Meet your Ball State University team of leaders
Katelynn Bilka is a Freshman at Ball State University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations. Previously in her high school career, she was involved in many extracurriculars, and held many noteworthy positions, and was recognized and awarded for her academic and community work. Some of these organizations included theater, newspaper (Editor in Chief), class council (Secretary), and varsity girls' soccer (JV Captain). She also upheld a 4.0+ GPA since freshman year and graduated fourth in her class with a GPA of 4.375.
Emmanuel Flores-Cruz is a second-year underclassman at Ball State University. He is currently double majoring in Journalism and Telecommunications with a minor in Spanish. He transferred from Ivy Tech Community College via the ASAP Program, which allowed Crus to obtain his associate degree in under a year before transferring. Since middle school, he has worked with video editing and has developed a passion for media communications. His experience expands through recording video, interviewing, working inside a studio, and other types of media-related projects.
Madison Goodnight In high school I was given the opportunity to give interviews, work with the community, and more at our student-run radio station. This allowed me to gain a professional broadcasting voice, scriptwriting skills, and editing. Also, it has given me the chance to set up/run websites, social media, and events. Also, throughout my first two years of college, I gained tons of interview experience. I see this as allowing our group to have someone with the experience and growing knowledge to handle interviews and editing skills.
Sarah Hale is a Junior Advertising student with concentrations in Emerging Media and a minor in Fashion. In her time at Ball State University, she has gained skills in digital design and advertising. Through a local partnership with a small business, she developed skills in analytics and digital marketing. She hopes to gain valuable interpersonal and visual research skills through this immersive learning experience. In addition, she hopes to increase her skills in growing and maintaining social network accounts. In the future, she hopes to work in social media management or account management in the fashion advertising industry.
Rhoni Paige is a junior at Ball State University. Her major is Journalism with a concentration in News. She also minors in theatre. Before attending Ball State University, Rhoni was a student at Alabama State University for two years. Within her two years, she served as a member of the campaign team for Miss Alabama State University, a member of the ASU Dance Company, and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. As a member of the Miss Alabama State University campaign team, she was responsible for communicating with and persuading people to vote. Along with being the organization’s meeting facilitator, she was also responsible for running all the social media accounts.
Cierra West is from the south side of Muncie Indiana, where she works as a manager at Fazoli’s. Cierra graduated from Muncie Central High School in 2017. After taking a year off, she is back at Ball State University as a Junior studying Journalism with a concentration in Mass Communication. While in Florida, Cierra worked on a school paper in Sanford, Florida for Seminole State. Currently, she is focused on personal relations and advertising, while hoping to do something better in the community at the Ross Center.
Dr. Gabriel B. Tait of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is spending his life transforming how people look at the world.
Dr. Tait’s research focuses on the impact of photography in cross-cultural contexts. His studies seek to explore and understand how photography is used in constructing and representing cultural identities and the way people see the world. Specifically, he is looking at the peoples and cultures in three U.S. cities (Pittsburgh, PA, Indianapolis, IN, and Jonesboro, AR), and how the study of visual representation shapes one’s identity. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Intercultural Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, KY) and a B.A. in Communication with an emphasis in photojournalism at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (Slippery Rock, PA). Currently, Dr. Tait is an Associate Professor of Journalism (Diversity and Media) at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.