End of Year Portfolio

Elizabeth KilloughEagle PR Director

Spring 2019April 22, 2019

Director - About

She is charge of the firm, the way that the firm runs, communicating with members and with clients. She is also in charge of helping create and maintain websites and social accounts, including Eagle PR, the communication department and the different campaigns the firm runs throughout the school year. Along with helping with different aspects of the campaigns, she is the one in control of making sure campaign work gets done and that they get done with excellence. At the end of the campaigns, she writes the final reports and orchestrates and oversees all other actions. She writes content for the firm and took many pictures during the school year for the university’s website and of work done during the campaign season.

She occasionally helps with the Eagle PR Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and the Communication Department Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. She also helps run the EaglePR.org website from SquareSpace.

In addition to social media, she also writes blogs for OC’s website that are published for students, prospective families, faculty and alumni alike and is the final editor for the other firm members’ writing.

During the National Organ Donor Awareness Competition campaign, she helped create the social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. She was also in charge of helping to create and curate content for the campaign and advertising the campaign to Oklahoma Christian’s campus through student announcements, campus announcements and chapel announcements. She also put together the final report that will ultimately be sent in to be judged through the competition itself.

She also did work for clients such as U R Special and OC’s College of Natural Health Sciences newsletter that the firm puts together each year with help from their dean, Jeff McCormack.

Goals

To become comfortable in a position of authorityTo do so with love yet authoritatively To challenge myself way out of my comfort zone

College of Natural Health Sciences NewsletterOC’s Global Villages missionary training camp coming summer 2019Mission-mindedness is at the heart of the Oklahoma Christian University model. The school trains students to go and explore whatever mission field to which God leads them, whether local, national or international. However, training to go on international mission trips takes intentional preparation and education to learn about the culture and language of the missionary’s destination.

A team of OC staff and faculty, along with other community leaders, are working together to transform part of the Camp Rock Creek campsite into a facility similar to Harding University at Tahkodah. Assistant Professor of Nursing Courtney McCoy and Dean of College of Natural and Health Sciences Jeff McCormack are leading this project, which is located about 45 minutes from OC.

McCoy teaches nursing classes at OC, including healthcare missions classes. She is eagerly anticipating the finished camp so nursing students can practice what they have learned in the classroom in regard to cultural and disaster simulations.

“Nursing students who wish to work in hospitals get time in clinical environments to practice what they learn,” McCoy said. “Now, our nursing students who aspire to work in different cultures will have a place where they can encounter experiences and practice.”

Traditionally, OC students attend HUT, a facility designed to train missionaries and mission-trip attendees through cross-cultural services and hands-on simulation. However, the inconvenience of the travel to Arkansas can be difficult.

OC nursing students visited the global village for the first time March 28 to try out the space. The team has already cleared four lots on the campground and will have at least two huts representing Central America and Africa ready for OC nursing students.

“Having this new opportunity at Camp Rock Creek will be a great experience for students to get immersed into culture and to have a comparable experience to what they will find in the real mission field someday,” McCoy said. “All students can get something out of the village even if they never get to travel overseas.”

The Global Villages at Camp Rock Creek in Norman, Oklahoma, will represent multiple areas of the world including Asia, South America, Africa and Central America. This facility will be open to OC students as well as neighboring universities’ students, church groups and long-term missionaries.

OC.edu Blog Stories

OC’s “Cabaret” hits the stage Valentine’s week, then the seas in March

The 30th annual “Cabaret” is playing in the new and improved Judd Theater before setting sail aboard a cruise ship during OC’s Spring Break as the headline performing act. The show this year focuses on getting a “Taste of Broadway” and features more group acts, a renovated theater and a chance to tour unlike before.

The on-campus show will run Feb. 12 and Feb. 14-16 in Judd Theater at 7:30 p.m., and the cruise sails March 17-24 to locations including Honduras, Puerto Costa Maya and Cozumel. The jazz band will return this year and will be featured on select numbers as well as accompanying the cast.

Terry Attebery, OC’s vocal instructor, is directing his fourth “Cabaret” at OC this year. Before teaching at OC, he directed high school choir for more than 20 years and performed with two theaters: Lyric and Summer Stock. Directing “Cabaret” is one of his favorite things about working at OC.

