WPU campus chapter honored

West Milford resident Patrick Groh, a senior studying public relations at William Paterson University (WPU), is vice president of the student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) there.

The chapter, known on campus as WPSPJ, recently was selected as the national campus chapter of the year by SPJ. It beat 107 other chapters at prominent colleges, such as Syracuse, Northwestern and Hoffstra.

WPSPJ was founded in 2017 by Professor Nick Hirshon, who is the chapter’s adviser.

The chapter also was named the national campus chapter of the year in 2020, and Hirshon was campus chapter adviser of the year in 2019 and 2021.

Chapters are required to provide annual reports, which include their work in public outreach, student-professional outreach, ethics, Freedom of Information/First Amendment, diversity and professional development among other areas, explained Hirshon.

The WPU chapter won the award in September at the SPJ annual convention in Las Vegas. Because no one from WPU attended the event, Hirshon was notified shortly after it.

He said Groh took his class last spring, then joined the WPSPJ. He was elected chapter vice president in August just before the semester started.

Tent at festival

Because Groh lives in West Milford, he suggested that WPSPJ have a tent at the Autumn Lights Festival on Oct. 8. It was the first event that he coordinated as vice president of WPSPJ and it was the first off-campus event in the chapter’s history.

Groh organized a team of representatives, including graduate student liaison Susmita Majumder and Hirshon to staff the table from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

They handed out fliers and stickers urging people to subscribe to the chapter’s podcast. They also spoke to people about the chapter and to high school students looking at colleges.

“It was a way to promote and to let people know what we are doing,” said Groh.

The Autumn Lights Festival attracted about 25,000 people and WPSPJ was among the 300 vendors lining Union Valley Road.

“Public trust in the press is eroding, and lots of folks don’t appreciate the positive role that journalism can play in our communities,” Hirshon said.

”Good reporting exposes wrongdoing. It helps us understand what’s happening in our city halls and our schools and our police stations. And Patrick helped WPSPJ make that case directly to the public at the Autumn Lights Festival. That was a great idea.

“Patrick folded us into a long-running tradition in his hometown, and we spent the day discussing our journalism program (with) lots of passersby, including a bunch of William Paterson alumni. Patrick showed his commitment to the future of journalism by arranging the booth, coming early to set up our tent and staying late to break it down. He exemplified the dedication that WPSPJ students show all the time.”

Chapter podcast

WPSPJ has a podcast, which was started last year by Rochelle Estrada. She was the chapter vice president at the time and is president during this school year.

Hirshon believes this podcast is the first one created by an SPJ campus chapter. Among the people who have been interviewed on the podcast are “PIX11 Morning News” anchor Hazel Sanchez, Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter Ti-Hua Chang, New York Times social strategy editor Jason Silverstein, 1010 WINS news anchor Budd Mishkin and sports director Marc Ernay, and Al Jazeera correspondent Kristen Saloomey.

Groh mentioned that the chapter took a tour of the News 12 studio Oct. 9, which Hirshon organized. Fifteen students were able to see how a news station operates and meet the weatherman Dave Curren.

“It was a way to meet people and make connections,” he added.

Groh received an associate degree from Bergen Community College in Paramus in 2018, then enrolled at WPU. He will be graduating in the spring.

Since he was elected WPSPJ vice president, he has helped lead weekly board meetings and planned and/or attended multiple events on and off campus, Hirshon said. Groh will remain vice president until the end of the academic school year in May.

Groh enjoys sports, especially basketball, and sports writing. He recently started a blog on basketball in one of his classes and applied for an internship with WPU in sports public relations, which is the field he hopes to work in after graduation.