- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Patrick Rhode tapped as keynote speaker for Mass Communication Awards Ceremony

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 14:17:01 +0000

In 2016, Patrick Rhode fulfilled a long-held goal of graduating from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, a journey 25 years in the making. Rhode, U.S. vice president of corporate affairs for the global infrastructure firm, Cintra, will return to his alma mater as the keynote speaker of the School of Mass Communication Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 12, to share his journey from a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock college student to a career that would span the White House and high profile senior executive roles in government and private industry. The awards ceremony will take place from noon to 2 p.m. in the Donaghey Student Center Ledbetter Hall. Rhode’s notable career has taken him from Fortune 500 and 1000 companies to NASA as well as to the White House. After serving as the deputy director of National Advance Operations for George W. Bush’s successful presidential campaign in 2000, Rhode was sworn in by the Vice President in the East Room of the White House as a special assistant to to the President of the United States. When the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was created in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy, Rhode was named chief of staff for two FEMA administrations within the department responsible for more than 100 Presidential Disaster and Emergency Declarations. The department assisted more than 1 million Americans during his tenure, during which time he was awarded high level national security clearances. He has also served as the associate administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and senior advisor to NASA.

From ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to the White House and beyond

After Rhode earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Arkansas in 1991, he came to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in search of a new career path. “��Vlog��ý Little Rock is special to me because it was the place where I first learned to leave my comfort zone and try something I had never tried before,” he said. “Something kept calling me to try broadcast journalism, and attending ��Vlog��ý Little Rock gave me the chance to learn skills on campus as well as at a local television affiliate.” He credits ��Vlog��ý Little Rock with giving him the tools that led to early career roles as an award- winning television reporter with CBS and ABC television affiliates.

As a student at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Patrick Rhode interviews actor James Earl Jones.

“It was my time at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock that gave me the confidence to try a career path that led me in so many directions,” Rhode said. “I was encouraged by great professors and had a series of great formative experiences at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, from interviewing the actor James Earl Jones for the student radio station news and getting him to say, ‘This is ��Vlog��ýLR,’ just the same way he once famously said, ‘This is CNN,” to helping then CBS anchor Paula Zahn climb a fence barricade around the crowd in downtown Little Rock on election night in 1992 to make a live report on time.” While at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, he also interned at KARK, which later led him to his first job. “I only hope that longtime Arkansas journalist Steve Barnes and others at KARK Television in Little Rock don’t remember the kid intern that kept scotch-taping the wrong script order in the teleprompter,” he joked. Rhode left ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 1993, just three credit hours short of graduation, to pursue a career as a television reporter for the CBS affiliate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. When he left that job, the mayor of Tuscaloosa presented Rhode with a proclamation declaring a day in June as Patrick Rhode Day in honor of his great news coverage of the city. “Truthfully, I think the recognition was for the notoriety of an April Fool’s story we did declaring that a late night city ordinance would forever remove the name of Bear Bryant from the University of Alabama football stadium,” he said. “The television audience did not wait to hear the city council say April Fool’s at the end of the piece before the phone lines at the station began to light up in protest.” Completing his bachelor’s degree in mass communication from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is a goal he never forgot. “I had thought about finishing many times over the years but always had an excuse,” Rhode said. “I was having a conversation a few years ago about what influenced and motivated our early career decisions. Every example I spoke of was my time at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. As I reflected, I thought to myself, ‘How could I not have a degree from the school that taught me so much?’” With the help of Dr. Olaf Hoerschelmann, interim associate dean of the School of Mass Communication, and Dr. Jeanne Rollberg, an associate professor of journalism from 1983 to 2016, he proudly completed his degree in 2016. “More than 20 years after leaving ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, I sent a somewhat embarrassing note to Dr. Olaf Hoerschelmann explaining my situation and asked if there might be a way I could complete coursework. After so many years, I was not even sure records still existed of me, ha. Dr. Hoerschelmann and the entire university staff were so helpful in their direction of my coursework completion, and immediately welcomed me back home. It feels like a fitting end to a long journey that began at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.” Rollberg recalled that Rhode was a “very bright and talented student,” but that she was somewhat surprised to see his email so many years later.

As a Special Assistant to the President of the United States, Patrick Rhode works with President George W. Bush.

“I confess to have given up on his ever graduating because the time lapse had been so long,” Rollberg said. “I was very glad and proud for him when he decided to finish.” The end of Rhode’s journey to getting a degree at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is just the beginning of his path to inspiring the next generation of aspiring mass communication professionals. His keynote speech, “Leaving the Zone,” will cover how continuously leaving his comfort zone led to incredible career opportunities and personal growth. “We all live in our comfort zones,” Rhode said. “But sometimes our personal and professional experiences of growth are informed most by leaving the zone. My path through several careers has been imperfect, but I don’t think we have to be perfect. Transitions are not easy. There are failures. There are self doubts. There all always critics and naysayers. But I believe we often find ourselves when we leave the zone. “It was my experience at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock that first set me on a path of leaving my zone that resulted in experiences that I never would have imagined. I’m pretty sure while sitting in class that my dreams included a simple hope that my car would start back up again that afternoon near University Avenue, and I never would have believed that I would have the chance to help bring billion dollar infrastructure projects to market, or that Air Force One would one day have a seat reserved for me.”

