“Happy Monday GRC!”
This well-known quote accompanied with a very familiar face that pops up on your feed every Monday has become a popular component of Smoke Signals Student Media.
Starting in January of 2023, Smoke Signals Student Media introduced a new segment that would not only change the game for GRC, but for the entire community.
For 60 seconds every Monday, an anchor walks through different parts of the school and provides viewers with important information about the week ahead.
“Since the Smoke Signals platform expanded to social media, I wanted to do a segment that quickly reviews the week’s upcoming events, and I thought Monday Minute would be a great name,” explains teacher Shanda Crosby.
Past Monday Minute anchors Claire Ginter and Addison Baber attend Morehead State University and are participating in the school’s Convergent Media program.
“When Claire came along, I knew I had just the right talent to pull Monday Minute off and make it a hit,” Mrs. Crosby says. “Addison and Mallory picked right up and continued its success.”
Claire, now a MSU sophomore, found many benefits of being the Monday Minute anchor that are still translating into her present life.
“When I auditioned to be an anchor for Newscenter, they told me that I looked natural on camera and that it seemed like this was not my first time.” says Claire. “I told them all about Monday Minute and how it really got me comfortable speaking on camera.”
Addison, an MSU freshman, is already finding connections to Monday Minute that have set her up for success as a part of the MSU media crew.
“It helped me learn so much for my role as a news anchor at the Newscenter now,” she says. “I learned how to write my own scripts through Monday Minute, and it taught me how to get a story across in a limited amount of time.”
It takes a certain someone to be able to stand in front of a camera and talk for a minute straight, and Smoke Signals Media is lucky to have such talented individuals in its program.
While Monday Minute has provided these students the chance to experience and be a part of something fun, it has also given them insight on what their future careers and majors are.
“Because of Mrs. Crosby and the class, I have finally discovered that I want to go into the world of media,” says Claire. “Since then, I have had so much fun every day because my major doesn’t feel like a chore.”
Monday Minute has set a path for these anchors into taking the right steps in finding their future career choice and specialty.
Current anchor Mallory Jones, also Miss Kentucky’s Teen, is utilizing her skills learned from Monday Minute every day as she goes to a multitude of events and functions in her role serving the state.
“As Miss Kentucky’s Teen, I am always talking to new people and using my voice to reach others. While I have always loved public speaking, continuing to harness my skills each and every Monday is helping me to become more confident in my abilities,” says Mallory.
With her busy appearance schedule as Miss Kentucky’s Teen, Mallory is going out and serving others while also being here every Monday to do her part.
Claire and Addison both love being a part of the Morehead broadcast crew, and are forever grateful for their time on Smoke Signals Student Media.
“I absolutely loved Smoke Signals and I am so thankful for the experience it gave me,” says Claire. “Because of Monday Minute, I had no issues delivering the news in a natural way. I think that if I had not done it, I would not have been chosen to anchor.”
Addison adds, “The newscenter is a team in a way that everyone has their own job, and everyone can rely on each other to make one amazing finished project, just like how it is to be as part of the Smoke Signals Team.”
Through connecting the community and the school with a 60-second segment every week, Smoke Signals continues to grow and utilize the three fundamental points of their job – to entertain, engage, and inform.
And best of all, the program is helping set graduates on their path to a successful career.