“One of the most rewarding parts of “Cabaret” is getting to see the performers grow in confidence on the stage,” Attebery said. “They are learning new performance skills, and it is exciting to watch them blossom as performers.”

The 24 songs this year feature pieces from well-known, newer musicals “The Greatest Showman,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Hamilton” and “Wicked.” The show will also feature songs from classic musicals such as “Guys and Dolls,” “Show Boat,” “Into The Woods” and many more.

When choosing music for the 2019 show, Attebery wanted to include more group numbers that would enhance the cruise performances. Therefore, there are 10 all-cast group numbers, five smaller group numbers and eight solos this year, allowing for greater sound, a more dynamic stage presence and more appearances from the cast members.

Senior music education major Megan Deister has performed in this show all three years of her time at OC. She enjoys performing in “Cabaret” because of the quality time she gets to spend with her fellow performers.

“This year, I am getting to perform ‘Burn’ from ‘Hamilton’ as my solo, and I love being able to perform with other talented musicians to bring joy to our audience,” Deister said. “This year has a lot more group numbers, and the jazz band will get to accompany more numbers, which is super exciting.”

Deister is looking forward to watching everyone’s hard work come together at OC and during the cruise. She feels blessed to be a part of the music department and especially for OC Board Member Mo Anderson, who has donated to the department to make performances like “Cabaret” possible.

The cast received their music prior to Christmas break and came back to school with the music learned. They will rehearse nearly every weeknight from the beginning of the semester leading up to the performance week.

Senior accounting major Rachel Stanley is moving from working spotlights last year to being in the spotlight for this year’s show. This is her first year being on the stage, and she is excited about the opportunity to perform on stage with the rest of the cast.

“I’ve already learned so much more about performing, and I love getting to know the other cast members as we put together a great show,” Stanley said. “It will be fun to represent Oklahoma Christian to people who haven’t heard of our university before and leave a good first impression while on the cruise.”

Heath Jones, professor of music, will direct the jazz band, and Barbara Berard serves as the choreographer. On piano is Susan Mogilka, music accompanist at OC.

Tickets for OC’s “Cabaret” are $12. The show will be Feb. 12, and Feb. 14-16 at 7:30 p.m. To order tickets, visit oc.edu/cabaret or call 405-425-6310.

Choral Concert Showcases Musical Beauty April 9Oklahoma Christian choirs perform music from the whole year in Garvey Center

After a year of learning new music and growing as vocal musicians, Oklahoma Christian University’s choirs, including the Chamber Singers, the Chorale and the Women’s Choir, will present a final concert of the year on April 9 in the conservatory of the Garvey Center. The concert is at 7:30 p.m. and is free of charge.

The students, led by choir director and Professor of Music Dr. Kyle Pullen, have a collection of songs from both fall and spring semesters that they will be performing the night of the concert. The choirs meet multiple times a week and are diligently working to learn their music before the performance.

This concert featured songs in different languages including French, German, Latin, Czech and gibberish. Some of the songs include “Stars I Shall Find,” “Nyon Nyon,” “Gott Im Ungewitter” by Schubert,” “The Heaven’s Flock,” “Jede Sedlak” and many more.

“The spring concert is the compilation of all of the students’ hard work over the year,” Pullen said. “They get to go on stage and show the audience how they have grown as musicians while making them enjoy the music we put before them.”

OC’s choirs are audition-based groups, available to both music and non-music majors, scholarship recipients and non-scholarship recipients.

Junior Rebecca Whiteman is a music major who has been in choir for eight years. Whiteman is considering taking her education past OC and may possibly go to school to become a music therapist after graduation. She enjoys being in choir because of the fun community of people who get to make beautiful music together.

“The choir concert is a good way to get our music in front of people to see what we are doing well and what we can improve on before choir tour later in the month,” Whiteman said. “I am excited about tour because we will be performing for a lot of good schools in Texas for recruitment and to get our name out. This is so we can become more known in the choir world.” Thomas Winkler, a senior mechanical engineering major, is also a member of one of the choirs on campus. He joined OC’s choir because he enjoyed being in choir in high school.

