Marlenia Thornton | Husker Dialogues
Nebraska’s very own student-led advertising agency, Jacht, helps spark the conversation for Husker Dialogues 2020.
Husker Dialogues is an event hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which introduces incoming first-year students to the tools they need to engage in meaningful conversations. The program urges participants to use the power of their voices to create an inclusive Husker community.
Jacht represented the student voice and the team was integral in marketing and communicating the event to other scholars. The team spent the summer developing the best ways to connect and engage with their peers utilizing social media such as Tik Tok and Instagram, crafting videos and leveraging other student leaders on campus as influencers.
“Strategically, we wanted to market to our students with their unique involvements and identities in mind. Marketing involved pinpointed hotspots on campus that already house a diverse array of students,” Senior Brennan Splichal said.
“There's so much noise right now for first-year students. We needed to figure out how to break through all of that and become a relevant and urgent message to the students. We wanted them to understand that their attendance at Husker Dialogues is crucial to their experience and contribution as a Husker,” Senior Lauren Tritch said.
Tritch was the agency’s account executive during the summer and passed the torch to Splichal for this fall.
Jacht was formed in 2010. The full- service advertising agency is sponsored by the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. The opportunity is also available to students outside of the journalism college. The goal of Jacht is to provide students with hands-on experiences by helping them learn about agency life and provide in-depth professional experiences in real time.
“My favorite part of being a professor is witnessing the students transform their critical thinking and problem-solving skills throughout the course of a few months. I am so proud of the entire Jacht Agency team for rolling up their sleeves and getting to work on this important initiative,” Faculty Advisor Jemalyn Griffin said.
Husker Dialogues kicks off this week on Sept. 10. To keep everyone safe and healthy, this year’s event will be held virtually on multiple nights. Huskers empower other Huskers to use their voices. Husker Dialogues aims to create an environment to have these tough, but important
discussions on Nebraska’s campus—fostering inclusive excellence. Jacht hopes its involvement will encourage fellow Huskers not only to start these conversations, but continue them.
“Peer-to-peer communication is vital in every sense of the word,” Splichal said.
“I want students to recognize their place in our Husker community. We need first-year student voices to be involved in the greater dialogue. They do have the power to impact the campus community and they should,” Tritch said.
First- year students, are you ready to join the conversation? Visit go.unl.edu/huskerdialogues to find more specific instructions about the event and how to find your assigned session on Canvas.