Missouri School of Journalism to recognize 62 students at Dec. 13 graduation ceremony
The Missouri School of Journalism will recognize 62 students at the 4:30 p.m. commencement ceremony on Friday, Dec. 13, in Jesse Auditorium. Seating is open and no tickets are required.
A link to a live stream of the ceremony will be available on the MU Graduation and Commencement Live Streaming page.
Graduate degrees will be awarded to 8 master’s students.
Of the 54 undergraduates, 29 focused on some aspect of journalism; 25 on strategic communication. A total of 32 graduates earned Latin honors by achieving at least a 3.5 grade point average for the last 50 credits.
The top 10 percent of the School’s graduates will be inducted into Kappa Tau Alpha, a journalism honor society founded at the Missouri School of Journalism in 1910. The KTA reception will be held from 10 to 11 a.m., Friday, Dec. 13, in the Fred W. Smith Forum, Room 200, in the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. The 11 new members of Kappa Tau Alpha are:
- Master of Arts: Anna Bonderer, Joy Angelica Mazur, Deborah Pastner, David Tallant and Tanya Wilmeth
- Bachelor of Journalism: Breanne Chamley, Olivia Grace Afia Gyapong, Claudia Anne Hagen, Maggie McCready, and Caitlin Reynolds
The alumni speaker is Jamie Sohosky, BJ ’93, the Chief Marketing Officer for Bath & Body Works. With nearly 25 years of global marketing experience, Sohosky leads the marketing team, leveraging customer insights across channels to accelerate business growth and differentiate the brand’s customer experience in the marketplace. She has led Bath & Body Works into a new era of customer segmentation, launching the loyalty program as well as a successful Netflix partnership which resulted in unique product collaborations with Bridgerton and Stranger Things.
Prior to joining Bath & Body Works, Sohosky served as Chief Marketing Officer for Bass Pro Group and was a marketing executive at Bed Bath & Beyond, where she led the brand’s marketing transformation. Adding to her significant retail experience, Sohosky was a marketing leader at Walmart for over 12 years. There, she focused on strategy and brand positioning in the U.S. market and led Walmart’s digital expansion into online grocery pickup and delivery services. While at Walmart, she also led Marketing & Media at Asda in the UK and led the buildout of the international marketing team for India.
Sohosky spent eight years with the Campbell Soup Company in the UK and started her career at advertising agencies supporting global brands like Nike, Jim Beam, and Tropicana.
The master of ceremonies will be Adam Busack. Raised in Denver, Colo., Busack is heavily involved in campus radio station KCOU 88.1 fm, where he served as assistant General Manager for the 2023-24 academic year. He was the 2024 recipient of the Becky Diehl Award for Outstanding Leadership in Mizzou Student Media, KCOU’s umbrella organization, for his efforts in the station. He currently covers the Missouri football program for the School’s Missouri News Network’s community paper the Columbia Missourian, and enjoys traveling, cooking, and long walks on the beach. Busak is graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism degree with a concentration in reporting and writing.
Olivia Gyapong will present the “Thoughts of the Class.” Orginally from Silver Spring, Maryland, she is a Stamps and Walter Williams Scholar at Mizzou. Gyapong is graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism with a concentration in reporting and writing; and a degree in political science. She also earned a minor in constitutional democracy as well as the Honors and Multicultural certificate.
On campus, Gyapong has been active in the National Association of Black Journalists student chapter, the Little Sisters of the Gold Rose service sorority, the Kinder Institute’s Society of Fellows and Undergraduate Society, and undergraduate research. She has also been a MizzouRec staff member and has participated in student and professional publications on campus.
Gyapong has interned with WAMU 88.5 and the DCist, the Arizona Republic, and Bloomberg Industry Group. During her study abroad semester in Brussels, Belgium, she interned with EU politics and policy outlet Euractiv. She also attended the 2023 POLITICO Summer Journalism Institute.
After graduation, Gyapong will be returning to the D.C. area to work as a policy analyst at a government relations firm, putting her writing and political science skills to work.
Updated: December 3, 2024