“Not only do I enjoy the musical aspect, but the social aspect of getting to know people through choir,” Winkler said. “I feel like if I hadn’t joined choir, I wouldn’t have met all the wonderful friends I have now.”

As a senior, Winkler is approaching his final month of being in choir.

“For tour, I will look forward to potentially seeing family, seeing old friends,” Winkler said. “Most of all, I am looking forward to spending my last moments as a college student singing with the great friends I’ve made along the way.”

The Chamber Singers will also perform during chapel at the first annual Day of Excellence April 8 at 11 a.m. and travel on their annual choir tour to south and central Texas following OC’s graduation. The choir will leave Edmond on April 27 and return May 3, recruiting prospective students while performing at local high schools and churches.

Professors on campus choose leader students to be in community seminarFriday class involves leaders on campus to meet and discuss with leaders in the community

Students are nominated by faculty to be a part of the Community Leadership Seminar, where they have the opportunity to hear from and connect with community leaders. Each spring, professors from each college on campus select upperclassmen students to participate in the seminar.

This is a time for students from different academic areas to come together for discussion guided by guest speakers and OC’s Student Leadership Coordinator Elizabeth McElroy.

McElroy has held this position at OC since October 2013. She created this class four semesters ago to try to foster healthy leadership communication for potential leaders on campus, regardless of their major. Her vision for this class included her passions for students, conversation and learning from other’s experiences.

“It is fun to see my brain child come alive,” McElroy said. “I honestly thought it would take a few years for it to get up and running for it to get where I wanted it to be. Right off the back, our very first semester, the lineup of super engaged students was fabulous.”

Some of the guest speakers this spring included community figures such as Derek Green of Hobby Lobby, David Husling with Mercy Hospitals, Keith Jossel of Public Strategies, rapper Jabee Williams, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt and many more.

Elizabeth Killough, a student in the class, thrives off of making connections with people and looks forward to gaining more valuable insight throughout the remainder of the semester through the stories and lessons the guest speakers share with the class.

“Being a part of the conversation, like this class, has been such a great experience for me,” Killough said. “I love meeting new people and learning from their leadership abilities and experiences. I am grateful for the professor who gave me the opportunity to be a part of this community.”

Melanie Campbell is also a part of this seminar class. She has learned and gained so much experience and knowledge through being a part of the community conversation.

“Each speaker got me thinking about decisions and my character by the end of each class,” Campbell said. “

Past speakers include Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb, Bill Anoatubby of the Chickasaw nation, Saxum’s Renzi Stone, Jill Castilla from Citizens Bank, Mick Cornett, Preacher at Memorial Church of Christ and OC Board member David Duncan, Ann Felton from Habitat for Humanity, Tim Ulrich from the OKC Refuge and many more notable community leaders.

OC Music Department Selected Students to Perform in New York CityHonors Recital in Steinway Hall on April 11

Oklahoma Christian University is an all Steinway piano school and aligns themself with the grace and elegance represented through the instrument. Through this opportunity, Steinway Hall in New York City will host an Honors Recital April 11 for selected OC music students.

According to their website, “Steinway Hall’s 74-seat recital venue is outfitted with a state-of-the-art Steinway Lyngdorf sound system, live-streaming capabilities, and a recording studio where performances for the new Steinway Spirio can be captured. Steinway is pleased to offer local music teachers the opportunity to host student recitals in this space, which is the beating heart of Steinway Hall – the embodiment of Steinway & Sons’ commitment to celebrating arts and culture.”

Mo Anderson, a generous donor to OC’s music department, presented the department with the idea of making this trip to the prestigious hall and offered to fund the experience. She dreamed this trip up because she thought it would be a cool opportunity to perform at Steinway Hall because we are a Steinway University, meaning all of OC’s pianos on campus come from that company.

The trip will last from April 10-14. Besides performing in the hall, students will also attend an area wide alumni reception, go on an organized tour of the Steinway factory, see the Broadway show, Come From Away, and they will have free time during the week to explore the city.

The selected students were chosen based on student vote of favorite performances during the four departmental recitals from this semester as well as with additional faculty input.

Invited students include Sydney May, Megan Deister, Kayti Alvarez, Abby Woodard, Logan Banister, Spencer Banister, David Brock and Noah Bagley.

