NEWS RELEASE
6/7/2002
Contacts
Judith Jasper Leicht
(314) 935-5408
Donna Kettenbach
(314) 935-5230
St. Louis, MO (June 7, 2002) - While balloonist Steve Fossett readies himself for his RTW flight, a group of Washington University in St. Louis students are embarking on an adventure of their own. Students are Ready when Steve Is
St. Louis, MO (June 7, 2002) - While balloonist Steve Fossett readies himself for his RTW flight, a group of Washington University in St. Louis students are embarking on an adventure of their own.
These student interns for the Bud Light Spirit of Freedom project will manage and staff Mission Control at Washington University in St. Louis. The students immersed themselves in training sessions this week, beginning with a detailed explanation of how Mission Control works, presented by the University’s Office of Public Affairs’ staff.
Then, interns broke into their teams for hands-on training and practicing what it will be like running Mission Control during Fossett’s flight. They will work in shifts, staffing the operation 24/7 once balloon is launched.
Students work on one of five teams, each led by a team captain. The Call Center team answers and processes calls from the media; the Mission Control team sets up media interviews and staffs the Media Center; the Press Conference team facilitates media advisories and logistics of news conferences; the Radio Actualities team interviews, scripts and records sound bites for the broadcast media; the Web team monitors, edits and updates the webpage.
In addition, engineering student, Project Team Leader and Assistant Air Traffic Control Coordinator, Barry Tobias oversees all the student interns and works closely with each team. Student intern, Emily Fredrix, Media Coordinator for Australia, will be onsite in Northam working with the media before and during the launch; she then travels back to Mission Control to be part of the Press Conference team.
The Call Center is comprised of Olin School of Business students, headed up by Ines Tiu. “I just graduated, so it’s important to me to stay connected to the University and this is a good means to do so,” she says. “It’s great to gain media experience and try something new.”
These business students believe what they learned in their Organizational Behavior class will be put to good use on the project. “Knowing something about how an organization’s structure works will help, and we’ll get a first-hand look at this one,” Tiu said, referring to the entire mission team.
“This is a really interesting and different project to take part in it…being part of a team, dealing with people, answering caller’s questions concisely, working on and being part of a team; fitting into the hierarchy,” says Jerome Cephas, who will graduate in December. “The training has been fun and effective.” Cephas is bi-lingual and will be working with Spanish-speaking media when the balloon comes around South America.
The Mission Control team will take media inquiries from the Call Center. “It’s fast-paced and great for me since I’m interested in science writing,” says Ellen Thompson, a May graduate.
“I’m excited about using real situation deadlines—calls have to be answered, responding to the media, etc.” notes Jeremy Raphael, a May business school graduate. Junior David Perlman agrees, “This is an exciting, unique project to work on—it will teach us about discipline and we have to be able to manage it all.”
Working with the media is something that sophomore Radio Actualities team member Shawn Henderson enjoys and is accustomed to. “I worked as a Sports Information Assistant for the University during the school year,” he says.
Earth and planetary sciences major John Russell, also a member of the radio team, will use his classroom training to explain some of the flight’s scientific aspects to the media. Stephen Forbes is radio team leader, a licensed HAM radio operator and a junior mechanical engineering major, minoring in aerospace engineering, concentrating in robots. Both Forbes and Russell worked on Fossett’s RTW attempt in the summer of 2001.
The Web team has epitomized hands-on training this week, changing, adjusting and updating the Bud Light Spirit of Freedom website to bring it live. The four-member team is headed by Jared Macke, a computer engineering junior who has also acted in several University theatre productions. All team members have webpage design experience and will have the opportunity to enhance their skills as they keep the website updated throughout the flight.
Working as part of a team and utilizing their communication and project management skills are just some of the benefits student interns will have being part of an organization supporting Fossett’s RTW flight. As the interns prepare for the flight, they’re part of a one-of-a-kind learning experience which they won’t soon forget.
