Jessica Benda
Department Chair Leadership Award
Jessica Benda has been working as the editor-in-chief for the Daily Titan since June 2020. She spent her sophomore and junior years at the newspaper, often with 40- to 50-hour work weeks. She was the 2020 spring news editor, where she wrote 70 articles throughout the semester while generating story ideas, managing six assistants, editing articles and leading the pandemic news coverage as it struck. Benda moved up to editor-in-chief at age 19, where she oversaw the summer staff, laid out a new primarily virtual structure for the fall and spring semesters, and pushed for the expansion of the Daily Titan into downtown Fullerton. In fall and spring, she led a staff of nearly 70 editors, reporters and photographers. She currently oversees the staff hiring and firing process, paychecks, internal communications, staff meetings, networking and daily newspaper production. The Daily Titan took second place for best newspaper (more than weekly) in fall 2020 and spring 2021 from the Associated Collegiate Press Best of Show, and won first place (large university) in the recent California College Media Association awards. Benda also was a 2020 Kindness Award nominee for the Office of Orange County Supervisor Doug Chaffee. She is studying communications with two concentrations — journalism and public relations.
Kelly Casterline
Department Chair Leadership Award
Kelly Casterline was a fall 2020 PRactical ADvantage communications student. She served as media content manager for the team that worked with Pro Desk Space, a company that offers individual, private workspace for entrepreneurs and small businesspeople. Casterline’s efforts across the company’s social media platforms resulted in a 30% growth in followers for Pro Desk Space during the PRAD campaign. A member of Alpha Chi Omega, Casterline served on the Panhellenic Executive Board in 2019. She was honored for her philanthropic efforts during the 2020 CSUF Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards Ceremony. Casterline also is a small business owner. For her business, Sew New Thrift, she goes to thrift stores and purchases clothing items, then sews them into trendy new fashions. “It was always a dream of mine to design clothes,” she said. “I finally made it happen.” Casterline graduates with her communications-tourism and entertainment degree in May. Her goal is to work in the music industry and become a house agent for a concert venue.
Ethan Catanghal
Professional Promise Award – Public Relations
Ethan Catanghal is an outstanding public relations concentration student. As a member of Cal State Fullerton’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter, Catanghal stepped up to volunteer his time to provide public relations support for Mad Wolf Mongolian BBQ during the Tuff It Out program over summer 2020. He volunteered more than 100 hours spanning from the final weeks of spring semester through the start of fall semester. In the PR management capstone course, Catanghal led a team of students in creating and implementing a comprehensive public relations campaign for a local business. Team members gave him high ratings for his leadership and expertise in delivering an impactful campaign for their client. Catanghal stepped forward to lead the PRSSA team in the Public Relations Society of America Bateman Competition — the first time CSUF PRSSA has fielded a team in the national competition. With the implementation stage of the campaign wrapping up in early March, the team now is in the evaluation stage of a comprehensive program the team developed and implemented to model civility in public discourse. Catanghal’s leadership skills, eagerness to learn and desire to apply his public relations skills to real-world organizations make him an ideal recipient of the Professional Promise Award.
Kimberly Cruz
Gerhard Friedrich Award for Professional Promise, Professional Promise Award – Journalism
Kimberly Cruz is an outstanding and passionate journalism student with a Spanish for hispanic media certificate. As a first-generation, Latina college student, her drive to be among the first in her family to graduate from college allowed her to excel academically and professionally. She has been heavily involved with on-campus organizations since her freshman year. Her positions included the following: social chair for Hermanas Unidas de CSUF, founding vice president for the Abrego Future Scholars Association, campus tour guide, resident adviser, honor society Lambda Pi Eta, Society of Professional Journalists, Titan TV host and the president of Latino Journalists of CSUF. Through her position as the president of Latino Journalists, Cruz created a mentorship program that connected working journalism professionals with students. She also was able to create and oversee a weeklong journalism event operated solely by students. Her role included overseeing an executive board of eight members and running biweekly panels/workshops for journalism students. Additionally, Cruz has been very active with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, becoming one out of only nine students from the nation to participate in a virtual student project. Cruz completed an internship with Titan TV and worked as a news producer for two campus shows. Thereafter she became the host for “Titan Weekly,” where she was able to film entertainment segments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Academically Cruz has been able to receive the dean’s list award every semester by maintaining a 3.7 GPA.