“OC is finally expanding beyond the ‘OC bubble’, and this is effective because now people outside of our community will know how good OC’s music department is,” May said. “Since I am a music minor, I am still getting a great music education because at OC, you can still do things you love.”

OC alumna and Resident Director for the honors dorm will also accompany the students as the rectial tech along with music professors Dr. John Fletcher, Dr. Kyle Pullen, Dr. Heath Jones, Terry Attebery and Dr. Paula Hutton. Miho Fisher, esteemed accompanist, will be accompanying all of the performers for the occasion.

OC’s orchestra-in-residence contest winners perform April 23

Many college students don’t realize that there are opportunities to be in musical ensembles when their college years end. One such exists on the OC campus today.

The Oklahoma Community Orchestra started in 1984 as a chance for skilled musicians in the area to come together to make music. Members include professional musicians, business professionals, music teachers, former orchestra members and OC students. According to the OCO, the non-profit organization exists “to promote the performing arts, provide quality performances of symphonic literature at a nominal charge to the community and exercise and improve the artistic skills of those performing in the orchestra.”

This year, OCO’s 14th annual Young Artist Competition reached out to students enrolled at high schools and universities in Oklahoma in search of talented young adults between the ages of 17 to 25 who are skilled in an instrument in the four categories including woodwinds, strings, piano and brass/percussion. Winners will be chosen from each of the solo divisions, and the two overall winners will receive $700 cash and a chance to perform a solo with the OCO in April.

The applications were due Dec. 2018, and the winners were announced at the OCO concert on Feb. 17 in the Oklahoma City Community College auditorium. The winners will then perform a concerto solo on April 23 accompanied by the rest of the orchestra in the auditorium in the Garvey Center on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University.

To learn more, visit www.okorchestra.org.

OAEA Young Talent of Oklahoma art gallery on OC’s campusHigh school students’ winning art featured in the Art and Design Gallery

Each year, the Oklahoma Christian University Art and Design department partners with the Oklahoma Art Education Association through a competition to find the young talent in Oklahoma high schools.

The selected pieces from the competition are featured in the OC art gallery, which is open to the public April 1-5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Garvey Center. Art with a red star on the label won a merit award and a blue star represents an honorable mention award. The top ten senior portfolios will earn scholarships and prizes.

The OAEA mission is “to provide visual arts educators with a professional organization, which facilitates a statewide networking community to develop, promote and support arts education.” This competition allows high schoolers to continue to use their God-given gifts to create art and win scholarship money for college.

The Young Talent in Oklahoma search allows local and state high school art students to submit their favored art from their senior portfolios for a chance to win merited awards from the university and the judges of the competition. Approximately 700-1,000 submissions were received and 150 to 200 art pieces are selected for the Young Talent Exhibit.

CNHS

She initially met with Jeff McCormack and Valene Roseke to learn what they wanted for this semester’s newsletter then she helped delegate who would write which story. She wrote a story for the newsletter about the Global Villages that were started near Camp Rock Creek in Norman. She also made edits to every story that came in, used MailChimp to format and put together the final newsletter. She made the desired edits, so the client was happy.

Project Yellow Light

This semester, Eagle PR participated in a project called Yellow Light. This challenges college students to make content such as video, radio or billboard ads to encourage new, young drivers to not attempt to text and drive.

She was a part of the video team which created a 25 second video, tying the fad of electric scooters to not texting and driving. The team highlighted the activities that people should not participate in while riding a scooter and connected this notion with not texting and driving a car. Dr. Watson helped come up with this idea, and Elizabeth put together the physical concept for the team to assemble the video itself.

National Organ Donor Awareness Competition

The last few weeks of the semester was focused in on the NODAC competition, which wants to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation and being an organ donor. The team came up with a social media campaign to encourage those who are not donors to become them. For those who are already donors, the team encouraged them to share on social media why they are #downtogive.

She was mainly in charge of delegating tasks to the team to work most efficiently and to divide up all of the work that needed to be done. She was in charge of creating some of the graphics listed below that we both used for chapel announcements and flyers that were put up around the school. She was also in charge of putting together the final report that is due by May 15.

Created Content for the Firm

Photos Taken for Eagle PR and Communication

Department

*and many more from this same event*