Conversations with COJO

Student hosts Coryn Wolff Tessa Henderson talk with COJO faculty member Dr. Mary Jo Nesmith, who has designed and taught the online SPCM 101 course for over 10 years.

Student host Anna Poull talks to COJO alum Lura Roti . Lura is an agriculture journalism and Master of Mass Communication graduate of SDSU. She grew up on a ranch in western South Dakota but today she calls the Cathedral Historic District of Sioux Falls home. Lura has worked as a freelance journalist and media relations specialist for more than two decades. She loves telling the stories of agricul...

Student hosts Coryn Wolff and Tessa Henderson talk to playwright, actor, author, storyteller and cultural advocate Kevin Kling . Kevin visited SDSU on October 16th, and Coryn and Tessa talked with him prior to his visit.

Student host Anna Poull talks with V.J. Smith , a 1978 graduate of SDSU. V.J. worked as an assistant athletic director and then executive director of the SDSU Alumni Association. He is a motivational speaker and author, including a book entitled " Jackrabbit Tales ."

Student hosts Coryn Wolff and Tessa Henderson talk with Jon Bakken , who is the elementary 4th and 5th grade orchestra teacher in Brookings. He is also the author of the book Tiger Meat: The Stories Behind South Dakota’s Best Music, which will be featured at the South Dakota Festival of Books on campus this weekend.  Jon is also hosts the website Tiger Meat: South Dakota Music.

Our rebranded “Conversations with COJO” podcast starts off the fall 2024 semester with graduate student host Anna Poull talking with Dr. Hye Soo Chang. Dr. Chang is a new assistant professor of advertising, and was most recently a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Advertising at the University of Florida, where she completed her Ph. D. in 2023. Her research deals with how people ps...

Our student host Demetria Gilkey talks with Makenzie Huber, a COJO alum and reporter for South Dakota Searchlight.

Student host Anna Poull talks with Baylee Peterson. Baylee is an news anchor for Dakota News Now. Baylee is a COJO alum with a bachelor's degree  in Communication Studies with a minor in Political Science and Marketing.

Student host Anna Poull talks with Erica Summerfield, who will be joining COJO this fall as an assistant professor of agricultural communication. Summerfield is completing her Ph. D. in agricultural communication, education and leadership at The Ohio State University.  Her research focuses on the intersections of agricultural and communication education. She will teach digital promotions, public r...

Student host Anna Poull talks with Jim Berman, President and General Manager, Dakota News Now (KSFY/KDLT).  Jim also serves on the boards of Junior Achievement, Make-A-Wish and Family Services, Inc, and The Children’s Home Society of South Dakota. Jim has been on the board of SEBA youth baseball and coached local youth teams. 

Student host Anna Poull talks with COJO alum Alexandra Farber, who is an Associate Account Executive at Click Rain, a digital agency in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Alex has a Bachelors' degrees in Advertising and Communication Studies, and an M.A. in Communication & Media Studies from South Dakota State University.

Student host Anna Poull visits with Abigail Hopp.   Abby graduated from SDSU in 2020 with a B.S. in Agriculture Communications.  She also has a M.S. in Mass Communication from Texas Tech University, and is currently the Marketing Manager for Pipestone, a agriculture company that provides resources and expert services in pig health, management, nutrition, research, and business.

Student host Demetria Gilkey talks to COJO alum Deema Al Saffar Patterson.  Deema received both her undergraduate and masters degrees at SDSU, and is currently a senior journalists for Al Arabiya and a form ernews producer for ABC10 in Sacremento, California. 

Graduate student host Demetria Gilkey talks with COJO grad student Ariana Schumacher.  Ariana is a Multimedia Ag Journalist for AGWEEK and also a COJO alum and student in the Master of Mass Communication program. Coffee with COJO will be on hiatus until the new year, thanks for listening!

Student host Anna Poull talk with COJO alum Jillian Wheeler.  Wheeler is the Sustainability Impact Lead at Truterra, LLC - Land 'O Lakes, Inc.  She talks to Anna about her journey starting as a farm kid to working in sustainability.

Student host Anna Poull talks with COJO alum Jody Heemstra. Jody graduated from SDSU in 1998 with a degree in Agricultural Journalism.  She produced the Dakota Ag Newsline at SDSU in the late 90s and went on to be the assistant news director and farm director for KWAT/KIXX/KDLO Radio in Watertown for 13 years.  She also worked for the Red River Farm Network from 2013-2015, and then as public relat...

This week student host Demetria Gilkey speaks with Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Dr. Lynn Sargeant. Dr. Sargeant earned her Ph. D. and M.A. in Russian History from Indiana University, Bloomington. She also holds bachelor’s degrees in Music Education from the University of Minnesota and Russian Area Studies from the University of Washington.

Student host Anna Poull talks to COJO graduate student Elise Heesch.  Elise majored in advertising with a management minor and has her own advertising business that works with websites, social media, and graphics.

Graduate student Anna Poull talks with 1990 COJO graduate Vernon Brown. Brown has worked as a reporter for KELO-TV, served as a Sioux Falls city councilor, worked as the VP of Marketing and Community Relations for SDN communications, and is currently the Associate Vice president of External Affairs for SDSU while also co-owning The Spice & Tea Exchange in Sioux Falls with his wife, Tami.

Our first episode of the Fall 2003 semester features a conversation with Master of Mass Communication graduate student Demetria Gilkey and new COJO faculty member Shola Aromona, who has a doctorate in journalism and mass communication from the University of Kansas. 

Our last podcast of the season features Journalism and English senior Jordan Rusche.  Jordan talks with student host Demetria Gilkey about her experience working with student media, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, and the Pulitzer Center. We will be back this fall with new episodes. Thanks for listening!

Student host Taylor Storbakken talks with COJO Alum Morgan Larson.  Morgan is the CEO/Co-Founder at duet, an agency that works with content creators, podcasters, entrepreneurs, and startups create impactful short-form content.  Taylor and Morgan met as part of the SDSU alumni mentor program. They both talk about their relationship and student experience in COJO.

This week student host Anna Poull talks with former Coffee with COJO host, Sam Schauer. Anna and Sam discuss Sam's work with On Call with the Prairie Doc and Jack's News .

Student host Demetria Gilkey talks with KXLG Radio General Manager Melissa Herrboldt about her journey in radio and how Watertown radio legend Bob Faehn influenced her career.

In this episode, COJO graduate student Demetria Gilkey visits with journalist Bryan Horwath.  Bryan is a graduate of the Master of Mass Communication program and is currently the senior reporter at KTNV in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Demetria spoke with Bryan about his career and experience as an online graduate student at SDSU.