Loren Tate (BS ’53, journalism) was named the recipient of the University of Illinois Alumni Association’s 2026 Lou Liay Spirit Award. Established in 1997, the Lou Liay Spirit Award is presented to those who have consistently demonstrated extraordinary spirit and pride in support of the university, the Alumni Association, and related organizations, exemplifying a positive image of their Alma Mater while inspiring loyalty and pride in their fellow alumni.
Tate has covered Fighting Illini athletics since 1966, when he became a sportswriter, sports editor, and columnist for the The News-Gazette in Champaign. Although he’s been technically retired for nearly three decades, Tate continues to work for the paper as a contract writer.
Tate also has a considerable radio broadcast career related to Illini sports. He provided color commentary for men’s basketball from 1968 to 2001, called football games for several years, and appears regularly on the local station WDWS to discuss the highs and lows of Illinois athletics.
Tate, who authored A Century of Orange and Blue (2004) and Tatelines (2008), was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1974 and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2021. He also has a street named after him—the street adjacent to the former News-Gazette building was named Loren Tate Way by the City of Champaign.
The Lou Liay Spirit Award, which is bestowed upon alumni by the University of Illinois Alumni Association on behalf of the University of Illinois, was named in honor of Lou Liay, EDM ’62, executive director of the UI Alumni Association from 1983 to 1998.
Tate, along with nine other alumni awardees, will be honored at the UIAA’s 2026 Alumni Awards Gala on October 1 at Pear Tree Estate in Champaign, in conjunction with Homecoming Week, September 27-October 3.
The Institute of Communications Research is excited to announce their newest cohort! Please learn more about the students’ research interests below and join us in welcoming them to the University of Illinois College of Media community this fall. For more information, see full student profiles.
Mark Burbridge’s primary research areas center around film criticism, media studies, and digital media studies, with specific research focus on the evolution of film criticism, histories of film industry and media markets, and how emerging technologies affect popular film discourse.
Boram Cho’sresearch interests include AI creativity, human-AI interaction and collaboration, persuasion knowledge, emerging technologies and media in children and older adults, and ethical AI use.
Matthew Huh’sresearch focuses on cultural and audience shifts found in contemporary pop culture, animation, and nostalgia, along with the impact of blockbuster media in film culture.
Jiayi (Joy) Wang’s research focuses on artificial intelligence in advertising and consumer behavior, with particular interest in how AI-generated advertising and persuasion knowledge shape consumer responses across digital platforms.
Chenqi Zhu’sresearch interests lie in the intersection of media and communication study, history of science, and science technology studies. She is interested in how communicative, scientific, and technological practices condition and transform each other across historical trajectories, and to their constitutive role in structuring human nature and broader social formations.
Several College of Media students, including a recent graduate, expanded their skills, learned more about the industries, and gained valuable professional experience through various internship opportunities this summer. Read about a few of our students’ experiences below in these Q&As.
Felicity Abbott, senior in journalism
CBS Chicago | News Intern | Chicago, Illinois
“I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many Illinois alumni working at CBS Chicago and they have welcomed me with open arms. This experience was a great demonstration of how strong the Illini family is and reinforced my decision to study at the University of Illinois.”
What she did: As the newsroom intern, I spent 10 weeks rotating through a variety of positions and roles, expanding a plethora of my journalistic skills. I served as a field producer several times, including for CBS Chicago’s annual “Party at the Pier,” where I coordinated live talent, interviews, a camera crew, and transportation. I also had the opportunity to help with social media coverage of the Obama Presidential Center. I spent several weeks working alongside the CBS Chicago Investigative team, completing research, tagging along on interviews, and practicing script writing. With the producers, I wrote copy for the daily newscasts, sourced VO (voice-over) stories, edited videos, and created graphics. Alongside the digital team, I worked to clip stories, publish them to the CBS Chicago website and wrote digital stories to accompany clips. With reporters, I attended press conferences with city and state officials, practiced standups, and learned how to be efficient with quick deadlines.
What she enjoyed: I really enjoyed the flexibility I was given to move through the different roles in a newsroom. I developed many skills I wouldn’t have if I had only stuck with what I knew. Plus, this allowed me to meet and get to know lots of people, both inside and outside of the newsroom.
What she learned: I learned about how many roles there are in a newsroom of this size and how to effectively communicate between them all. Additionally, I got a lot of good insight into the type of role I can see myself going into post-grad.
