(Image via @smc_at_umassd / Instagram)
Volunteer Writer: Leah Freeman
Email: lfreeman1@umassd.edu
The Student Media Collaborative (SMC), a student-centered initiative housed in the English and Communications Department with the goal to amplify student voices on campus and in the South Coast community, will hold its first media boot camp about podcasting in LARTS 108 on November 15th at 3 PM.
Attending students will learn to conceptualize, storyboard, record, and edit their own podcasts using only their cell phones. Pizza will be provided during the session, and students will learn practical knowledge and skills necessary for budding podcasters and many other future professional experiences.
Students may come just to learn something new or with an idea for an episode, limited series, or ongoing program that they are inspired to expand on.
“We’ll teach you about garage band, help you storyboard your idea, and even help you start recording,” said Prof. Caitlin O’Neil Amaral.
The first podcast series hosted by the SMC, Untold Stories of UMass Dartmouth, grew out of the spring semester podcasting class in 2021 and featured stories about Arnie’s Cupboard, freshman memories, and what it’s like to be a first-generation college student.
“We’re hoping to create more episodes and more podcast programs,” said O’Neil Amaral.
This is just one of many events the SMC plans to hold to work toward its mission: to create publications, internships, events, and communications opportunities for UMassD students of all fields. These opportunities will highlight students’ writing, recording, and filming about people, events, music, and conversations on campus.
The SMC hopes to hold more knowledge boot camps in the future, focusing on starting social media, YouTube channels, and blogs. The SMC will host and promote all of these student efforts, connecting creators with audiences as well as its community partners.
More about SMC
O’Neil Amaral created the SMC to provide students with media opportunities to express their views, interests, and opinions in the academic and professional worlds, better preparing them for work opportunities.
“The SMC grew out of our Journalism Alliance with The Public’s Radio,” said O’Neil Amaral. “When it was unable to collaborate with us post-pandemic, we reached out to new local partners and expanded opportunities for students. We’re always brainstorming ways to amplify student voices.”
Through SMC’s connections to university publications, such as the student newspaper The Torch and the literary magazine Temper, or its partnerships with local media, including the New Bedford Light, WCAI, and The Public’s Radio, students can amplify their voices to a broader audience, creating new and exciting conversations in the surrounding South Coast community.
Last year, reporters from WCAI and the New Bedford Light visited campus to share their knowledge with Communications students. In April, the SMC hosted WCAI, TPR, and the Light for a discussion of local media in the digital age. This conversation also included Torch Editor-in-Chief Roxanne Hepburn and former Managing Editor Carolyn Doremus.
Each semester, the SMC offers internships with partners such as WCAI, TPR, and the Light, where students can get hands-on experience in the workplace.
While tabling for the SMC in the student center this Fall, many students voiced interest in participating but were worried about adding to their already busy schedules.
Any students interested in creating new on-campus media, reporting stories, or interning at our media partners can contact SMC through its Instagram, LinkedIn, or by emailing SMC graduate assistant Leah Freeman at lfreeman1@umassd.edu.