Recent Wayne State University alumna and founder of the Detroit Benevolent Society, Chanel Taylor, has been selected as this year's SEEN Changemaker for her work to supply over 700,000 meals to families and senior citizens during the pandemic with Kayla Kennard, another WSU alumna. Taylor is currently a law student at University of Detroit Mercy. Read more about her commendable achievement.  

In February of this year, Doyle was named President & CEO of the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) based in Troy, MI.

Mark Pattinson (B.A., Print Journalism).

Pattinson, a 1978 graduate, has had an extensive career in journalism. He has served on the executive council of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild in various roles, including as president for 31 years. He has co-written and co-edited three books about the Detroit Tigers. Find his co-authored book, Detroit Tigers Lists and More: Runs, Hits, and ERAs, on Amazon. 

Paige Sickmiller (B.A., Communication).

After graduation, Sickmiller went on to play professional basketball for a year in Germany. Back in the U.S., she has been working at CitiStaff, Inc. since June of 2015. After climbing the hierarchy of the decades old company, she is now the Director of Operations, helping to propel the company's growth to the forefront of the Recruiting and Consulting industry. Sickmiller says she is forever grateful for her time wearing green and gold.

Six years ago, Kathy had an idea to create a Great Lakes show for Detroit PBS. She was able to make a successful pitch, however, realized that her passion exceeded her skill set.  So, she applied to Wayne State to learn! Last fall, she attended the Wayne State internship fair from which she was awarded her internship with PBS. Immediately after graduating, she signed a contract to produce and write website content for the Detroit PBS program Great Lakes Now. She says, " I LOVE my new job! Wayne State is THE reason I was able to achieve this dream and I couldn't be more grateful or proud to be a creative warrior."

Robert Brownson (B.A., Communication).

1960 Communication alumnus, Robert Brownson describes his career as " interesting and varied". He has worked in Europe as a Russian interpreter for the United States Army Security Agency, South America, and 25 years in Asia. He has also worked as an Independent International Business Consultant for Asia Pacific with offices in Seoul and Singapore. Retired at 73, Bob continues to provide pro bono consulting services and support to nonprofits.

Ryan McGerty (B.A., Media Arts).

Since graduating in 2005, Ryan has made his way into the business worlds of education and healthcare. Currently, he works as a Business Analyst for the IT Finance Department at Beaumont Health. His recent achievements include earning a Master's of Science in Management from Walsh College this past June, and participating in a leadership development program for Oakland County called Leadership Oakland. He was named one of Corp Magazine's Most Valuable Professionals of 2018.

Matt Mackinder (B.F.A., Journalism).

A 2001 graduate, Matt has owned and published Rubber Hockey Magazines in Arizona, California and Colorado via Mackinder Media, LLC since September 2017. In April 2020, he was promoted from staff writer to editor of The Clarkston News, a weekly newspaper in Clarkston, Michigan. Since 2010, he has also served as managing editor for the world's biggest college hockey website, USCHO.com. He currently resides in Genesee County along with his wife of 16 years, Stephanie, their three children, two dogs, and two cats.   

Career promotions, internships, networking/ job opportunities, retirements, engagements, and more developments.

Associate Professor, Rahul, was interviewed in a Detroit Free Press article about extending Detroit's water shutoff COVID-19 moratorium. Read the Freep's article.  . 

Loraleigh was interviewed about Workplace Bullying last month, under the auspices of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity and Justice. Listen to the podcast here.                       Loraleigh also participated in a panel entitled “Leveled: Gendered online aggression and the move toward equality", which was sponsored by State Representative Rebekah Warren and the U of M Institute for Research on Women and Gender. Listen to the discussion here.  

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Jackie was described by Matthew Seeger, Dean of the CFPCA at Wayne State as, "... a force of nature, a tenacious mentor for doctoral students studying film, a powerful voice among the faculty and a strong advocate for media studies". Read a full obituary in honor of Jackie here.

Congratulations for successfully defending his doctoral dissertation about the influence of social media on romantic relationship development!

Congratulations for successfully defending his doctoral dissertation! His research interests included Political Communications, Propaganda & Public Opinion, Media Phenomena in Authoritarian Contexts, and Right-wing Populism.

Congratulations for successfully defending her doctoral dissertation on "Media’s role in shaping the public's perception of education policy and the implications on equity in education"!

Allison Lucas (Communication)

Congratulations on a successful application for the 2021 Ford Community Corps grant project!

Slone Terranella (Journalism)

Slone wrote about the creativity of "COVID-19-era high school yearbooks" for USA Today. This week for the Detroit Free Press, she also spotlights the philanthropic pursuits of a "Gannett Foundation program" that has granted over $100,000 to Michigan organizations.

A Presidential town hall  was held on Monday, Dec. 21st for all faculty, students and staff to attend. Listen to the discusion on YouTube.

Thank you for reading this special edition of Word on the Street!

Congratulations and warm wishes to this year's graduates, alumni, faculty, and staff as we persist into the next year.