Students who were awake early Friday morning over spring break may have caught a glimpse of fourth-year College student Mark O'Brien on NBC's "Today Show."
O'Brien said he was right over Al Roker's shoulder when Roker finished the outdoor weather segment. Holding a sign that read "Hire a Hoo," O'Brien was promoting University Career Services.
"People couldn't help but see me," he said, estimating that the camera scanned over him three or four times.
But O'Brien was not just another face in the crowd, crammed in among other people eager to make a television appearance. In fact, his trip was not a typical visit to New York City. Instead of craning his neck to look at the Empire State Building or climbing to the top of the Statue of Liberty, O'Brien was busy talking to University alumni in the media field about a new organization he started -- the University Media Alliance.
"I have a lot of ideas -- it's just a matter of putting them into place," he said.
Of the 20-25 media representatives O'Brien contacted in New York in December and January, 15 responded, and he was able to meet with nine in early March. Among them were alumni from ABC, CBS, NBC and MTV, as well as a marketing firm.
"They were all very supportive," he said.
For O'Brien, a biology major interested in pursuing a media career, the trip to New York was "a lot of work" but an important step in working on the UMA. In fact, recent sunny weather has meant anything but hours of idle daydreaming for him. Now that the school year is winding down, O'Brien said he has finally been able to find time to devote to the newly formed UMA.
"I want to see it get up on its feet and survive," he said.
UMA grew out of O'Brien's realization that various media organizations at the University were not working together as he believed they should be.
"Each one was doing its own thing," he said.
He began to "gauge the interest" for starting the UMA by talking to people in the media studies department and University Career Services, as well as to the heads of student media organizations.
To date, WHOO TV, OFFScreen, the Declaration, WUVA radio and the Darden Sports, Entertainment and Media Group are among the organizations that have expressed interest in UMA.
Media Studies Prof. Johanna Drucker was receptive to O'Brien's idea, saying she hopes UMA will reach all students who are interested in media.
"It will be good to have a single place for information," she said, "and it will help us to coordinate a sense of community."
Drucker, who is the director of the media studies program at the University, said she thinks UMA will make a "big difference for students" and that O'Brien's idea is right on target.
"This initiative shows energy and enterprise," she said.
O'Brien said he was glad to have Drucker's support.
"It turns out that timing was perfect," O'Brien said of UMA, since the media studies department had expressed interest in working on a similar project.
"Why not collaborate to accomplish the same goal?" he said.
Though it is not a Contracted Independent Organization, UMA may eventually apply for CIO status, O'Brien said. Currently, with no access to funding, UMA is a "volunteer service organization for other media organizations."
This volunteer service involves three main objectives: advocacy, communication and alumni networking for media organizations on Grounds.
Involvement -- both student and alumni -- is key for UMA, O'Brien stated.
"It's imperative to find people who are interested," he said.
Establishing contacts with alumni, O'Brien's task over spring break, is one of UMA's main goals.
Jennifer Hoffman, associate director of UCS, helped O'Brien organize UMA and has also been meeting with alumni to tell them about the organization.
"Jen has been encouraging and very supportive," O'Brien said.
Hoffman stressed the need to "keep alumni involved" make them feel invested in the University.
"It's a way for them to feel connected to their alma mater," she said.
"UMA is a resource for alumni as well as students," O'Brien added.
Hoffman said that she hopes UMA will be able to accomplish this objective by providing alumni with news updates and giving them the opportunity to return to the University as speakers or participants in panel discussions.
"It's important to keep up communication," she said.
Staying in touch with those in the media field, Hoffman said, could allow students to build relationships with alumni that may eventually lead to an internship or a job.
"Students would be able to talk to people at the forefront of the media world," she said.
O'Brien said he hopes that students who participate in UMA will have an upper hand in the media world, "not only in terms of contacts but also in terms of activities going on around Grounds."
One goal of UMA, in fact, is to increase communication among media-related groups. O'Brien emphasized the need for "cross promotion" among organizations to raise awareness of media events. For example, WHOO TV might announce a need for submissions for Inkstone literary magazine.
WHOO TV station advisor Nicholas T. Holden agreed that -- especially when it comes to media organizations -- inter-communication is important.
"The lack of communication is really ironic," he said.
Holden, a drama major, stressed the need to bridge the lack of correspondence among media organizations through the UMA so that groups can share information and resources.
"I think this is an important organization to have," he said.
Aside from networking and improving communication, O'Brien said, a third goal of UMA is advocacy, which entails raising awareness of media and media organizations and increasing support and funding for media groups at the University.
"It's about opening doors and creating opportunities for students," he said.
Part of the way UMA reaches out to students is through a majordomo email that O'Brien manages. Subscribers to "Media Memo" receive weekly updates that include "everything from career tips to announcements to activities." He also includes a few interesting media-related articles.
O'Brien's plans for the future of UMA include having a print newsletter and establishing a comprehensive list of alumni by next fall.
"Obviously there are alumni in the media field all over the country," he said.
Hoffman said although O'Brien will graduate in May, he will still be able to stay involved to some extent while pursuing either a job or graduate school. She emphasized the need to find people at the University to "carry the torch," continuing the group that O'Brien has worked diligently to ignite.
"The foundations are set. Hopefully UMA will pave the way for students interested in media and media careers," O'Brien said, though he admitted he regrets leaving the University just as UMA is being established.
"Mark is the driving force," Hoffman said. "He's the spark"
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