Young entrepreneurs donate money to “Victory Over Violence” campaign

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 14:08:16 +0000

When little Ahnari Nash was asked why she wanted to give money to the campaign “,” she said she wanted “to help people stay alive.” Nash, a soon-to-be second-grader at Western Hills Elementary School, was one of 125 kindergarten through fourth-grade students who learned how to become an entrepreneur at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Children International’s “Mind Your Own Business” summer enrichment program. “The youth are learning to be socially responsible and understand they can make a difference,” said Paula Rogers, program enrichment manager at Children International. During the summer program, instructors taught students the financially literacy and entrepreneurial skills needed to run a business, including how to speak to customers and investors, how to handle money, create a budget, and save money for a business. Some of the products they created this year included puzzle picture frames, CD case calendars, hand-painted notepads, wire people greeting cards, and paper Pandora beads. Kyler Lee, a second-grader at Terry Elementary School, said making the notepads was “hard work,” but he now has plans for a future in business. “I want to own my own business and sell products,” Lee said. After selling their homemade products at the University District Farmer’s Market and Downtown River Market, Children International students presented more than $900 to “Victory Over Violence” campaign organizers during the “Victory Walk” held July 15 in MacArthur Park. Launched by KARK and Fox16, the campaign focuses on covering crime responsibly and uniting community groups and leaders to reduce violent crimes through improvements in education, jobs, mentoring, and fighting hunger. Organizers for “Victory Over Violence” said the money raised would be given to an organization for at-risk youths. Marqueashia Thompson, third-grade business enrichment instructor, said many of participants end the summer feeling optimistic about their future as entrepreneurs. “The kids are inspired to be rich,” Thompson said. “They don’t feel like they have any limits. They can do anything they put their minds to.” In the upper right photo, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Children International students sell homemade products to raise money for the “Victory Over Violence” campaign at the University District Farmer’s Market. Pictured, from left to right, include: second-grader Angela Salas, Camp Instructor Mary Virden, first-grader Aimar Salas, third-grader Mason Thomas, and fourth-grader Kirsten Ewings. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

Young entrepreneurs sell products to raise money for “Victory Over Violence” campaign

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 06 Jul 2017 16:59:19 +0000

Young entrepreneurs participating in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Children International’s “Mind Your Own Business” summer camp will sell their business products July 6, 11, and 13 to raise money for the anti-violence campaign, “ This is the 14th year of the program, which serves 125 Kindergarten through fourth-grade students, who are spending six weeks in the June 5 to July 13 summer enrichment program learning how to become entrepreneurs and developing their own products and business plans. “Our goal is to eradicate poverty,” said Paula Rogers, program engagement manager at Children International. “If our youth learn how to empower themselves by becoming entrepreneurs, they can find a way to reverse their situation.” Children International has seen success stories where some of the campers take what they learned in camp, developed websites, and made a profit by selling the products they created in camp, Rogers said. Some of the products for this year’s sale include puzzle picture frames, CD case calendars, hand-painted notepads, wire people greeting cards, and paper Pandora beads. The students will be selling their products from noon to 4 p.m. at the University District Farmer’s Markets on Thursday, July 6, and Thursday, July 13. The markets are held in the parking lot adjacent to University Plaza at the corner of Asher Avenue and ��Vlog��ýLR Campus Drive. An additional sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the Downtown River Market Sale on Tuesday, July 11. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the “Victory Over Violence” campaign. Launched by KARK and Fox16, the campaign focuses on covering crime responsibly and uniting community groups and leaders to reduce violent crimes through improvements in education, jobs, mentoring, and hunger.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock grad looks forward to future as teacher

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 05 May 2017 17:11:16 +0000

Dominique Mack has loved shooting and editing video ever since she started filming services at her church, Anointed Word International Ministries, as a high school student in Chicago Heights, Illinois. “I loved it, and I wanted to further my education in it,” she said. “I love to spread knowledge and help other people.” The 25-year-old is graduating with a master’s degree in mass communication from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock this spring. After earning a full scholarship for playing the alto saxophone in the marching band, Mack first attended the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication in 2015. She continued her education with the goal of becoming a college instructor to share her love of mass communication with future students. “I had planned on going to Georgia, but I saw ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s program, and they sold me right off the bat,” Mack said. “I heard it was a great program, and I did indeed learn a lot over the past two years.” Her first year of graduate school started off rough. Three of Mack’s family members – two uncles and a grandmother – passed away. “It was very hard for me,” Mack said. “Sometimes, I wanted to say, ‘Forget it. I am tired.’ I stuck in there, because I knew my family members wouldn’t want me to stop.” She also lost her car, the sole possession she had left from her grandmother, Daise Mack, who passed away while Dominique Mack was attending Pine Bluff. “She was like a second mother to me,” Mack said. She has found a new car and named it “Daise” in honor of her gradmother. Throughout her many challenges, Mack found solace with her classmates and fellow Zeta Phi Beta Sorority members. “I have met a lot of very genuine people here. I have never bonded with so many of my peers ever,” she said. “I had my college family, and they made everything easier for me. “ While in Little Rock, Mack gained invaluable experience through internships with Fox 16/KARK and the Arkansas Minority Health Commission and a graduate assistantship with ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Counseling Services. She’s thankful to her mom, family, sorority sisters and fraternity brothers, God, and the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock School of Mass Communication for helping her graduate. “All the staff was great,” Mack said. “They were ready to help me with everything. I could not have done it without them for sure. I appreciate ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for giving me this opportunity to receive my master’s degree, and I will always come back and support my alma mater.”

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Patrick Rhode tapped as keynote speaker for Mass Communication Awards Ceremony

Young entrepreneurs donate money to “Victory Over Violence” campaign

Young entrepreneurs sell products to raise money for “Victory Over Violence” campaign

����Vlog��ý Little Rock grad looks forward to future as teacher

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock grad looks forward to future as teacher