Elena Jarvis, 2012
- Senior Professor of Journalism & Communication
- DSC employee since 2001
Degrees and schools where awarded: AA-Liberal Arts, Pensacola Junior College; BA-Communication Arts, University of West Florida; MA, Mass Communication, California State University, Northridge
Career/Professional honors:
- Freedom Forum, McCormick News Train Fellowship, Vanderbilt University, 2010
- Freedom Forum Institute, editorial writing fellowship, Vanderbilt University, 2008
- Radio and TV News Directors Assn. “Educator in the Newsroom” fellowship, 2006
- Association for Education in Journalism and Communication, GIFT Scholar (Great Ideas for Teachers) at the 2005 conference
- Best Arts & Entertainment Writing, Ventura County, Calif. Press Club
- Poynter Institute of Media Studies, Fellowship, St. Petersburg, Fla.
- National Handicap Awareness Award, Easter Seals Society
- Best Weekly Section (entertainment), Colorado Springs Press Assn.
- Best Feature Writing, Colorado Springs Press Assn.
Outside interests: Cooking, horseback riding, animal welfare
What did you do prior to joining Daytona State College? I was adviser of Student Media at the University of California, Los Angeles and a freelance music and arts reporter. I taught as an adjunct at many California colleges while working variously as a wire editor/columnist and arts reporter. Primarily, I was a full-time rock 'n' roll reporter from 1972 to 2002.
What projects are you working on right now? A grant for the National Endowment for the Humanities that would enable me to digitize a collection of almost 2,000 taped interviews conducted over the course of my career. I am trying to make them available, at no cost, to students, popular culture scholars and others who study and support the arts.
What has been the most rewarding thing about your Daytona State College experience? Being able to help students find a career path, but most importantly, a job in the media, where they can make a difference and enjoy a rewarding calling.
What is one goal you still hope to achieve in your career? To write biographies on people who should have been famous but never were.
One thing people are surprised to find out about me is: I am an expert marksman and fisher-person.
Last book read: "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch -- recommended reading for all students.
If they could bottle your personality what would the label read? Handle with Caution! Contents are explosive!
If you could have a dinner party and invite any four people, dead or alive, the guest list would be: They would definitely have to be alive or all my good cooking would go to waste: Dalai Lama, Rachel Maddow, Cesar Milan and Marilu Henner, who is only one of 12 people in the world with the gift of super autobiographical memory.
The Daytona State of Mind to me is a biker on the World's Most Famous Beach in a high-speed pursuit with a NASCAR racer that is being sponsored by Daytona State College.