What helped her prepare: My extracurricular activities like UI7 Newsroom really helped prepare me for this internship. I had a lot of experience I was able to reference during my interview and had a really solid understanding of TV news right off the bat, which gave me a lot of confidence as I started.
Abbottreceived funding from the College of MediaNancy Ronald and Ronald L. Hartshorn Internship Fund to support this internship.
Said Bravo, (BS ’26, journalism)
The Commercial Appeal | Sports Intern | Memphis, Tennessee
What he did: I interned at The Commercial Appeal, a legacy newspaper in Memphis. I was the sports intern through the Sports Journalism Institute.
What he enjoyed: I enjoyed the little moments in between assignments where I got to hang out with the sports staff and pick their brains. The best part about it was doing original reporting and working on enterprise stories. Over the summer, I had over 50 bylines and some vertical videos.
What he learned: I learned you must take initiative to succeed in print. You must seek out stories; oftentimes the best stories won’t fall on your lap. I also learned details matter a lot. The more granular you can go with a story, the better.
What helped him prepare: The Sports Journalism Institute prepared my cohort and me with a five-day sports journalism bootcamp at Arizona State University. They put me in a unique position to succeed in starting my career. I have been hired as a full-time sports reporter at Shaw Local in Kankakee, Illinois, where I will be covering high school sports.
Ruiyao Chao, graduate student in advertising
TikTok | Talent Acquisition Partner | San Jose, California
“Overall, this internship was a great learning experience. It helped me connect what I learned in class with real work. I also learned more about the career path I want to pursue. I am very grateful to my mentors and teammates for their support.”
What she did: We supported several technical teams, including AI Research, Search & Recommendation, E-commerce Algorithm, and Intelligent Creation. My work included sourcing candidates, talent mapping, conference recruiting, and supporting hiring managers.
What she enjoyed: I really enjoyed talking with candidates and talent mapping, which helped me understand how different companies and teams are structured. I also learned what skills companies are looking for.
What she learned: I learned that recruiting is not just about filling open roles. Recruiters also need to understand the business and the talent market. They need to know what the team needs and where to find the right people. Building strong relationships with candidates is also very important.
What helped her prepare: My classes at the University of Illinois helped me improve my communication and research skills, understand workplace communication, teamwork, and how technology affects the way people work. These skills were useful when I worked with recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates.
Nathan Gonzalez, senior in journalism
NBC News | Intern at Justice and National Security Unit | Washington, D.C.
I’m eternally grateful for the lecturers, professors, and staff at the College of Media. Because of them, I’ve landed an internship every summer, two of them in Washington, D.C., and been accepted into some of the most prestigious programs in political journalism. Thanks to the College of Media, I’m a multiskilled journalist who’s prepared for graduation and ready to start my professional career.
What he did: During my internship, I focused on national security reporting, learning how to navigate procedures, understand documents, conduct research, and investigate the operations of the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, CIA, FBI, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection. I also learned how to properly report on U.S. federal courts. I was frequently sent to cover rulings and hearings at the U.S. District Courts in Alexandria, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., as well as a week of Supreme Court opinions, where I sat in the courtroom and reported quotes from the justices back to the bureau. I booked and conducted interviews with immigration advocates and legal counsel on deportation cases. I was published multiple times as a reporter and researcher on the NBC News website and have my own author page. I learned how to conduct background checks, geographic tracking, and conflict-of-interest research using open-source intelligence.
I also led data processing and analysis for the unit on defense contracts, ICE deportation statistics, and FEC filings. I also led national security research for the July 4th celebrations in Washington, where I broke the news of an evacuation order to the bureau which ended up airing on our network.
What he enjoyed: I enjoyed being back in Washington, learning more about political reporting, and getting to work at my dream network, NBC News.
What helped him prepare: JOUR 400: Newsroom Experience and my work at UI7 Newsroom in general prepared me a great deal, helping me build my politics show Illinois in Session.
Gonzalezreceived funding from the College of MediaNancy Ronald and Ronald L. Hartshorn Internship Fund to support this internship.
Zijie Wang, senior in media and cinema studies
OpenQQuantify | Media Intern | Remote Work Opportunity
“This internship made me sure of my interest in media production, documentary development, and research-based content creation. It not only helped me accumulate portfolio-building and professional development experience but also made me more aware that I want to continue to explore technology storytelling and educational media direction in the future.”
