Stony Brook University has established a partnership with New York Women in Communications (NYWICI), a professional organization for women in journalism, broadcasting, public relations, corporate communications, advertising, and related fields. Stony Brook joins NYWICI’s inaugural group of university partners alongside New York University and LIM College.
“I attended my first NYWICI Student Careers Conference about 15 years ago, long before we had a School of Communication and Journalism at Stony Brook, and have greatly enjoyed being connected to them over the years,” said Marianna Savoca, associate vice president for Career Readiness and Experiential Education and NYWICI member. “I am especially excited to develop closer relationships with NYWICI and its constituents to benefit Stony Brook students, as well as interested faculty and staff.”
The partnership is open to students from various majors and programs at Stony Brook. Students are invited to join NYWICI’s Rising Star program, a free membership option available to college students and alumni younger than 26 years old.
Faculty and staff from relevant areas also receive free annual membership, which includes access to networking opportunities, mentorships, special virtual and in-person events, volunteer opportunities, among other benefits.
“I’m so excited to bring the power of NYWICI directly to campuses like SBU to expand students’ networks — and perhaps expand the way they think about careers in media,” said Megan Hess, who serves on the NYWICI Board of Directors as vice president of academic engagement. “Even though the industry is changing rapidly, so much of it is still about who you know.”
In addition to Savoca’s connection with the organization, its immediate past president is Georgia Galanoudis, a 1988 Stony Brook graduate. Over the past year, Savoca and Madeline Rosenberg, career coach for the School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ), have collaborated closely with NYWICI to connect Stony Brook students with the organization by encouraging event attendance and scholarship applications.
Last spring Laura Lindenfeld, dean of SoCJ; along with Viola Flowers, a senior journalism student; attended the organization’s annual Matrix Awards that honor top women in communications. The 2024 honorees included Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth and Nina Garcia, editor-in-chief of Elle magazine.
“More and more of our students are interested in exploring careers in communications like social media content creation or video production,” said Laura Lindenfeld. “Thanks to our excellent partners in the Career Center our students have more opportunities in internships and professional organizations like NYWICI.”
Stony Brook students may also volunteer with the organization gaining special access to events designed for their community. As this partnership grows across the university additional career opportunities may arise through relationships with members’ employers.
Founded in 1929 New York Women in Communications aims to empower women working throughout their careers helping them navigate an ever-changing industry. The organization has over 2 500 members including leading executives from Forbes IBM Salesforce Uber Advertising among others.