Graduate Students Honored at MASEM Student Exhibition

The University of Tampa's Master of Arts in Social and Emerging Media (MASEM) program celebrated its second MASEM Student Exhibition and Awards Ceremony, honoring exceptional graduate projects.

Graduate Students Honored at MASEM Student Exhibition Sarah Krolik '20, M.A. ’23 was awarded ‘Best in Show’ for her project. Photo courtesy of Lina Gomez-Vasquez

Lina Gomez-Vasquez, MASEM’s co-director, highlighted the significance of this exhibition, stating, "The showcased projects are more than just creations; they encapsulate the creative passion and professionalism of our students as they advance their careers to the next level.”

A jury voted on which projects would receive special recognition. The jury was comprised of Dana Wahlbeck, lead project manager at Diamond View Studios; Jenna Rogers, director of marketing and communications at Tampa Bay Watch, and Joseph Priest, content strategist at Schifino Lee.

Together, they praised the overall quality of the work, noting that many projects exceeded the research, strategy and production values commonly seen among professionals in the Tampa Bay community. The jury gave awards to six projects:

Best of Show: YouPlan: A Multimedia Solution to Personalized Productivity and Organization by Sarah Krolik

Strategy and Analytics: Platform: How Parasocial Relationships Formed through Social Media Affect Donations within the Non-Profit Sector by Olivia Cadrecha

Creativity and Originality: Ocudate: A Virtual Reality Dating App Pitch to Developers by Caroline Watson

Storytelling and Argumentation: Brand Kit and Social Media Plan for "Rabbit Hole" by Lora Coonce

Technical Achievement: The Social Profiler Podcast by Amanda Wolf

Social and Historical Relevance: Fatmate by Brittany Gingerich

MASEM was launched at UT in Fall 2021. The intensive one-year program blends technology and creativity as it prepares students to develop compelling media projects, build sophisticated social media strategies and engage effectively with audiences.

Areas of study include digital storytelling, visual design, audio-video production, emerging media technologies, user experience production, audience and user experience research, media strategy and analytics, project management, and emerging media policy and law.

For more information about UT's Master of Arts in Social and Emerging Media, visit ut.edu/graduate-degrees/ma-in-social-and-emerging-media.