THE

O'COLLEAGUE

Vol. 1 Issue 2015Winter 2015

A publication for friends of the O'Colly

ALUMS UNITEA look at the first-ever O'Colly Reunion Weekend

From the director's chair • Students keep Austin weird

Next year's reunion plans • Photo gallery

here’s so much to be excited about at the O’Colly. Like Cody Stavenhagen.

Cody started at the O’Colly as afreshman sports writer, and quickly workedhis way up to being sports editor andeventually editor in chief. He securedinternships that ranged from the AmarilloGlobe News to the Oklahoman to coveringthe Texas Rangers for MLB.com. A December2015 graduate, Cody has accepted a post-graduate internship at the Minneapolis StarTribune and then will rejoin MLB.com.

This spring, Cody was named a nationalfinalist in the Hearst Awards, the mostcompetitive collegiate journalism contest inthe nation.

The Hearst Foundation flew Cody and adozen other student writers to San Franciscofor a three-day, on-site competition. By theend of the contest, Cody had won severalthousand dollars in scholarships and asecond-place award (although he’s notparticularly fond of being told, "Your'e the

MONEY WHEREMY MOUTH IS.How will you give back?

The O'Colleague | Issue 1 | Vol. 2015

TheDirector'sChairBarbara Allen, '97Editor in chief Fall 1996

T

US$ 20 MILLIONEstimated fare for a full

commercial tri.

Interested in suborbital

space travel.

LESS THAN 1/4Spent more than

US$10,000 annually

on vacations.

second-best collegiate journalist in the

country!”).

“I learned exponentially more at the

O'Colly than I ever have in any classroom,” he

texted me recently. “Every ounce of the

success I've been fortunate enough to have

is because of lessons forged at the O'Colly.”

He’s not alone. Many of you remember

how experiences at the O’Colly put you

ahead. Despite the rapidly changing nature

of journalism, the hallmark of the O’Colly

remains: driven, ethical students. Next

semester’s managing editor, Nathan Ruiz,

will spend his summer interning for the

Dallas Morning News. Outgoing editor-in-

chief Kassie McClung is working with the

Frontier, a ground-breaking online

investigative endeavor in Tulsa. Almost every

student associated with the O’Colly ends up

with a summer internship, and the feedback

is always the same: They are detail-oriented,

hard-working, smart and fast. I couldn’t be

more proud of our students.

I wanted to let you know about some

of the steps I’ve taken to attempt to secure

the future success of the O’Colly. As per the

collegiate and national trend, our ad

revenue has dropped over the last decade

and shows no signs of stopping. Because we

are dedicated first and foremost to the news

product, it has become necessary for us to

find some alternative funding vehicles to

ensure the longevity of that product.

My philosophy was simple: The

newsroom model works. So why not

replicate it across communications majors?

The result was the formation of a student-

led public relations and marketing agency,

Orange House. We added a full-service visual

studio, specializing in commercial videos. Some

examples: The OSU Foundation paid us to

make a video celebrating diversity. The

members of the SMSC Ambassadors paid to

get their headshots taken in our studio. And the

homecoming yearbook, at just $20 a copy,

promises to become a mainstay of the OSU

experience.

While our excitement for these new

ventures is limitless, our funding is not. Our

startup costs have impacted our bottom line,

and we are turning to our alums to complete

the last piece of the revenue stream puzzle.

Your monthly donation of just $84 over

five years establishes a $5,000 gift. If just 20 of

you committed that much, we would be well

on our way to establishing a fantastic

endowment to ensure the O’Colly’s future.

One of those commitments is me. Starting

in January, I’ll be donating a portion of my

salary to this initiative. With my own money in

the mix, you can bet I’ll be a careful steward of

these donations.

Jason Collington, a two-time editor in

chief and 1999 graduate, has pledged to do the

same.

I asked him why, and this is what he

wrote: “It’s not what we say or do or get. It’s

what we give and share that makes the

ultimate difference. To the O’Colly I give my

time and my money. Because we know what

needs to be done to make those students and

that media company successful. It will take us

all.

"I don’t give because I feel indebted. I give

because I feel invested. How can you not?”

I humbly ask you the same.

Cody Stavenhagen competing on site inSan Francisco at the Hearst awards.

Marcia Guevara celebrates the arrival ofher new video camera lens.

Zack Furman uses a dummy's head to testlights in the new O'Colly portrait studio.

uring a momentary lapse of

reason, O'Colly director of

student media Barbara Allen agreed to

take a dozen students to Austin in the fall

for the College Media Association/

Associated Collegiate Press national

collegiate journalism conference.