Douglas de Wet
Valedictorian, J. William Maxwell Outstanding Communications Award, Outstanding Student in Journalism, Commencement Speaker (see video)
Many think school prepares people for work, but Doug de Wet followed a different path. De Wet thought he hated school. After a bad college experience, he dropped out, worked as a host, trainer, working lead in Disneyland attractions and played in bands. As a guest control lead for the opening of “Fantasmic!,” he found managing crowds stressful, so he studied Eastern philosophy and jujitsu. De Wet met his wife at the Tiki Room, learned to surf and earned a black belt. He then worked in sales and marketing for an independent record label and distributor. The Great Recession came. Business declined. After a layoff, de Wet signed up for a landscape design class and discovered he could be a good student. Eventually, he discovered journalism. Like music, journalism was storytelling with a beat. It allowed him to combine many interests. Exploring how cultural narratives and mass communication technology shape people’s beliefs has been a central theme of study. De Wet served as features editor at Mt. San Antonio College and multimedia director for CSUF’s Tusk Magazine 20th anniversary issue. In 2019, he received Journalism Association of Community Colleges awards in newspaper feature writing and video news story. In 2018, he received California College Media awards for photo series, multimedia presentation and non-news video. De Wet worked in the architecture and design industry in business development, but was laid off due to the pandemic. He currently is an unscripted TV development intern for MorningStar Entertainment, a Titan Radio DJ and a volunteer at Priceless Pet Rescue. He enjoys photography, art and design, ceramic arts, traveling, cooking, food, wine and cocktails, and is a downtown L.A. and public transportation enthusiast.
Megan Holland
Professional Promise Award – Entertainment and Tourism Communications
Megan Holland is a star academic achiever, earning top grades demonstrating continued excellence in her current role as the chief operations officer of Comm Week 2021. In this capacity, Holland is one of two executive committee members in charge of managing the entire Comm Week operation. She is extremely dedicated to her role, ensuring that the entire Comm Week task force of 23 students stays on its many varied tasks. In addition to co-leading weekly class sessions, Holland attends weekly committee meetings and constantly consults with various students in the class. Holland brings terrific ideas to the table, is very organized and focused. And this is all in addition to her internships in event planning and her current job at a performing arts studio.
Christopher (Cris) Jimenez
Professional Promise Award – Public Relations
Cris Jimenez was a fall 2020 PRactical ADvantage communications student. He served as client services coordinator for Oasis Center International, an Orange County nonprofit that works to bring art back into the lives of young people — especially those from low-to-moderate income families. The PRAD campaign for Oasis involved developing a social media policy for the organization, creating content and then (with Jimenez in the lead) producing Spanish-language translations of a dozen online lesson videos used by the Oasis community. The team met its agency goal of “under-promise and over-deliver.” The client representative offered great praise to Jimenez and his team members, saying they were thoroughly prepared and demonstrated the highest level of professionalism throughout the time-consuming project. While leading his team in the agency (COMM 474), Jimenez also was a member of the Newport Beach Film Festival class (COMM 497T). Reflecting on the fall semester, he wrote: “2020 has been the most difficult year physically, emotionally, alchemically and mentally, but when things are at their worst you discover what type of person you truly are. Working in groups, time crunches, social media, consulting, podcasting, web design, video editing, subtitling — everything I have done this semester, despite the hardships of this year, has helped me grow into a better person and have a stronger spirit.” In the spring 2021 semester, Jimenez paid it forward by serving as a mentor to incoming PRAD students. Jimenez graduates with his communications degree (public relations concentration) in May. With his enthusiasm, experience and wealth of talents developed in the Department of Communications, he has a bright future ahead.