What he did: As part of OpenQQuantify’s technology documentary initiative, which focused on areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity, fintech, and other emerging technologies, I assisted in documentary research, organizing and editing digital media assets, content publishing, and social media outreach. I also helped with interviews, media coordination, creative brainstorming, and online community engagement. My goal was to transform technical information into content that is clearer and more suitable for public understanding.
What he enjoyed: My favorite thing is that this internship combined research and creative media production. This internship made me see that a professional documentary project requires a lot of preliminary research and fact-checking. I especially liked the process of documentary theme research and content conception, because I was able to help the audience understand complex scientific and technological topics.
What he learned: Through this experience, I learned that media production is not just about shooting, editing, or publishing content. A good media project requires accurate information, clear narrative structure, and cooperation between teams; especially technology-focused media production, which requires both creative and analytical skills. Through the internship, I also learned a lot about documentary research, digital storytelling, social media communication, video editing, technology journalism, and innovation reporting.
What helped him prepare: My courses related to digital media, content creation, and media writing helped me prepare for this internship. These courses taught me how to organize information, analyze the audience, tell a good story, and express the content clearly.
Seo-Jeong (Rachel) Heo is a PhD candidate in the Institute of Communications Research, which houses the world’s oldest doctoral program in communications and media. Heo’s research interest focuses on what happens as AI takes on a bigger role in consumers’ lives.
Describe your areas of research interest.
I’m especially interested in three questions. First, how do people make sense of AI in the first place—what do they believe a machine can genuinely experience, claim, do, or create? Second, what changes when AI moves from simply providing information to recommending, interpreting, and eventually acting on a consumer’s behalf? And third, what happens when AI becomes emotional—when it recognizes how we feel, expresses emotions of its own, or begins to function more like a companion than a tool?
How do you approach your research?
I study these questions in advertising and consumer decision-making across contexts such as virtual influencers, generative AI advertising, conversational AI, social robots, AI shopping agents, and emotionally responsive AI. I also try to study these technologies in settings that resemble how people actually encounter them. Rather than relying only on written scenarios, many of my studies use live AI conversations, interactive advertising interfaces, and simulated shopping environments where participants actually interact with or delegate tasks to an AI. That allows me to study not just what people say they would do with AI, but how they respond when the technology is actively participating in the decision.
As AI moves from communicating with consumers to influencing their decisions, to acting for them, and even relating to them, it keeps entering roles that were once occupied by people. I want to understand how consumers decide what role a machine is allowed to play in each of those roles—and what happens when it crosses the line.
Seo-Jeong (Rachel) Heo
ICR Doctoral Student
Why does your research matter?
Even if you never think of yourself as an “AI person,” AI is increasingly involved in ordinary decisions around you. It can influence which products you see, explain why an advertised option supposedly fits you, recommend what to buy, create the advertising itself, or even complete parts of a purchase on your behalf. At the same time, companies are designing AI to sound warmer, more understanding, and more human.
Each of those changes raises a different question that matters beyond AI itself. When AI creates or endorses something, we have to decide what kinds of claims we consider credible coming from a machine. When AI recommends something, we have to decide how much weight to give its judgment. When it acts for us, we have to decide how much control we are willing to hand over. And when it becomes emotionally responsive, we have to decide whether we are still interacting with a tool or beginning to treat it as a social partner.
Those are ultimately questions about persuasion, autonomy, responsibility, and relationships. They matter because AI is increasingly being inserted into moments where consumers are vulnerable to influence—when they are uncertain about what to choose, when they are delegating a consequential decision, or even when they are looking for emotional support. Understanding when these systems help people and when they become uncomfortable, misleading, or overly influential can inform not only advertising practice, but also how companies design AI and how consumers are protected as these technologies become more deeply embedded in everyday life.
How did ICR help you develop and hone in on your research area?
ICR gave me the freedom to follow a research question across disciplinary boundaries. My work is grounded in advertising and consumer psychology, but it also draws from communication, social psychology, human–computer interaction, and research on emotion and emerging technology. Having faculty with expertise spanning AI, computational approaches, and emotional and physiological processes made it possible for me to think about consumer–AI interaction from more than one perspective.
ICR also broadened my methodological training. In addition to experimental and survey methods, coursework in analytics and computational research introduced me to R-based data analysis (a free, open-source software environment designed for statistical computing and graphics) and encouraged me to think more broadly about the kinds of data and methods I can use. That combination of theoretical breadth and methodological flexibility helped me move from studying individual AI phenomena to developing a more connected research program.