They were among 2,000 other

student journalists, advisers and media

professionals who converged on the host

city for this annual convention. There, the

students attended workshops from

experts and other students from around

the country, and even led their own

session on covering the Oct. 24

homecoming parade crash that killed

four.

In addition to the sessions, they

assisted with a silent auction benefitting

the nonprofit Student Press Law Center.

Eyewitness reports also put them on

Sixth Street, one of the nation's most

famous strips of watering holes and

restaurants, favored by college students

around the globe.

The culminating awards show

resulted in a big win for the O'Colly. Its Oct.

28 issue, covering the continued

aftermath of the Homecoming parade

accident, was awarded second place in

the the CMA's national Best in Show

awards.

Next year's convention will be split

into two host cities: Atlanta, Georgia, and

Washington, D.C.

The O'Colleague | Issue 1 | Vol. 2015

THE O'COLLEAGUE

he 2016 O'Colly Reunion Weekend has been set for the

weekend of Oct. 1, 2016, and will again include a football

game, this time against the University of Texas Longhorns. Keep

an eye on your email or stay tuned to

orangehouseagency.wix.com/ocollyalumni for more

information on the event. Registration will open in March.

T

2016 ALUM REUNIONWEEKEND SET

CALENDAR >

D

STUDENTS KEEPAUSTIN WEIRD,WIN AWARDS

TRAVEL >

he first-ever O'Colly reunion weekend took

place this November, and it proved to be quite

a success. Nearly 40 alums registered, and about

twice that many alums, friends and family members

made it to one or more events.

The weekend kicked off with a Thursday night

reception at a colorful local Mexican restaurant.

Friday featured a full day of workshops

featuring successful O'Colly alums from across the

nation, including Reuters investigative reporter Ryan

McNeill from New York City; Kansas Health

Foundation vice president of communications

TREUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOODREUNION >

A NEWS L E T T ER FOR F R I ENDS OF THE O 'CO L L Y

Blythe Kubina from Wichita, Kansas; and several

alums now working in Oklahoma City. The Friday

sessions were designed to show current OSU

students from across majors the value of working

and writing for the O'Colly. After a happy hour at

the Hideaway, we headed to MoJo's for dinner,

drinks and bowling.

The next day featured a tailgate that ended

up being hosted in the newsroom due to weather.

Finally, 50 of us attended the football game

against Baylor. For photos, see the next page, or

join our Facebook group.

Blythe Kubina leads a workshopfor strategic communicationsstudents in the Student Union.

It's probably not surprising that the reunion involved a small degree of alcohol.

HOW TO HELP.NOW IS THE TIME.

Name: _______________________________________

Phone: _______________________________________

Email: _______________________________________

Address: _____________________________________

City/ State/ZIP _________________________________

Donor name /in honor of: ________________________

I pledge a total of: $ ________________

✓My donation is enclosed (Make checks payable to

OSU Foundation. Write "O'Colly" in the memo line.)

✓ Charge it: oVisa oMastercard oDiscover oAmEx

Card No. : ______________________________________

Exp. Date: ____________ 3-digit security code: _______

Signature: ______________________________________

Questions? Don't hesitate to reach out to us!

barbara.allen@okstate.edu; 405-385-1345

If you'd rather make a series of monthlycontributions, simply go to

https://secure.osugiving.com/givetoOSUSMSC.

Select "Daily O'Collegian Excellence Fund"

and enter any amount to get started.

Donations are earmarked for thefollowing initiatives. Please indicate where, ifany place, you wish your funds to be targeted.

Donations are stewarded carefully. Generalfunds go toward the biggest current needsbeing faced by the students. ✓ Student travel (conferences, workshops,sports coverage)

✓Equipment (cameras, computers,software and accessories) ✓Outreach (alumni relations, fundraisers,continuing education)

✓ General needs (Varies)

Chase Carter helps raise 'emright with alumnae KennaCarmon's daughter, Vivian.

2015 O'COLLY REUNION PICS

Ryan McNeill and JasonCollington at MoJo's.

The view from the cheapseats!

Don and Cheryl Lehmanreminisce in the newsroom.

Print and fill out this pledge card, or go tohttps://secure.osugiving.com/givetoOSUSMSC.

Select "Daily O'Collegian Excellence Fund" andenter any amount to get started.

Send your completed pledge card to:Barbara Allen

The O'Colly106 Paul Miller

Stillwater, OK 74078