October and November featured a number of special guests on campus. Professionals from different industries visited with students sharing their expertise and advice. Bringing professionals to campus to speak with students is one of the ways Reinhardt’s faculty seek to enhance classroom learning. Whether through presentations, workshops, or poetry readings, Reinhardt students are learning firsthand from professionals in their field.
In October, writers Mac Gay and Stephen Corey visited campus to meet with students and read selections of their work. Gay is the author of “The Least,” a collection of poems, and teaches English at Perimeter College of Georgia State University. Corey has published ten collections of poems. His most recent book is “As My Age Then Was, So I Understood Them.” He has lived and worked in Athens, Georgia since 1983.
Students in the Theatre Department were visited by professional actress Jennifer Schottstaedt. Schottstaedt lives and works in Atlanta where she has had roles with the Actor’s Express Theatre Company, 7 Stages Theatre, and Théâtre du Rêve as well as in commercials for the Georgia Lottery and North Point Ministries. Recently she also had roles in two TV series – “A Friend of the Family” and “The First Lady.” Schottstaedt spoke to students specifically about working in the Atlanta market. She also talked about how to prepare a video audition and reels, including recording an audition for a role she is up for as the students watched.
Priscilla Curtis taught a two-hour master class for Musical Theatre students. Curtis is a performer, actor, dancer, and model in New York City, but she has roots in nearby Kennesaw, Georgia. Curtis has performed with the Atlanta Opera, Atlantic Lyric Theatre, City Springs Theatre Company in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre in Arrow Rock, Missouri. She has also toured nationally as part of the cast of “The Producers.”
Monique Jenkins with Team Georgia Careers visited First Year Seminar (FYS) students. Team Georgia Careers is the employment site for jobs and internships with the State of Georgia.
Students in the class COM 298: Special Topics in Communication were visited by Tom Dean in November. Dean is a rigging gaffer (lighting technician) in the film industry and spoke to students about his job. Dean’s 30-year career includes work on many notable movies and TV series such as “Black Panther,” “Guardians of the Galaxy 2,” “Hawkeye,” and, most recently, “Guardians of the Galaxy 3.”
Mike Suco, CEO and president of Coca-Cola Bottling UNITED, Inc. spoke to a packed room when he came to campus. This RU Leads session was co-hosted by the McCamish School of Business and Sports Studies, the World Languages and Cultures program, and Aspiring Latinos Altering Society (ALAS). Suco spoke on his experiences in business and leadership. Following the presentation, students visited with Suco during an informal reception.
Writers Lacy Snapp and Julie E. Bloemeke visited campus to read poetry from their recently published books. Snapp, author of “Shadows on the Wood,” teaches American Literature and Composition at East Tennessee State University and works as a carpenter for her self-run business, Luna’s Woodcraft. Bloemeke is the associate editor for The South Carolina Review, the literary journal published by Clemson University. In 2020, she published her first full-length collection of poetry, “Slide to Unlock.”
Thank you to all of these fantastic visitors!
