Next stop for the WPOW Speaker Series: Southern Illinois University with WPOW member Anna Rose Layden.

One of the best parts of this program is our focus on small group and one-on-one meetings— we even dedicate part of our budget towards hosting students/staff for coffee or a meal. We believe that it fosters the kind of familiarity that leads to candid conversations about what we do (and what the next steps might be for a budding talent).

In addition to speaking in classes, Anna was able to toast the opening of the WPOW Traveling Exhibition at the SIU School of Journalism and Advertising at a cafe beforehand with a handful of students.

“I think it was impactful for the students to see a young person working in an environment with such massive characters, and to be told that it's possible for themselves,” says Anna Rose. “I came from a much larger university. To spend time with students in a much smaller program, in a town I had never heard of, listening to their ideas and the work that they cared about was inspiring to me and a good reminder that anyone can do what we do, if given the encouragement and opportunity.”

The WPOW Speaker Series sends a WPOW member to one of the ten colleges and universities where our traveling exhibition is hung each year to inaugurate the exhibition, show their own work and speak to students about the craft of visual journalism. We believe that connecting professionals with budding visual journalists is the best way to demystify the career path and provide a bridge to the profession we are so passionate about.

Huge thanks to our Speaker Series sponsors Sony and the Philip and Edith Leonian Foundation and to our Traveling Exhibition print sponsor Canon.