January 13, 2025 | Kelly Youngblood
Three experiential learning opportunities are being offered to students this spring including two new trips—one to the nation’s capital and another to two Scandinavian countries—as well as a return visit to the West African country of Sierra Leone.
Washington, D.C., March 19-22
Colleen King, clinical assistant professor of journalism and director of the Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media, will be taking eight students to Washington, D.C., to visit news outlets and key government locations.
In addition to participating in newsroom tours, students will receive journalism advice for coursework and career planning; learn to identify local journalism beats; and understand the basics of how professional newsrooms and control rooms operate.
The trip is designed to help students gain invaluable knowledge about U.S. history and the First Amendment to better cover politics, campaigns, and elections, as well as the day-to-day workings of the U.S. government.
Some of the sites the students will visit include the NBC News/MSNBC Washington bureau, the CBS News Washington bureau, Politico, the Albritton Journalism Institute and its website NOTUS (News of the United States), a tour of Capitol Hill, and a visit to the National Archives.
(Update: See photos from their trip to DC.)
Sierra Leone, West Africa, March 14-22
Charles “Stretch” Ledford, associate professor of journalism, and Alison Davis, lecturer in journalism, will lead a return trip back to Freetown, Sierra Leone, with six students in the “Globally Focused Advanced Documentary Filmmaking” class.
Under the supervision of Ledford, Davis, and Dr. Francis Sowa, dean of communications, media, and information studies at the University of Sierra Leone’s Fourah Bay College, Illinois and Fourah Bay journalism students will continue production of the documentary film Uman Tok: Tailoring Hope, Reclaiming Futures. An early cut of the film won first place in the 2024 Illinois Broadcasters Association Student Silver Dome Award for Television Photojournalism.
The multi-year international reporting project tells the story of Uman Tok, a small, woman-led nonprofit in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital city. Uman Tok (“woman talk” in the local language) employs 15 marginalized women at a living wage to produce reusable, washable menstrual pads for schoolgirls around the country who otherwise would not have a means of managing their monthly periods.
In addition to collaborating on the documentary film, students will be working on a virtual reality experience, a podcast, and an ink-on-paper comic book for readers of any level.
The media the journalism students produce will be used in an advertising campaign for Uman Tok created by students in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising’s capstone course this spring.
This year, both Illinois journalism students and their peers from Fourah Bay College will not only work together in the field, but also live together on the same compound, in an environment designed to foster organic collaboration, shared learning, and more authentic and deeply reported stories.
Read more about the origin of the documentary and the students’ first trip to Sierra Leone in 2024.
Scandinavia Tour, May 26-June 4
Marisa Peacock, senior lecturer in advertising, is planning a 10-day study abroad trip for 21 students to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Stockholm, Sweden.
Designed to give students a deep dive into the branding, advertising, and cultural strategies of major global companies, the trip will also provide a broader exploration of Scandinavian design, architecture, and culture.
Students will visit corporate headquarters of iconic companies like LEGO, IKEA, H&M, and UNIQLO to understand their global marketing strategies and meet with alumni working with these brands in fields of design, marketing, and communication.
Additionally, the itinerary includes visits to renowned cultural and design sites such as the Swedish Museum of Architecture and Design, Nyhavn harbor, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
Peacock said she pitched the idea of visiting the area due to an interest in Scandinavian design, which blends functionality with simplicity and modernity, and because brands like IKEA, LEGO, and UNIQLO incorporate corporate responsibility with a dedication to diversity, inclusion, and sustainability, which is also an important hallmark of brand building.
Share on social
