Interactive Media program welcomes eighth class

One of the main reasons Evan Gaskin ’16 returned to his alma mater and enrolled in Elon University’s master’s program in interactive media was his experience as an undergraduate.

“I’ve seen powerful things emerge from learning environments with attentive mentors and driven, collaborative peers,” said Gaskin, alluding to his undergraduate studies. “So iMedia is another great fit for me.”

The communication design major added that the 10-month program will allow him to enhance his understanding of graphic design. “I’ve had a strong interest in developing my user experience and user interface design skills, producing what I love to consume, and using design’s power to give great people the experiences and credibility that they deserve,” he said.

The recent Elon graduate is one of 27 students who enrolled in August in this year’s Master of Arts in Interactive Media program, the eighth class in the graduate program’s history. In addition to Gaskin, iMedia students Drew Dimos ’16, Travis John ’11, Sydney Plovsky ’16 and Kara Wagner ’16 also graduated from Elon.

Others in the class graduated from Appalachian State University, Alfred University, Campbell University, George Mason University, Lasell College, Meredith College, N.C. A&T State University, N.C. State University, Northwestern University, San Diego Christian College, State University of New York at Cortland, UCLA, University of Maryland–Baltimore County, University of Mississippi, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of North Carolina at Wilmington. For full biographies of this year’s class, visit the “Meet the Class” page.

David Copeland, Elon’s A.J. Fletcher Professor and graduate program director, said he relishes the diversity of the iMedia class of 2017, noting the group’s variety of undergraduate experiences.

While approximately 70 percent of this year’s class earned communications-related degrees as undergraduates, others majored in anthropology, environmental science, exercise and sport science, international studies and psychology. As part of the iMedia program, students without a communications background took weeklong primers on media writing and media law.

Elon’s 10-month, full-time program prepares graduates to think strategically across media platforms; plan and create interactive media content consisting of text, images, sounds, video and graphics; and manage information for interactive news, entertainment and persuasive communications.