Published Wednesday, September 18th, 2024
Part of the 2024-25 student spotlight series, featuring John Campbell of Grand Island, Neb.
Attend any Wildcat athletic event and there’s a good chance you’ll see John Campbell roaming the sidelines with his camera equipment. The Sports Media major and Grand Island native is this week’s featured student in the Student Spotlight series.
Campbell, who is currently working on his Senior Seminar project, serves as the creative producer of videography and photography for Wayne State’s Department of Athletics, a position he’s held for two years. His responsibilities include shooting video stills, game recap videos, and hype videos. He also creates graphics and content for scoreboard use.
Campbell’s dream job would be to own his own sports media and management agency someday, but he admits he wasn’t always headed down this path.
“When I started classes at Wayne State, I wanted to be a doctor,” said Campbell. “Unfortunately, I had the seventh spot out of six in the pre-physician assistant program, so I was on the outside looking in. I spent a year being undecided about a major, and then I took a communication arts course that I really enjoyed. I eventually got into radio and videography, and everything took off from there.”
During the Spring 2023 semester, Campbell won two Golden Leaf Awards as sports editor for The Wayne Stater, the college newspaper. He won first place in the Best Display Ad category for his “Wildcat October Schedule” and second place for his “Central Region Tournament Graphic.” He was also nominated for a Media Award (Best Station Promotion, video) from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System during the Fall 2023 semester while working for KWSC-FM, the campus radio station.
Campbell has covered the Wayne State football and volleyball teams’ regular seasons, as well as the volleyball team’s appearances last year at the Central Region Finals in St. Paul, Minn., and the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships in Moon Township, Pa.
“It’s been an incredible ride for me at Wayne State,” said Campbell. “I’m fortunate that I had great leadership from Mike Powicki (athletic director), Mike Grosz (sports information director), and Dr. Sean Ahern (associate professor of communication arts). They gave me the freedom to do things my way, and that’s made all the difference in the world for me. I will definitely miss Wayne State.”
Campbell will graduate in December, and he intends to pursue a career as a creative director in college athletics.