Discovering new faces: Profiling the Humans of Oakland University

Recently, our JRN 411 class was assigned to set out and profile members of Oakland’s campus community – but with a catch.

We were tasked to capture the essence of two individuals while only being limited to one original photo and a defining quote or short story.

The project follows the lead of the popular website, Humans of New York. The collection — which boasts nearly three million Facebook fans and has become a New York Times best-selling book — catalogues a wide array of Big Apple residents. Utilizing the parameters of a single photo and a short snippet from the subject’s life allows for a fascinating blog style look into the various personalities found in the largest American city.

A spinoff of the idea has emerged, focusing entirely on the faces of OU. This assignment was to create content for that site.

One obstacle found while completing this was garnering the consent of individuals for their picture to be published online. While I came across several fellow Golden Grizzly students who seemed to be very interesting in their attire, style, or attitude, three different people refused to grant permission of their profile being used on the site.

However, I came across two members of WXOU – the campus radio station – who provided a very unique look inside their lives. I met Patrick Cymbalski at the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference in Lansing last week, and I encountered Jason Newman at the station over the weekend.

Below are the photos and corresponding quotes, which appear exactly as they will be seen on the Humans of Oakland University platform.

“Believe it or not, this is the most professional day of my entire year.” – Patrick Cymbalski said after collecting the Michigan Association of Broadcaster’s award for College Station of the Year.

Cymbalski, a 23-year-old student, serves as the General Manager of WXOU, the student radio station at Oakland University. WXOU has won the state’s top overall honor for three straight years.

Every year, Cymbalski shaves his head in order to support child cancer research. However, before it all comes off, he likes to do something crazy with his hair. This year, he dyed his locks bright red, just in time for the award ceremony.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Lately it occurred to me what a long strange trip this has been. A trip called life.” – Jason Newman

Newman, a 21-year-old student, states that he is simply waiting to see what opportunities come his way each and every day. He currently is the Public Service Director at WXOU, the student radio station on Oakland University’s campus.