Student Work Spotlight
The Career-Ending Stigma Surrounding Mental Health in Classical Music
This multimedia project, produced by Izzy Swift, reveals one of the most common, but taboo, issues that plague classical musicians: mental health challenges. The project utilizes multiple perspectives to understand why many classical musicians may develop mental health problems and why it may be linked to their career. In the podcast portion of this project, Izzy sits down with an undergraduate completing a degree in music performance and a professional musician who has developed an organization to try and end the stigma surrounding mental health in classical music. The written portion takes a closer look at what a normal day in the life of a classical music student looks like. Izzy produced this two-part piece as her final project in Professor Neil Swidey’s course JOUR 130B Science Journalism, the Pandemic, and Disinformation.
OK, Boomer
This project, by Jillian Brosofsky, discusses the impact humor has on the aging process, specifically in forming stronger and more meaningful relationships into old age. In the primary portion of her project, she examines this topic in three different contexts, including a musical, a stand-up show for older comics, and a diner. The secondary, visual portion focuses on what humor adds to an elderly living community and their staff. Jillian created this project for Professor Neil Swidey's course JOUR 109B Reinventing Journalism for the 21st Century.
The Effects of the Frontline
This project, produced by Emerson White, uses multimedia journalism to showcase the frustrations essential workers faced during the pandemic. The piece specifically highlights the emotional effects of working on the frontline during COVID-19 and uses three women’s lives to tell this story. These three women each had different jobs and varying experiences, but all faced the challenges the frontline presented. The written piece is the main portion of this project and the audio portion accompanies it, specifically going into more detail on Mary Austin Hacker’s experience working in an Emergency Room outside Atlanta, Georgia. This project was put together for Professor Neil Swidey’s course, JOUR 130B Science Journalism, the Pandemic, and Disinformation.
Courtesy Brandeis Special Collections
K.C. Jones at Brandeis
In the podcast and video below, Jared Panson explores K.C. Jones' career and his lifelong love of singing.
K.C. Jones was a Hall of Famer, with one of the most decorated playing careers in basketball history. He won an Olympic gold medal, and eight NBA championships with the Boston Celtics. In 1967, he retired as a player, and four years later, he returned to the spotlight of the NBA, this time as a coach. But those years in between, while less publicized, may have been more groundbreaking than any others. In 1967, he stepped foot on the campus of the newly founded, political hotbed that was Brandeis University. Here he coached the basketball team for three seasons and ultimately, made history.
K.C. Jones: The Singer
Despite K.C. Jones’s truly remarkable basketball career, if he had had it his way, he may never have been involved in sports at all. Hear from some of K.C.’s closest friends about his love for singing.
When Sustainability Isn't Sustained: the Challenge of Environmental Activism in College
Through quality multimedia storytelling, fourth year journalism student Gavi Klein explores the challenging nature of college sustainability work, the story of Brandeis' rooftop farm and the origins of Brandeis students' commitment to climate justice. She produced the two-part piece for her final project in JOUR 109b: Reinventing Journalism for the 21st Century.