Kimberly Cobb, associate professor of Communication and Media Studies at State, focuses on engaging students with traditional and practical lessons.
“It varies a lot, but usually I teach a couple of production-style classes, at least one traditional class, and there is always the paperwork,” Cobb said.
As an advisor, Cobb monitors where her students are in their overall college career.
She doesn’t stop there. She is faculty advisor for the National Broadcasting Society, which allows her to interact with students on another level. She teaches them practical life skills to help them with their careers while they still are in school or after they leave State.
“I was a student member, and I want my students to get their work juried and acknowledged outside of West Virginia,” Cobb said. “I think meeting other students from other schools is important so they know it’s not just our little group”
Cobb said retention of students is important to institutions and professors alike.
“I can’t speak for the department, but I try to engage and get them doing ‘hands-on” work fairly quickly,” she said. “I also make an attempt to get to know students. I try to find shared interests in whatever they do and swap stories so they relate to me better as a professor.”
Regarding students getting into communications as a major, she said, “You need to be willing to work a lot for not much money, but if you love the work it is worth it. You never know where it might take you.”
Reflecting on her life, Cobb said, “I am most proud of raising my two kids, and I am a first-generation college student, and I have a master’s degree. I am also very proud of the success of many of my students.”
She offered her favorite quote, which came from Walt Disney, “A meeting is a place where people gather to pool their collective ignorance.”
