by: Paul R. Benson
There are so many wonderful people in our Parkland community making a difference. One faculty member in particular is Associate Professor of Communication Kendra McClure. McClure has been teaching here at Parkland since the fall of 2009 and has been full time since 2010. The courses she teaches include Introduction to Advertising, Introduction to Public Relations, Introduction to Mass Communication, and Mass Media and Society.
When asked what brought her here to teach, McClure explained, “I went to college at Valparaiso University and graduated in 2005 with a degree in public relations. From there, I went down to St Louis and worked in PR for about three years. I loved it, but a few unfortunate interactions with media inspired me to go back to grad school to become an educator so that I could teach up-and-coming communication professionals how to do their jobs in an ethically sound way. Many of the journalists I worked with were wonderful people, but I became very frustrated by the ones who weren’t.” Around that time, McClure met her husband, moved to Effingham, got her Master of Arts in Communication Studies at Eastern Illinois University, and then joined the full-time faculty at Parkland the following fall. “Parkland is a great place to work and I’m very happy to be here.” McClure said.
In addition to being an instructor at Parkland, McClure is also the faculty advisor for Applied Media Promotions (AMP), Parkland’s student-staffed strategic communications firm. “(AMP Coordinator) Cindy Smith and I work together to help students do promotional work for nonprofit organizations in our community.” McClure said.
The organization started in the Spring of 2014. “It’s been wonderful to work with so many different types of students over the last five years,” McClure said. “It’s been great to see them grow as a part of our organization and then go off to a four-year institution or another internship and grow even more. We’ve had students report back and say their time in AMP helped them get to the next step. That’s what we’re going for.” AMP has worked with many non-profit organizations including the Wesley Food Pantry, the Champaign Farmer’s Market, and Courage Connection. AMP has also worked with a few organizations at Parkland, including The Prospectus. “We’ve grown and evolved a lot since we started, and I’m excited to see what the next five years will bring.” McClure said.
When asked what her favorite aspect about teaching is, McClure said, “I can tell you that my least favorite aspect is grading! My favorite aspect is that moment when there’s synergy between the way I’m presenting a concept and the way that a student is interpreting that concept. I do my best to make material relevant to the students, but I don’t always know what’s going to connect with them. It’s exciting for me when students show me they can apply concepts to their own lives in unexpected ways.”
McClure said that an important topic she covers often in class is media literacy. “It’s so important for all of us to think critically about the information we’re consuming,” McClure said. “I encourage students to seek out information from different sources and fact check as best they can, especially before sharing something on social media. There’s still good journalism happening, but there’s of course a lot of biased news out there as well. Developing good media literacy skills can help us identify the difference.”
At the Prospectus we wish McClure well on her pursuit to teach ethics in communication and to help students become professionals in their field.
