Alex Hannum (2003)

Current Place of Employment: CBS Northern Colorado 5
City: Fort Collins, Colorado
Email: alexhannum@noco5.com
Web Site: http://noco5.com
Class of 2003
Computer Magnet Major: Communications Central
Undergraduate School(s) Attended: CSU
Undergraduate Degree In: Technical Journalism/Political Science Read more

Josett Valdez (1997)

City: Broomfield, CO
Email: valdezj@usa.redcross.org
Web Site: http://www.redcross.org
Class of 1997
Computer Magnet Major: Communications Central
Undergraduate School(s) Attended: Colorado State University
Undergraduate Degree In: Media Communications
Graduate School(s) Attended: University of Colorado at Denver
Graduate Degree In: Master of Public Administration
Current Place of Employment: American National Red Cross
Description of Current Position: I currently work on a program with the American Red Cross funded by the Department of Defense called Joint Family Support Assistance Program.  The program is part of the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces which supports Military members and their families
Previous Place(s) of Employment: American Red Cross - Mile High Chapter
Description of Previous Position(s): I worked as the Training Manager which involved training over 900 volunteers to respond to disaster across the US.  This included responding to disasters as the on site trainer.

Erin Beaver (1996)

City: Denver, CO
Email: erinb23@gmail.com
Class of 1996
Computer Magnet Major: Communications Central
Undergraduate School(s) Attended: The Colorado College
Undergraduate Degree In: English
Graduate School(s) Attended: University of Denver
Graduate Degree In: Communications
Current Place of Employment: Pharmatech, Inc
Description of Current Position: Human Resources, Training, and Quality Assurance for an oncology clinical research management company.
Comments: “Communications Central, and Spamp, were the most important and useful parts of my high school career.”

Adam Mordecai (1994)

City: Denver, CO
Email: mordecai@advomatic.com
Web Site #1: http://advomatic.com
Web Site #2: http://themordecais.com
Class of 1994
Computer Magnet Major: Communications Central
Undergraduate School(s) Attended: University of Evansville
Undergraduate Degree In: BFA, Acting
Current Place of Employment: Advomatic
Description of Current Position: Co-Founder and Partner of Advomatic.com, a web development, strategy and design firm based in New York City.  We provide online political strategy, web development and hosting, and advocacy tools for non-profit and progressive organizations, as well as general web services for the commercial sector.
Comments: “Everything I needed to learn about communicating and working with others I learned in the layout room of the Jefferson Journal. Working on a team, developing leadership skills, getting the confidence I needed to really succeed all came from being a part of the amazing program at TJ.

Alumni Spotlight: Nathan Muller (2005)

City: Syracuse, NY
Email: nrmuller@syr.edu
Class of 2005
Computer Magnet Major: Communications Central
Undergraduate School(s) Attended: Syracuse University
Undergraduate Degree In: Public Communications - Television, Radio, Film
Current Place of Employment: Student
Comment: “As I look towards May when I will be graduating from Syracuse University, I can not possibly imagine me being in this position without going through the Communications Central Program at TJ. Not only are some of my fondest high school memories from the program, (Newspaper layouts, doing the announcements, creating tv-shows) but the program prepared me immensely for the career I look to pursue. For one, after being in the program for 4 years I knew exactly what I wanted to do for a career and have been going after that ever since. Many people go into college without knowing what they want to do with their life, and in all honesty many of my friends here actually still don’t really know what they want to do. But after participating in the program I found a distinct path for myself early on. On top of that, I do not know if I could have even gotten into the Newhouse program here at Syracuse University without going through Communications Central. Read more

Reid Fischer (1998)

Current Place of Employment: Clear Channel Communications
City: Denver, Colorado
Email: reid.fischer@gmail.com
Web Site: http://reidfischer.com
Class of 1998
Computer Magnet Major: Communications Central
Undergraduate School(s) Attended: University of Missouri
Undergraduate Degree In: Journalism
Description of Current Position: I am a technical producer for the afternoon show The Ride Home, and I also run many of the broadcasts for the Rockies, Broncos and CU Buffs.  I also occasionally do some sports reporting for the station
Previous Place(s) of Employment: KPNY Radio, Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Description of Previous Position(s): I was the Sports Director and did play-by-play for Western Nebraska Community College athletics.  I also was the station’s Production Director and Office Manager at various times during my tenure there.
Comments: “I was the Editor in Chief of the Jefferson Journal in 1998.  The experience prepared me incredibly well for my college experience, where I spent time working in newspaper as well as in radio.  Even the experience of writing for the Journal, starting in my freshman year, gave me incredible experience.  I would not be the person I am today without my experiences writing and editing at TJ.”

