Communiqué
WOUB Senior Spotlight: Claire Schiopota
< < Back toBy Kae Walther
ATHENS, OH – Claire Schiopota, a senior studying journalism on the news and information with a minor in political science, says the possibilities for her future are endless thanks to her time at Ohio University and WOUB Public Media. Originally from Aurora, Ohio, Schiopota was interested in a few other schools before choosing Ohio University, but knows she made the right decision.
“Ohio University kind of felt like my home away from home.”
Schiopota was part of a freshmen class that could not attend Ohio University’s Athens Campus in the fall of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, however, she knew once she got to campus she wanted to get involved with many different organizations including The Post, The Ohio University Society of Professional Journalists, where she now serves as president, Scripps Innovation Scholars and WOUB.
Schiopota joined WOUB in the spring of 2021 and says that is where she met some of her closest friends. “I know there was a group of 10 of us, and most of us that were in that cohort are still at WOUB today, which is really cool.”
During her time at WOUB, Schiopota worked on several WOUB programs like Hardwood Heroes, Gridiron Glory, and NewsWatch. She says when she first began at WOUB, producing piqued her interest and she started shadowing producers for NewsWatch. In the fall of 2021, she was approached to work on the technical side of WOUB’s weekly high school football program, Gridiron Glory.
“It was super random; I didn’t have any interest in sports. I was a ‘newsie’ for sure, and I just randomly picked it up because I got asked to do it,” said Schiopota. “But it turned out to be a really great experience.” After that Schiopota continued to work on Gridiron Glory through her senior year and Hardwood Heroes through her junior year. “I think I’m a better producer because of these opportunities, because it gives me a better background of the technical side.”
Schiopota also took part in the WOUB Summer Internship Program, which she says was a wonderful experience.
“Some of my best memories and best friends came from the WOUB Summer Internship Program.”
Schiopota believes that she would not have received a White House Correspondents’ Association Scholarship if not for her time and connections within WOUB. With this scholarship, Schiopota was invited to the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner in Washington D.C. where she was able to meet President Joe Biden.
“We went to see the dinner, and we met all these celebrities; it was so cool. We got to meet the President, and he shook all our hands and asked for all of our names. It was just the coolest experience.” Schiopota says that she would also love to return to D.C. someday based on her experiences there.
Schiopota has tremendous gratitude for WOUB and the experiences and opportunities she has received from the program. She says the WOUB Job Connection Program, which brings media recruiters to campus to interview students for full-time jobs and internships, was extremely helpful because she was able to make lasting impressions on recruiters who have helped her identify some great career opportunities. Currently, Schiopota is evaluating those opportunities to see if any of them are the right fit for her first job.
Outside of WOUB and Ohio University, Schiopota says that she enjoys reading, going to the gym, and hanging out with her friends.