Article by Owl Media Staff
Owl Media intern Colin Lowry reads the first Owl Magazine that won a national award, which was for the spread “Crash Course in Counter Culture” by John Morin and Danielle Frater, featuring Rachel Morin on the cover.
“My time at the Harford Owl, without a doubt, shaped my career. If I didn’t have my time at the Owl to shape me and show me what multimedia was and how it could change things, I without a doubt wouldn’t be where I am today.” – English major Andrew Windham (2008-2010)
Harford Community College’s student publication has been a home to many students over the years. Students travel to national media conferences, get the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience with industry-standard equipment and learn employable skills that prepare them for the real world.
Owl Media has been a training ground for hundreds of student journalists with alumni like Matt Hubbard and Jay Greene (Journalism/New Media and Advertising ’20 and Production/Announcing ‘13) finding full-time employment in a very competitive field. However, most students who join Owl Media’s staff do not have a professional interest in media production and hail from a variety of a academic majors.
Owl Media reached out to some of these former students and discovered that their time with the student publication positively impacted them long after they graduated. Check out their highlights below:
- “It really helped me break out of my shell when I was a little bit younger because it forced me into a situation where I had to go talk to people, random strangers, develop leadership skills.” – Production and Announcing major Matt Tennyson (2014-2016)
- “The impact Owl Media has at Harford, should not be understated. I definitely use a lot of the skills that they taught me in my everyday life, and I know that they are a valuable resource for students of Harford.” – Professional & Technical Studies major Julia Morris (2014-2018)
- “Owl Magazine really brought me out of my shell. I think that’s one thing. It made me a confident person and a confident journalist, which is very important, especially in today’s environment.” – Production and Announcing major Jay Greene (2011-2013)
- “I wouldn’t have the confidence to be a good leader without the opportunities and everything that I learned. It really encouraged me to trust my instincts and find better ways to communicate with people and to get your point across and to really step outside of your comfort zone and try to be the best person that you can be.” – Music major Stephanie Perkins (2009-2012)
“My time with the Harford Owl was really the defining feature of studying at Harford Community College.”
– Philip Roszak, History major (2008-2011)
- “It bridges the gap between students and school and professional careers. It really makes you feel so prepared when you do finally get out of school, and have to take that leap, and I really hope that the future students can kind of have that same starting line because it changed my life.” – Production and Announcing major Abbey Rigney (2010-2012)
- “Through my time at Owl, I was able to explore my passion for Journalism, and it also afforded me some unique opportunities, such as attending conferences in New York City, meeting one-on-one with industry professionals including a celebrity reporter, and touring publications, such as Marie Claire and Buzzfeed.” – Psychology major Georgina Waller (2012-2014)
- “When you see the competence and high professional standard of HCC graduates in the industry, it really makes you grateful for the hands-on experience that was so crucial to making it in today’s landscape.” – Journalism/New Media major Adeyemi Ekundayo (2016-2020)
- “Not only was it rewarding to produce some type of media content, but it was also a really good experience about working together with a team. My time with the Harford Owl was really the defining feature of studying at Harford Community College.” – History major Philip Roszak (2008-2011)
- “I really loved being a part of that team because it felt more like a family environment. I had a great interest in Journalism at the time, which still carries with me to this day…and now I’m still using those same skills in cybersecurity, protecting our national security from cyber threats.” – Production and Announcing major Malik Tyler (2014-2016)
The first Owl Magazine staff photo, taken in front of the Rockefeller Center ice rink during the 2012 spring CMA convention. Left to right: Josh Eller, Matt Dippel, Stephanie Perkins, Abbey Rigney Philip Roszak, Danielle Frater, Brianna Blizzard, John Morin, Claudia Brown
- “Owl Magazine has prepped me and helped me learn so many skills that I knew I was going to need later in my career, but I didn’t realize, how well I prepped for the different things that I knew I was going to get myself into once leaving Harford Community. I use all of these skills in my day-to-day life, with my nail business, with my current jobs, and again, I wouldn’t have these skills or know these things if it wasn’t for Owl Magazine.” – General Studies major D’Aysa Nelson (2017-2019)
- “I switched to Mass Communications and joined Owl Magazine because Owl Magazine was doing exactly what I wanted to do as a student and a professional…The publisher of the Baltimore Sun followed me in 2017, had no idea. He’d been keeping up with my work the entire time, so when I applied for the job in 2024, he told me, ‘I’ve been watching you grow as a journalist. Congratulations.’” – Journalism/New Media major Matt Hubbard (2017-2020).
Owl Media provides a showcase for students to publish their work and come together to create impactful media that inspires readers on campus, in the community, and beyond. The publication is always open to students of every academic major and remains committed to allowing its students to learn employable skills that prepare them for the real world. Travel with Owl Media is supported by the Journalism Club, which sponsors trips to national conferences that are highly educational and with great networking potential.
Students interested in joining Owl Media’s staff may reach out to harfowl@harford.edu for more information. Contact Professor Claudia Brown at clbrown@harford.edu for more information on the Journalism/New Media and Advertising program and credit options with Owl Media.