Just as importantly, ICR taught me to keep asking, “What is the theoretical question underneath the new technology?” AI changes incredibly quickly. A platform or feature that feels novel today may look completely different a few years from now, so I learned not to build my research around a particular technology. Instead, I focus on the more enduring human questions underneath it—how people infer minds and intentions, respond to persuasion, give up control, assign responsibility, and form relationships.
What led you to be interested in your research area?
I became interested in AI because I kept noticing that the most interesting part was not whether the technology worked—it was how quickly people began treating it as something more than technology.
A conversational AI can produce a technically correct answer, but people still ask whether it really understands them. A virtual influencer can present a product perfectly, but consumers may still wonder whether it could actually have experienced what it is describing. And an AI can make a very good recommendation, yet that recommendation feels different once the system moves from saying, “Here is what I think you should buy,” to saying, “I can buy it for you.” That shift toward agentic AI, which can search, choose, and execute decisions on the consumer’s behalf, made me especially interested in what happens when people stop simply taking advice from AI and begin giving it authority.
What other aspects of your research do you find interesting?
AI systems are increasingly designed not only to be capable, but to be emotionally responsive—to recognize distress, offer reassurance, express emotion, and maintain ongoing conversations. That creates a very different set of questions. What does it mean when a machine says, “I understand,” or even, “I feel the same way”? When does that make the interaction feel supportive, and when does it feel artificial or manipulative? And what happens when repeated emotional interaction develops into something that consumers experience as a relationship?
Those moments are what continue to draw me to this area. As AI moves from communicating with consumers to influencing their decisions, to acting for them, and even relating to them, it keeps entering roles that were once occupied by people. I want to understand how consumers decide what role a machine is allowed to play in each of those roles—and what happens when it crosses the line.
This year’s conference theme was “Jazz & Jambalaya: Nurturing Harmony and Health in Higher Education.” Presenters included faculty in the Institute of Communications Research, the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, and the Department of Journalism; and graduate students in ICR’s PhD program and the MS advertising program.
A Science Communication paper, “Exploring the Influence of Interactive and Empathetic Chatbots on Health Misinformation Correction and Vaccination Intentions,” co-authored by ICR Director Leona Yi-Fan Su and iSchool doctoral student Mobius Ziyang Gong (MS ’22, advertising) received the 2025 Article of the Year Award from AEJMC’s Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division.
Journalism Professors Alexandre Gonçalvesand Margaret Yee Man Ng received Second Place Open Competition Award for their paper “Analyzing News Outlet Social Media Use: Platform Adoption, Usage, and Migration Across Two Decades (2005–2025),” in the Newspaper and Online News Division.
In addition, two ICR doctoral students received awards at the conference including Anthea Xiaohua He, who received second place in the Washington Media Scholar Fund Graduate Research Scholarship competition, and Anna Liu, who received an honorable mention for the Webtoon Emerging Scholar Award.
The AEJMC aims to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to cultivate the widest possible range of communication research, to encourage the implementation of a multi-cultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication to achieve better professional practice and a better-informed public.
College of Media research presenters and presentations are listed below. (Please see the AEJMC conference program for complete listings and participants.)
Su and Gong received Article of the Year Award in the Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division.Gonçalves and Ng received the Second Place Open Competition Award for their paper in the Newspaper and Online News Division.
Scholar-to-Scholar (Poster) RefereedResearch Paper Session
Visual Communication Across Digital Contexts
“Visual Metaphor Complexity: Structural, Semantic, and Cognitive Dimensions”
The 2026 Sandage Symposium: Advancing Advertising Together, presented by the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, will be held on Friday, Sept. 18, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the Illini Union, 2nd Floor Ballroom, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana.
“Advertising as the Invited Guest Who Took Over the Party”
Keynote Speaker: Judy Ungar Franks, Former Agency Executive, Professor at Northwestern University, and Author of Media from Chaos to Clarity and Back Again
10:45 a.m.-12 p.m.
