DETROIT – From a behind-the-scenes tour of Detroit’s annual Thanksgiving Day game to working for an internationally known author, journalist and radio host, Wayne State University alumnus Ronnie Martin is living his dream.
Martin, who graduated this spring from the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts (CFPCA), capitalized on his learning-by-doing opportunities, morphing internships into a job offer at WJR 760 AM.
“I was interning for The Mitch Albom Show,” said Martin, who earned a bachelor of arts in broadcast journalism. “I was there five days a week, which I learned wasn't normal for their interns. I helped out in every way, running the phones, calling for interviews and screening listener calls. I edited and posted podcast episodes from interviews, and occasionally stayed after Mitch's show to work on Sports Rap with Sean Baligian and Lomas Brown.”
Last fall, Martin was selected for an “experienceship” with NBCU Academy’s education program, which helps student journalists develop new skills and advance careers. It was through NBCU that Martin experienced full access to NFL gameday operations last Thanksgiving. During NFL Draft week, Martin and CFPCA student Victor Jackson joined peers from the University of Michigan and Ohio State University to capture behind-the-scenes content and create stories for NBC Sports.
Read Martin's story for NBC Sports on how Detroit prepared to host its first NFL Draft.
Career learning is key to achieving marketable critical thinking, leadership and communication skills. Wayne State President Kimberly Andrews Espy, Ph.D., says these skills build a strong foundation for students’ long-term career success.
“Through our College to Career initiative, Wayne State students like Ronnie put classroom knowledge to work in real-world settings and prepare for the rigors and challenges of their future careers,” President Espy said. “These applied learning-by-doing experiences take students to a different place than where they started and ignite a legacy of future impact.”
Martin, who transferred to Wayne State in 2020, credits Assistant Professors Shannon Cassilo and Perry Farrell for supporting his career pursuit in broadcasting.
“Professor Cassilo told me about the experienceship with NBCU Academy, and once I heard about the opportunity and that it was with NBC Sports, I jumped at it,” Martin said. “Professor Farrell has been instrumental for me throughout my college career and the reason I got the WJR internship. He's definitely been a mentor and someone I appreciate very much.”
Aside from being an NBCU Academy student journalist, Martin gained media and journalism experience as a sports editor of WSU’s student newspaper, The South End, and as a play-by-play/color commentator for WSU softball. He’s also been a freelance reporter for High School Sports Illustrated covering Detroit area prep players and teams.
As a former TV news anchor and reporter, Cassilo knows the importance of training students to succeed in a fast-paced field of multimedia communication and providing experiential opportunities outside the classroom.
“Our students come up with their own story ideas, we have pitch meetings and they conduct interviews in the field,” she said. “They learn how to shoot, write and edit their own multimedia news stories. We offer each student one-on-one feedback in class and encourage them to push themselves. By the end of the semester, students not only leave classes with a portfolio of work, but also the real-world skills they need to succeed in a newsroom or content creation position.”