STUDENT Showcase
Guest Speakers...
... add value to the WRIT 340 experience. Speakers bring their own perspectives on communicating effectively and authentically, based on their unique experiences in navigating the treacherous shoals of writing, life, and work.
For several semesters now, Professor Hansen has asked marketing/branding strategist and creative director Eric Junker (left) to lead off the guest speaking season. Junker presents his own brand of "self-branding" exercises and advice, which blend harmoniously with, supplement, and augment Professor Hansen's who you are matters theme and "freewriting" practices. As Junker says on his website, his "background as a designer, teacher, fine artist, writer, bicycle commuter, musician, and surfer fuel his original insights on the merging of artful thinking and business."
Jonathan Brody (right) talks about "The Genius of Story" and his work with organizations like WORKS, eroots, and NICA. This is how one student described Brody's presentation:
"Jonathan Brody’s presentation was interesting to say the least. Although it was difficult to keep track of his whirlwind of a life, when I slowly digested all the happenings that he had gone through, I found myself a little jealous. How could one man experience so much and turn out the way he did? I had always been taught that going to school, doing well, and getting a high-paying
job was how to succeed at life, but here was this man who had traveled around with bands having the time of his life and he seemed to have turned out okay. Actually, he seemed to have turned out better than okay. When Jon started talking about his experiences in Nicaragua, my jealousy grew even more. I personally love travelling and I would have loved to have experienced the experiences he had. His presentation made me reconsider my summer plans and consider going abroad with a volunteer organization." (Tae Min Pak, Business Administration and Accounting)
Mat Gleason (left) is the owner of Coagula Curatorial art gallery and an art critic for the Huffington Post. Mat is the founder of the Coagula Art Journal, whose tag line is "The Low Down on High Art." A respected, feared, and occasionally loathed observer of the Los Angeles art scene, Gleason also blogs as "Rev. Halofan," for SB Nation's Angels Baseball Blog, Halos Heaven (www.halosheaven.com). A gifted astrologer, Mat wrote daily horoscopes for the psychic advice website, keen.com, for many years.
Professor Hansen recently discovered the "video capture room" on campus, which allowed the presentation of panel discussions to be recorded and shown to ALL his WRIT 340 classes. Here is a LINK to a panel on small business owners, featuring Karen Klemens of Mother Moo Creamery, Steve Ellis of The Ellis Group, and Candace Veasey of I-Kandy Fitness (pictured, on the right).
"Candace's business model where she uses free space to run her fitness courses seems very smart. I also liked how she said that she changes up her classes to not only benefit her clients, but also to ensure that her own body stays healthy and injury-free.
"Steve Ellis clearly has found a balance between doing what he loves and also having a side business where he can use his business school skills and insurance skills. He has pinpointed the upcoming need of seniors and other Americans who will be needing to find out about Obamacare and is using this to his advantage. His business serves a great need and that's the best way to be profitable.
"Karen Klemens was able to give us some really good advice about starting a business with an actual business space. All I can say is... I understand why SpaceX wanted her business! The ice cream was delicious; the vanilla tasted like pure milk and the chocolate was so rich. I digress though. I could probably make this entire post about her ice cream. All in all, I really appreciated hearing from the entrepreneurs at the speaker panel." (Kamesha Longsworth, Business Administration Major).
Dean Kubani (left) Director of the City of Santa Monica's Office of Sustainability and the Environment, visited on the Friday before Spring Break. He spoke about his journey from geologist working 15 hour days to determine the number and extent of toxic chemicals polluting the soil in industrial zones, "at the back end of the pipe," as he put it, to his current position overseeing one of the most well-regarded sustainable city programs in the world, "at the front end of the pipe," preventing the damage before it happens, and so much more.
From reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfills, to becoming water self-sufficient, to cleaning up Santa Monica bay, to building "green buildings," to using less toxic cleaning products, to encouraging farmer's markets and meeting basic human needs, Kubani's office has not only been ahead of the curve when it comes to making cities more livable, but has helped Santa Monica become a role model for other cities in the United States and around the world.
Peter Mendenhall of the Peter Mendenhall Gallery has sometimes been described as a "renegade of funk" who likes to fly under the radar. Among the artists that show at the gallery are Kenton Nelson, Squeak Karnwath, Albert Contreras, Daniel Douke, and Raimonds Staprans.
"I was fortunate enough to have met and conversed with Peter Mendenhall at his gallery just before others in the class arrived. It tickled me to find out that he was a graduate of the University of Georgia, probably being there the same time as my parents, the years when Michael Stipe would play at the local venues. I brought along my friend Aryn, a former student at NYU's prestigious Tisch program-- who left after two years to pursue a career in music. Myself, Aryn, Professor Hansen, and Peter all talked about the New York jazz and art scene. It's beautiful how art provides a common ground for people of all walks of life and circumstances to communicate." (Hayley Kuniansky, Communications)
Americana music singer/songwriter Grant Langston has released six albums and also happens to be Vice President of Customer Experience for eHarmony.com. His wife, Catie Langston, is Director of Advancement for the Pilgrim School in Los Angeles.
"I enjoyed Grant and Catie Langston's presentation in class and thought they had very insightful information about the business world as well as relationship advice. I first off enjoyed how they did their presentation together and piggy backed off one another. I enjoyed hearing about how Grant continued his music career because that was his first love but he also did something that was going to be more financially stable, and be able to do more for his family and himself. I liked to see how they worked together as a team, business- and relationship-wise, because when you are in a marriage and relationship one of the most important things is to work as a team." (Brendyn Taylor, Communications, Varsity Men's Basketball)