Courtney Lambe
Professional Promise Award – Advertising
Courtney Lambe has been a part of Daily Titan advertising for three semesters and has served as the director of marketing for the 2020-21 academic year. She has been an exceptional leader, not only for the marketing team, but the entire office. In addition, she took it upon herself to initiate an e-newsletter for the fall 2020 semester. She learned the software, developed the distribution list and trained the team on a platform that improved its communication efforts and increased revenue for the Daily Titan. Lambe also has been a part of the CSUF AdClub since fall 2019. She currently is serving on the executive board as the communications executive for the 2020-21 academic year. In this role, she coordinates social media and online outreach. She developed a biweekly newsletter to inform members about meetings and internship opportunities. Lambe serves as a current participant in the American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition. She has been on the CSUF academic dean’s list every semester, beginning in fall 2017.
Kaitlin Martinez-Hall
Outstanding Graduate Student – Research and Theory
Kaitlin Martinez-Hall is graduating with her master’s degree in communications-mass communications research and theory. She chose this program based on her interest in journalism, public relations and teaching college-level courses. She previously earned her bachelor’s degree in writing about women and religion from Whittier College in 2016 before entering the professional workforce. She managed a nonprofit thrift store and freelanced by writing articles and blog posts, then decided she wanted to earn her master’s degree. After learning about disability studies while pursuing her bachelor’s, Martinez-Hall wanted to combine that interest with her background in mass communications to study coverage of that community — her community. Her thesis analyzed emergent themes in coverage of people with disabilities in a set of placed content for the National Center on Disability and Journalism’s annual contest. She is grateful to have had such supportive professors, who have become mentors. Martinez-Hall is looking forward to exploring Ph.D. programs in communications, disability studies, education or any combination of the disciplines.
Tyler Michalowski
Department Chair Leadership Award
Tyler Michalowski was a fall 2020 PRactical ADvantage communications student. He served as client services coordinator for Think Together, a nonprofit that partners with schools throughout California “to change the odds for kids.” Michalowski’s work for Think Together included social media strategic development and implementation. He was a strong leader for his team and guided the team’s work on a campaign that met its goals and was well-received by the client. In other communications courses, Michalowski has done video and audio editing. He’s the creator and host of a sports podcast, “Totally Unqualified Sports.” Michalowski also is a musician in his spare time. His career interests are in advertising/marketing for the restaurant/food industry. He has worked as a marketing associate for Big Al’s Sports Bar and Entertainment Center in Ontario and hopes to go back to that after the pandemic ends. He graduates in May with a communications-advertising degree and a minor in creative marketing. Michalowski is a strategic, creative student who proudly represents the Department of Communications as one of its graduates.
Katherine Owens
Outstanding Student Entertainment and Tourism Communications
Katherine Owens is a driven and ambitious communications-entertainment and tourism major. She loves learning and has used her years at Cal State Fullerton to fuel her passion for entertainment and expand her knowledge on all things communications. Owens was an honors student at Long Beach City College and transferred to Cal State Fullerton with an associate’s degree in communications. During her years at CSUF, Owens continued her academic excellence by maintaining a 3.8 GPA or higher. As part of her capstone course, Owens worked at the CSUF student-run agency, Practical ADvantage. There she acted as schedule manager for a social media campaign and helped create graphics, copy and an extensive content calendar for a nonprofit after-school organization. Through her studies, Owens also aided in creating the framework for a post-pandemic event to help bring revenue to the Fullerton Arboretum. Recently, she completed two internships: one at a music start-up, Fanflex, where she helped independent artists book live shows; and another at halloweeneverynight.com, where she did social media marketing. Additionally, she is a member of the Entertainment and Tourism club on campus. Owens is minoring in Japanese and is excited to use the experience and knowledge she has gathered from her time at CSUF in the workforce.
John Pantle
Outstanding Graduate Student – Tourism and Entertainment
John Pantle is graduating with his M.A. in communications-tourism and entertainment. He previously earned his B.A. in communications studies from CSUF in 1994 while working as a talent buyer at the House of Blues in West Hollywood. Pantle’s career started while attending CSUF, where he was a musician, an artist manager and an owner of several Orange County nightclubs, as well as the first talent buyer for the House of Blues in Anaheim. His 30 years within the entertainment industry also include running the House of Blues club network as well as booking the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. His 18 years as an agent have culminated with his current position at Sound Talent Group, which recently was nominated as Best International Boutique Agency within its first year of existence. His key studies have been based on the health and welfare of the entertainment industry as well as the performative practices of artists during COVID-19.