“Where Advertising Goes Next”
Panelists from left to right: Jessica Jorsch (BS ’07, ADV), Global Digital Performance Media Lead, Mars; Helen Katz (MS ’86, ADV; PhD ’88, ICR), Executive Vice President, Research, Publicis Media; Mike Kelly (BA ’79, LAS), CEO and Co-founder of Kelly/Newman Advisors; Ashley McGowan (BS ’07, ADV), Head of Marketing, Audience & Growth, Meta; Greg Morrison (BS ’07, ADV), Co-founder, MXML Creative
“From Classroom to Industry: Exploring the Possibilities of Advertising”
Panelists from left to right: Lacey Gilbert (MS ’11, ADV), Senior Vice President, Strategy Director, Leo Burnett; Adam Hamilton (BS ’11, ADV; MBA ’19) Director, Brand Communications, McDonald’s; Amy Restko (BA ’13, LAS; MS ’14, ADV), Vice President, Engagement Strategy, AbelsonTaylor Group; Bill Rouse (BA ’96, LAS), Senior Vice President, Advertising Sales, Sony Pictures Entertainment; Rachelle Pierre-Lott (BA ’03, LAS), Director II, Enterprise Digital Advancement & Innovation at AbbVie
Right now, shoppable ads are much more common on social media than in streaming. That means that they’re more unexpected in streaming—a novelty. People may pay more attention to these kinds of ads, but they also may be more wary.
Michelle Nelson
Professor and Head of the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising
Professor Michelle Nelson (Photo by L. Brian Stauffer)
A new study from College of Media faculty and students claims that consumers pay more attention to shoppable ads when streaming than when browsing social media—for better or for worse.
The research article, “Why Some Shoppable Ads Persuade: Expectancy Violations and Ad Value Across Streaming TV and Social Media,” was led by ICR doctoral student Alice Ji, with Michelle Nelson, professor and head of the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, and Ruiheng (Rachel) Sun (MS ’25, advertising).
Overall, the study found that consumers respond to shoppable ads “based on how they interpret that unexpectedness, whether the violation is appraised as useful, innovative, or irritating.”
In the UK trade publication MediaCat, Nelson said most ads are invasive unless they offer some value to the consumer.
“Maybe they offer a discount, or maybe they provide valuable information to us. Ads that interrupt our media experience tend to be regarded as most intrusive,” Nelson said.
Get to know some of our College of Media students! Giuliana Means is a Class of 2028 journalism major.
Why did you decide to major in journalism?
During my freshman year of high school, I walked into the 96.1 KJTZ radio station, and that experience set my goal in stone that I wanted to be a journalist. For the next four years of high school, I was a radio host. I also did freelance work with local bands. When it finally came time for college applications, I saw that Illinois is considered one of the best broadcast journalism schools.
What project are you most proud of?
Last year, I was a senior reporter for Illinois Public Media, and I did my first feature-length story on homelessness in Champaign-Urbana. At the time, the only low-barrier shelter was at risk of closing due to a lack of funding. If that happened, it would leave around 60 people on the streets in the dead of winter. I wanted to talk to somebody experiencing homelessness and get a new perspective for IPM. I’m really proud of myself for getting that perspective and amplifying the voice of an unhoused person. The College of Media decided to submit my project to the Hearst Journalism Awards Program, and I placed in the top 20 out of roughly 100 submissions. That was the first big project I did by myself, so I’m proud that I made it to begin with, but also, knowing that my work is being appreciated is heartwarming to know.
What classes have been the most beneficial?
As a hands-on learner, I have learned a lot from the IPM section of JOUR 400: Newsroom Experience. I was able to get real-world experience by going out, producing stories, and working with an actual editor.
I’m currently in JOUR 360: Working with the Press for my public relations minor, and it has been really helpful for learning more tools for interviewing people. In that class, you learn how to understand, manage, and build relations with the media. The most interesting part is learning how to work with people who are PR-trained and working together to create stories.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to incoming journalism students?
Try everything! When I first arrived, I got involved with so many RSOs to see what I did and didn’t like. Most people say, “say no to everything,” but I would say the opposite. At first, it might seem like a lot is on your plate, but when your time is filled, and your resume is heavy, which is especially important, you’ll thank yourself later.
I would also recommend utilizing your admission counselor. I love mine. She helped me navigate studying abroad and so much more. She gives me a lot of guidance on how to maximize my time on campus while also ensuring that I have a good experience.