Joseph Ornelas (1999)

Current Place of Employment: CNN
City: Piscataway, New Jersey
Email: ornelasnug@gmail.com
Class of 1999
Computer Magnet Major: Communications Central
Undergraduate School(s) Attended: University of Colorado Boulder
Undergraduate Degree In: Journalism and Mass Communication
Description of Current Position: Broadcast Engineer: Ensure electronic signal of on air content is transmitted to CNN Atlanta
Previous Place(s) of Employment: HDNet
Description of Previous Position(s): -Associate Engineer
-Mobile Production Engineer (EIC)
-Master Control Operator
Comments: “The Communication Central Magnet introduced to me to the business of broadcasting. Throughout high school I took most of the courses offered in the program but was most interested in video production and the morning announcements. By the time I applied to college, when most students were barely beginning to think about what they wanted to major in let alone thinking about a profession career, I already knew I wanted to work in the field of broadcast production. After a couple years of college I discovered that while I was in high school I had access to broadcast equipment and technology that some universities did not have. Communications Central not only gave me a head start it also nourished a creative outlet I may have never had the opportunity to discover. For this opportunity I am thankful and look forward to helping the continued success of the Communication Central Magnet and similar programs.”

Caleb Aldrich (2001)

Current Place of Employment: Pacific Title Film and Art Studio
City: Culver City, California
Email: calebdaldrich@gmail.com
Class of 2001
Computer Magnet Major: Communications Central
Undergraduate School(s) Attended: Colorado State University
Undergraduate Degree In: BA English emphasis in Creative Writing
Description of Current Position: Assistant to Producer of Special Effects and Title Sequences in Motion Pictures.
Previous Place(s) of Employment: Prologue Films
Description of Previous Position(s): Production Assistant; grunt, slave to a madman, runner, gopher,
“Comments”: “Communications Central was where I realized that I wanted to be a storyteller in the medium of film and television. I’d already known that I wanted to be involved in The Biz but it wasn’t until I was given free range (mostly anyway, let’s not mention the National History Day debacle) with editing equipment that I realized how much fun I had plotting stories. Without the encouragement first from the freshman class (making the television program was probably the funnest spot my entire freshman year, and it was great…a soap opera) to the go ahead from Coleman in photojournalism (it was the music video assignment where I began to see how much I could play around with technology) to my senior year in Spamp’s class where I was encouraged to basically foster my creativity.
Honestly, I credit Communications Central with inspiring me to follow my dreams to LA. Currently I’m a broke assistant but I think I will be thanking them if things pan out…”

Catherine Whittemore (2006)

Current Place of Employment: BuffVision
Email: Catherine.Whittemore@colorado.edu
Class of 2006
Computer Magnet Major: Communications Central
Undergraduate School(s) Attended: University of Colorado Boulder
Undergraduate Degree In: Broadcast Production
Description of Current Position: I work for the CU Athletic Department and stream sports live online.
Comments: “Being in the Communications Central program opened my eyes to journalism. If I hadn’t enrolled in Communications Central I do not know what I would be doing today. I found my passion for journalism in the classes, and Mr. Spampinato is an amazing teacher who taught me almost everything I know about broadcast production, and for that I am very grateful.”

Timothy Snyder (2005)

Email: timothy.n.snyder@colorado.edu
Class of 2005
Computer Magnet Major: Communications Central
Undergraduate School(s) Attended: University of Colorado, Boulder
Undergraduate Degree In: Biological and Chemical Engineering
Comments: “The Communication Central program was not only entertaining but very valuable.  Mr. Spampinato was not afraid to give constructive criticism which allowed me to truly improve my writing.  Being an engineer, where writing tends to be overlooked, it soon becomes apparent how important it is to convey your ideas to those who are willing to invest in a project.  I am very grateful for this program for improving my writing and skills in communication.”

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