Ellinor Rundhovde
Outstanding Graduate Student – Teaching/Research Assistant
Ellinor Rundhovde is an international student graduating with an M.A. in communications-professional communications in May 2021. She chose the graduate program at CSUF because of the high level of flexibility within the professional communications concentration and the opportunities to do applied work as part of the degree. She previously completed a B.A. in marketing communications at California Lutheran University before starting her first full-time job as marketing coordinator at the Bergen International Festival in Norway. After working at the festival for two years, Rundhovde decided to pursue a master’s degree in order to deepen her knowledge about arts communications. For her exit project, she is working with Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center in Anaheim, creating the inaugural issue of the museum’s magazine. During her time in the program Rundhovde also has been part of the staff at Tusk Magazine, most recently serving as managing editor and teaching assistant for the spring 2021 semester. She is grateful for the connections she’s made while in school and is excited about continuing her career in arts communications.
Lydia Shehab
Outstanding Graduate Student – Professional Communications
Lydia Shehab is earning her master’s degree in communications this spring. She earned her B.A. in communications-public relations and a minor in marketing. Shehab has worked with local nonprofit organizations, such as the YWCA of Orange County and Goodwill of Orange County, on various digital media projects. During her time at Cal State Fullerton, Shehab realized her passion for creating things. She plans on using her creativity and the skills she has gained at CSUF to pursue a career that encompasses her two loves: visual communication and digital media. When Shehab isn’t learning new skills or drawing on her iPad, she enjoys baking, reading and traveling.
Sonali Shukla
Outstanding Student in Public Relations
Sonali Shukla is an extraordinary, driven and proactive student who is committed to evolving communications and relationship-building through public relations. During her time at CSUF, Shukla has proven her dedication to the communications/public relations field not only by maintaining a spot on the dean’s list and earning summa cum laude recognition, but also through consistent involvement in various student organizations, programs and internships. Starting as a general member in CSUF’s Public Relations Student Society of America during her first semester, Shukla worked her way up to the CSUF PRSSA executive board as vice president of university relations. She also joined PRSSA’s student-run firm, Titan Public Relations, as an account coordinator her first semester, and climbed her way up to running the firm as the executive director. In this role, Shukla works with up to six different real-world clients to give hands-on public relations experience to 30 different students that they can use to build their resume. In addition, Shukla acted as a supervisor for two teams during PRSSA’s Tuff It Out initiative, where students used public relations skills to save struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In her public relations management capstone course, Shukla’s team gained attention from celebrities such as Neil Patrick Harris. Shukla completed three internships during her two years at CSUF, which involved working on grassroots marketing campaigns for blockbuster films such as “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Godzilla vs. Kong,” writing pitches that have led to client mentions in articles from publications such as TODAY, and organizing Southern California’s first drone film festival. Recently, her achievements have led her to securing a communications internship at Ubisoft, a major global video game company. Shukla also is minoring in cinematic and television arts and hopes to use both her passion for public relations and film/television in her future endeavors.
Helio Taipe
Outstanding Student in Advertising
Throughout his two years at Cal State Fullerton, Helio Taipe has demonstrated that he is an outstanding communications-advertising student. It is with the help of his professors and peers that Helio was able to discover his passion for advertising and excel. After two years at Cal Poly Pomona (with dean’s list recognition all four semesters), Taipe transferred to Cal State Fullerton where he continued his academic achievements by maintaining a spot on the dean’s list with a 3.98 GPA. Taipe’s passion and commitment to learning more about the advertising industry led him to join the American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition capstone, where he served as an account executive and led his team to develop a comprehensive plans book with a media plan, creative executions and primary research. Taipe’s passion and commitment for the advertising industry extended outside the classroom. During his junior year, Taipe completed a digital marketing internship position at MAB Ventures, where he conducted research to help clients build their local SEO through backlinking strategies. In 2020, Taipe accepted a full-time position as a copywriter for Instaboost Media, where he wrote content for clients’ landing pages and created graphics for social media ads. After graduating, Taipe hopes to combine his passion for advertising and sports, and find a career within sports marketing.