HAC Relaunched

THE WEBSITE

You can’t have the HAC media team without the HAC website! On Nov. 27, the Trine HAC website was relaunched. The purpose of the HAC site is to function as an online resource for the Humanities and Communications department. Within the site, you can find information about HAC news, annual events, student opportunities, organizations within the HAC department, and more! The HAC site not only serves as a news outlet for the department, it gives students the opportunity to gain valuable writing experience through the HAC media team.

OUR TEAM

The media team is a great way for students (with a communications major or minor) to get more involved in the department. We provide students with skills in interviewing and writing that will benefit them in the professional world. All the work our members produce is published for anyone to see. This allows students to build a portfolio to share with potential employers.

Editor-in-chief Lacie Piekarski claims being part of the team has given her valuable experience: “When I first joined two years ago, I had no idea how hard interviewing was. It seems simple, but in reality it takes time to understand how to ask questions, what to ask, and how to creatively state content.”

The HAC Media Team is here to provide an opportunity for students to build connections and gain firsthand writing experience.

Get to know the team members.

REINVENTING COMMUNICATION PROGRAMS

The department has implemented a new program, COM+, for students who have a burning desire for communications and want the ability to focus on a specific area. Students will be able to obtain a degree in communications with an additional focus in the area they wish to purse. It will provide a beneficial, educational experience for these students to get the best of both worlds.

“COM+ is a way to marry the broad training of communications - which gives you a lot of transferable skills - with a bit more focused training in [the] specific discipline or field you want to go into,” states Jeanette Goddard, chair of Humanities and Communications Department.

The program provides a unique partnership experience within the schools of Trine University, with the objective of bringing attention to communication jobs offered in these other fields. Some of the programs conveniently incorporate the official minor, allowing students to receive the best highlights and emphasis of their desired discipline. Goddard mentioned, “I think one of the things that could really benefit our students is how communications is a transferable skill, and the better you get at it, the more you realize it. However, it is also true that different disciplines have different expected ways of communications, and by having them take specific classes, [students will] start to learn about particular issues and modes of communication [in that particular field].”

The current COM Plus programs created are COM + Criminal Justice, COM + Digital Media minor, COM + Environment, COM + Marketing, and COM + Sports and Recreation.

COM + Criminal Justice: This COM+ track is of particular interest to students who want to do PR work for law enforcement or who are interested in doing journalism related to court and legal proceedings. Students who complete this coursework will earn an official Criminal Justice minor.

COM + Sports and Recreation: This COM+ track is of particular interest to students who want to do public relations work for sports and recreation organizations or who are interested in maintaining contact with sports and recreation while pursuing other communication career objectives.

COM + Digital Media minor: The Digital Media COM minor is for students who are interested in expanding their knowledge and use of digital tools and platforms to effectively communicate with audiences through a variety of technological forms.