U-View exec board made up of all women this fall

Student-run station headed by all female students for first time

Written By Alexis Wary, For The Globe

Photo by Submitted by Cam Wilson
(From left to right): Taylor Spirito, Allison Schubert, Nicole Pampena, Sarah Gibson and Dara Collins made history as the first all-female reporter line-up on the U-View show, Pioneer Sideline.

Point Park University’s television station, U-View, is one of three student media outlets on campus. This year, one thing has changed which may bring many new and positive updates to the station. 

For the first time ever, U-View’s board of officers is made up of all women. In recent years, the board has been predominantly women but has never been a full board of female students.

This year’s board members are Allison Schubert as Station Manager, Emma Federkeil as Program Director and Keera Frye as News and Sports Director. This team is backed by Faculty Advisor Robin Cecala and Assistant to the Station Manager Taylor Spirito who will take over for Schubert once she graduates in the spring.

Schubert, a senior broadcast reporting major and public relations minor, became Station Manager last spring. She mentioned that she became involved with the board because she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her role models.

“As I began to become more involved in U-View, I discovered that I have found my family,” Schubert said. “I committed myself to the organization and became part of the board. I became involved with the board because I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my role models and enhance everything that they were providing the media scene.”

Schubert is all in for the new board of the 2019-2020 year. She said that she was “hyped” to be able to be Station Manager alongside all of these “bada** women,” and plans on accomplishing new things like bringing in more of the freshman class and creating new shows.

Photo by Cam Wilson
Emma Federkeil (left) and Keera Frye (right) work to put together the first episode of The Halftime Show for U-View Television.

Keera Frye, also a senior majoring in broadcast reporting and minoring in public relations, became part of the board because she felt like U-View has allowed her to grow.

Frye mentioned that U-View has become a place where women can present themselves in leadership roles such as producers and hosts. She also said that having a board consisting of all women reflects this change.

“I’m excited to see what comes this year,” Frye said.

Emma Federkeil is a senior majoring in broadcast production and media management. Federkeil became part of the board because she wants to be able to help the new students become involved in the organization.

“I truly love teaching younger students things that I have grown to learn and love,” Federkeil said.

Federkeil also agrees that it is going to be exciting to be part of the U-View board this year. She feels that with everyone’s passion, the organization will benefit from it.

“I am happy to see strong women in journalism and media being able to represent U-View,” Federkeil said.

There are a variety of different shows and jobs to get involved with. Anybody can try out for a show, whether it is working behind the scenes or it’s being on air.

“U-View has always been a super welcoming environment, and I definitely would not have had half the opportunities that I have had if I did not get involved on day one,” Schubert said. “I honestly think that joining U-View is one of the best decisions that I made my freshman year, and the fact that I now get to better it along with my amazing board of women makes it even better.”

Disclosure: Allison Schubert is the co-sports editor and Emma Federkeil is a staff photographer. Nicole Pampena is the online editor, Sarah Gibson is the c0-opinions editor and USG Beat Writer and Dara Collins is the Editor-In-Chief of The Globe.