Office hours: Rob Priewe
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Commuter: What do you teach at LBCC?
Rob Priewe: I’m the media instructor, so I teach primarily journalism, which includes news reporting, feature reporting, photojournalism, Media and Society. I also advise the student media, primarily The Commuter and its online site.
C: Why did you pursue journalism?
RP: I got the bug for journalism when I was in college. I didn’t know what major I wanted to be in and, like a lot of people, I got the paper daily at home. I enjoyed reading it immensely, and I thought, “Hmm, this looks like it would be kind of fun and I get to meet interesting people, get to go to interesting places, get to go to events that otherwise I might not have access to.” So, I got immersed in the journalism program at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Once I was immersed in the program, I was hooked. I worked at the college newspaper for four years as I earned my undergraduate degree in journalism.
C: What’s the best story from working at a newspaper?
RP: I think the best thing I can share from the newspaper was in 20 years of working at the Gazette-Times. I looked forward to coming to work every day, because every day held the promise of a big story; something exciting was going to happen; interesting things were going to cross our paths; we were going to take spectacular photos. It was always interesting and engaging, and that’s what I still love about the media.
C: You make it sound like a dream.
RP: It is a dream! [laughs]
C: Why did you leave that for teaching?
RP: This is my third year here at Linn-Benton, and I love what I’m doing here. I’m engaging young people the same way that I was engaged in the process when I was in college. I see it in several of you. The way that you pick up on it— like when you went to the conference this past weekend and you got totally energized about journalism. That’s the feeling that I have and the passion that I bring to this job every day. I think it’s reflected in the lessons we do in my classes, in the class discussions we have going, and the work we do here at The Commuter. I think the students are developing their own passion for the media and how they cover news and events and gather information and disseminate it to the world. It’s really exciting when we have new mediums such as the online site and the Facebook fan-page and Twitter and all these things that make it so we’re not just a weekly newspaper. We’re a news service that functions 24/7, and that’s really exciting.
C: Would you say that passion and excitement would be your favorite part about teaching?
RP: Absolutely! I’d like to think that when the students come to my class every day, they can look forward to doing something that engages them. I try to mix it up between writing exercises, their photography, doing things online, doing group discussions … anything that good teachers do. I’m still learning because this is just my third year at LB, but I find that if I’m having fun and I’m engaged, then the students are having fun and they’re learning something, and that’s what matters.
C: What do you do away from LB?
RP: My passions outside of LB … right now I’m finishing earning my master’s degree from Willamette University. I’m getting an MBA primarily focused in marketing, but when I’m not doing homework, I spend a lot of time with my children. I have three kids. They range from college age down to grade school. I’m very involved in fitness activities like running and playing basketball. We just did the “Hood to Coast Relay,” so staying in shape and training for events like that is really very fun. I look forward to having more free time to devote to fitness, sports activities, and other things, like going to the movies, reading, and studying the media — things that I miss because I’ve been so focused on earning my MBA.
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