citing the Phil Perry Family Photography Studio and Classroom, a new radio tower and antenna on Oldfather Hall, the new Pepsi Unlimited Sports Lab and more sponsors for student-run advertising agencies.
The Pepsi Unlimited Sports Lab serves the fast-growing sports media and communication major, which was established in 2017 and enrolled 300 students as of last fall. The space features state-of-the-art equipment, which allows students to go live during sports broadcasts.
Advertising and public relations majors mostly work across the street from the studio at what’s known as The Agency — 14 offices customized and furnished by sponsoring firms.
In all, the Experience Lab spaces house Unlimited Sports; Jacht, a student-run advertising agency; Buoy, an advertising and public relations agency for nonprofits; KRNU, the campus radio station; Heartland Pulse, an online community magazine; the Nebraska News Service, a statewide wire service; and Nebraska Nightly, a recorded news show.
Students working in the Meier studio spaces and newsroom have provided coverage of election night, the Nebraska Legislature and other news, feeding the Nebraska News Service.
“Over and over, we see weeklies pick up our content,” said Jill Martin, co-director of the Experience Lab. A Panhandle newspaper usually is not going to have the staff to send to Lincoln for a legislative hearing, she said, so it’s truly a service when students provide the coverage.
Students work four to six hours a week in the lab. From their work, students build portfolios to show potential employers.
“Young professionals I’ve spoken to are blown away by the opportunity we get right from the day we start college,” said Paige Brophy, a junior advertising and public relations major from Lincoln. “We’re exposed to real-life work for real-life clients. Our ideas are implemented in the real world.”
Students praise the chances they get to work with industry professionals and to take on leadership roles themselves because of the Experience Lab’s human infrastructure.
Volunteer professionals-in-residence and paid student leads help to coach students from idea to production, providing technical know-how, guidance and feedback.