Angie Leventis Lourgos (BS ’03, journalism), Dan Petrella (BS ’06, journalism; BA ’06, LAS; MS ’10, journalism), Marianne Mather (BS ’96, media studies), Bob McCoppin (BS ’85, journalism), and John J. Kim (BS ’97, advertising) were part of a team that produced the winning work, cited as “powerful coverage of the Trump administration’s militarized immigration sweep of the city that described in vivid, muscular prose how the siege-like incursion of ICE agents unified Chicagoans in resistance.”
Kim previously won a Pulitzer Prize in 2011 for Local Reporting for his photography in multiple Chicago Sun-Times’ articles that documented violence in Chicago neighborhoods.
Chicago Tribune newsroom staff; not pictured is John J. Kim, who was out on assignment. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.)
Karina Anglada (BS ’10, journalism; MS ’12, iSchool) has leveraged her broadcast journalism degree to tell compelling stories about iconic professional sports teams, earning nine Regional EMMY® Awards over a five-year period as a media producer and editor for the Golden State Warriors.
After transitioning from sports to the tech industry, Anglada now helps others shape their narratives as a senior strategic development manager for video at Adobe.
“I made the jump to the tech world and that’s been an incredible career opportunity for me,” she said. “Now I get to meet with customers across the globe who are using Adobe software to help tell their company’s and their brand’s stories.” Her portfolio includes customers across media and entertainment brands, news and sports broadcasting, and marketing, advertising, and content teams for corporate and enterprise organizations.
Anglada’s career trajectory, along with her dedication to the College of Media, led to her being named the 2026 College of Media Emerging Leader Award recipient.
“The College of Media is pleased to honor Karina Anglada as this year’s Emerging Leader Alumni Award winner,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “Her eagerness to share her technical and creative knowledge, her award-winning career in sports media and digital media, and her engagement with Illinois overall make her an exemplary recipient.”
Anglada, who grew up in Chicago and now lives in Georgia, never expected to build a career in the tech industry. In hindsight, she recognizes how well her journalism education prepared her for the transition.
Working on a global team with colleagues across Australia, Europe, and Latin America, Anglada supports customers using Adobe Video, while also gathering feedback that helps shape new implementations and inform product strategy. She frequently presents at large events, showcasing the software’s capabilities.
Anglada likens her presentations to being “on-air” talent—requiring her to be engaging, understand audience needs, and translate complex ideas into clear, accessible language.
“I feel like I did that in my journalism classes. You take these stories that have a lot of information, and you condense them down into bite-sized pieces so that people can understand them,” she said. “Looking back, it’s like I was built for this [job] because I had so much of the foundation [already]. A lot of things apply from my degree that I still take with me every day.”
A lot of things apply from my degree that I still take with me every day.
Karina Anglada
Senior Strategic Development Manager for Video at Adobe
Anglada said her journalism classes, as well as her internship at Fighting Illini Productions, were a catalyst for her future in sports media. The hands-on experience allowed her to put into practice what she learned in the classroom, whether it was shooting, editing, directing, live video production, or post-production work, for a variety of Illinois sports including football, women’s basketball, wrestling, and volleyball.
“I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of my career kind of taking off,” she said.
Following graduation, Anglada worked as a producer and editor for the Detroit Pistons, and then at Auburn University where she worked as assistant director of video services.
In 2017, she moved to California to take a job as a producer and editor for the Golden State Warriors. Most of her job focused on post-production editing for video boards, social media, and documentary-style television shows that aired on the regional sports network.
One of her favorite projects—and one that garnered her a Regional EMMY® Award—was a video she helped produce featuring Vice President Kamala Harris, who is from the Warriors’ former home city of Oakland, California, and a young African American girl who shares the same hometown. The video’s underlying theme centers around the widespread impact Harris had on Black female youth while making history as the 49th vice president of the U.S.
“To have that honor bestowed on our team, and to have my skill set and my craft of editing be recognized by my peers was an incredible, incredible thing,” she said.
As an alum, Anglada has stayed engaged with the College of Media, participating in alumni panels, serving as a keynote speaker at University of Illinois Web Conference in 2023, and mentoring Media students.
In addition to offering advice about the current industry, Anglada emphasizes the opportunities a journalism education can offer.
“There are the standard jobs, like on-air talent, producer, director, newsroom-type-focused careers. But there are so many other fields that you can go into with a journalism degree, and I’m a testament to that. I worked for three different sports organizations, and now I’m in tech,” she said.
Anglada speaks often at professional events about the use of AI in today’s media landscape and can appreciate both the power and challenges it presents.
