COVER STORY - 2009 Edition
Road to fame paved with socks- '88 grad makes his mark with special effects, children's show 'Sockville' Spring 2009 - By Lori Schueler Instead of putting socks on his feet, alumnus Patrick Voss has teamed up with Bee Flicks Entertainment to use toe warmers more creatively as hand puppets to educate and entertain children.
Voss, along with James Gregson, owner of Bee Flicks Entertainment in Woodland Hills, Ca., have developed the award-winning children’s show “Sockville.” The show educates children in an imaginative way, claiming “Sockville” is the place where socks go when they get lost in the laundry. It teaches children how to spell, how to identify numbers and gives history lessons.
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Garcia (Sr. VP of CPB) to SIUE students: Start networking before you graduate
Spring 2009 - By Etta-Tamara Wilson 
A long history of experience in public and commercial media sources has given Ted Garcia, the new senior vice president of television content at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, useful insight on the importance of education and a person’s relationship to others.
Despite having scholarships for tuition and fees at several other prestigious schools, Garcia chose to enroll at the new Edwardsville campus SIU opened in 1965. The campus was conveniently located near his East St. Louis home. It was attractive, and the cost savings of attending the school, as opposed to others, was appealing.
Entering as a history student, he changed his major after touring the new television studio in the Mass Communications Department.
“I went over and took a look and met with the department chair there, Dr. John Ryder,” Garcia said. “I met with John, and he recruited me. He asked me to give mass communications a chance, to take a look at it. I did and I got hooked.”READ MORE
Making a difference: SIUE and GMLP 2009 - By Marty Jenkins 
Media literacy is the process of assessing, analyzing, evaluating, and creating messages in a wide variety of media forms. It encourages people to frequently question what they hear, see or read from the media. It involves media consumers critically analyzing media so they can detect misrepresentation and bias in the media.
Gateway Media Literacy Partners’ mission is to promote media literacy in the St. Louis region.
Jessica Brown is the president, founder and driving force behind Gateway Media Literacy Partners. Brown teaches at SIUE, but was a journalist and previously worked at KSDK in St. Louis as head of production.READ MORE
'92 grad's work in Oscar-nominated film 2009 - By Tanya Schiller 
Ambitious. Dedicated. Committed. Hard working.
All words describing Elizabeth Hitt and the impression she left not only at SIUE, but with her colleagues and friends.
Hitt was an Air Force brat who ended up in Illinois due to her father’s final assignment at Scott Air Force Base when she was in the fifth grade. He retired in the area after 22 years in the military.
“We didn't--and still don't have--a film department/degree program at SIUE, and I couldn't afford to pay out of state [tuition] to go to Webster across the river or drive two hours each way to SIUC. So, I figured a double major would get me enough education to get started in the film biz, and it seems to have worked,” Hitt said.
She majored in both mass communication and theater technology and design and graduated in 1992.
One class that influenced her career was Visual Production for the Media with Professor Riley Maynard.
“Everybody talked so highly about him when I got there,” she said.
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Alumnus Moore taking leap into new media, bringing students with him 2009 - By Whitney Tate
Bryce Moore, an SIUE alumnus and executive producer of KMOV.com, had to start at the bottom of the media totem pole like the rest of his colleagues. But his college experience opened a lot of doors and made job opportunities a reality.
Moore was able to build a solid foundation with the help of the Mass Communications Department, making his transition out of the university into the job market much easier for the graduate.
“I already knew the basics when I went out into the real world, so I was just able to learn specifics for certain positions,” Moore said.
Moore, now, 41, graduated from SIUE in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications. While attending the university, Moore had hands-on experience in his junior year when Professor Riley Maynard got him involved with volunteer work at KPLR (Channel 11).
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Alumni! Join us on Facebook!
We have created a facebook group for you to join! Now you can get reconnected with old friends and memories on facebook. Feel free to make the group your own by posting thoughts, discussions, wall posts, photo's or any links that would be relevant. Enjoy!