Sydney Allabaugh ’25 wrote her own strong story as a communications and media studies major at Wilkes University. As the editor-in-chief of The Beacon newspaper and director of the Wilkes Now TV news show, she gained hands-on experience that complemented her stellar work in the classroom. “Co-curriculars definitely helped me prepare for my future,” says Allabaugh.
During her final semester at Wilkes, Allabaugh had the opportunity to add professional experience to her portfolio courtesy of an internship program at WVIA funded by local philanthropist Theresa Karambelas. Karambelas, a long-time supporter of both the University and the public media outlet, decided to combine the support of her passions to provide real-world experience for future journalists from Wilkes.
“I’m really happy that she created the opportunity,” says Allabaugh.
While at the station, Allabaugh pushed herself to build connections with WVIA staff and people in the community. She conducted interviews and research, wrote news stories and produced audio segments. Allabaugh traveled throughout northeastern Pennsylvania to share tales of a cancer fundraiser, a Special Olympics skier and a library’s Laughter Lab. Her favorite piece involved coverage of the Nicholson Borough sesquicentennial.
Allabaugh wrapped the internship and crossed the stage at graduation with academic honors and awards in hand. A few months later, she landed a job at The Times Leader newspaper in Wilkes-Barre. Allabaugh started as a newsroom associate handling obituaries before getting promoted to education reporter. While on the education beat, she attended the press conference welcoming James Cousins as the University’s eighth president.
And at that event, Allabaugh quietly shared some news of her own. Faith Golay, managing editor at WVIA, notified her of an open position at the station. Following a competitive interview process, Allabaugh landed the job and has returned to WVIA to serve as a community engagement reporter and host of the radio show All Things Considered.
“It feels great to be back. During my internship, I really enjoyed working at WVIA with the mission of public media, making information more accessible. And I work with a team of talented reporters. I really enjoy the company and I’m happy to be working here again,” says Allabaugh. “I don’t think it would be possible without the opportunity created for me through Wilkes by Mrs. Karambelas. I’m so very grateful for that.”
Though Allabaugh has been on the job less than a month, her knowledge of northeastern Pennsylvania and WVIA, along with her strong writing skills, have already made her an asset in the newsroom.
“We feel like it’s a homecoming. She’s a great representative of Wilkes and we’re so happy to have her join our team,” says Golay. “She really does know the station and the mission to connect with our communities and tell their stories. She’s already making her mark in this community and this career.”
Allabaugh is one of three Wilkes communications and media studies majors who have been through the WVIA internship program so far, with Eric Walsh ’25 and Samara Carey ’26 also benefiting from the opportunity. Karambelas has plans to fund the internship for another three semesters, providing access to on-the-job training and true storytelling responsibilities across a variety of media for the next generation of professionals.
“We’re grateful to Mrs. Karambelas for her support of journalism locally,” says Golay. “It’s a very competitive internship program, doing the job of a journalist day in and day out. They’re getting a true taste of what it’s like to work in an active newsroom with some of the best in the business.”
During his time in the newsroom, Walsh focused on the process of digital storytelling from the initial pitch to the final product. He covered a pop-up food pantry in Scranton, the addition of a staff dog to a non-profit that supports child abuse victims and people raising chickens due to higher egg prices.
With the multimedia nature of WVIA’s storytelling, Walsh’s work went beyond the written word. “On top of writing the stories, they really pushed for an audio component,” he says. “So while I’m interviewing, I will also, if I can record the person that I’m talking to, record some ambient noise of the area that I’m in, and then stitch them together into something that they can play on radio.”
Walsh is no stranger to radio, having served as co-host of the Top of the Ropes radio show on 90.7 WCLH. He also played clips for Wilkes Now and handled public relations for Commuter Council.
With his work in the classroom, in co-curriculars and at his internship, Walsh has found a love for audio and hopes to land a position as an audio editor or sound technician.
“Before coming to Wilkes, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do after college,” says Walsh. “Since coming here, I’ve learned so much about the comms field and it helped me focus in on what I want to do. With WVIA, getting that actual, practical experience has helped make that picture even clearer.”
Like Allabaugh and Walsh, Carey combined classroom learning, campus activities and her WVIA internship, though her experiences led her in a different professional direction.
Carey worked with the Programming Board and served as the organization’s Big Event chair, helping to plan and execute activities and entertainment for the student body. She also organized Battle of the Bands, bringing together eight local acts to perform in the McHale Athletic Center. “I really love event planning,” says Carey.
She stretched those event-planning skills as executive director of Zebra Communications, a student-run PR organization. She hosted a radio show, Anything and Everything, and served as music director for 90.7 WCLH. Carey also served as a Presidential Student Leader, assisting with events on campus, and traveled with other students on an Alternative Spring Break trip to build houses in Washington state with Habitat for Humanity.
“Wilkes gave me so many opportunities,” says Carey.
When the WVIA internship came up, Carey jumped at the chance. She wrote about last-minute holiday gifts with a local flair, ways to beat boredom over winter break and a homeowner in Honesdale who discovered gravestones on his property. Her favorite memory involved working until midnight with a team of reporters to cover elections in Luzerne County. “It was so much fun, says Carey. “I spoke to so many people, so many people who were running for office, and I just thought it was a really amazing experience.”
Carey enjoyed the collaborative nature of the newsroom and the supportive environment at WVIA. “Everyone in the newsroom was very welcoming,” says Carey. “If I ever needed anything, they were there, and it quickly became almost like a second family.”
In addition to the multimedia communications skills she developed, Carey credits WVIA with improving her independence and confidence. And she’s grateful to the faculty and staff in communication and media studies at Wilkes for encouraging her creativity.
Maybe it’s that out-of-the-box thinking that led Carey to combine her communications talents and her student activities experiences to her new position as assistant director of campus activities and recreation at Marywood University. “I love what I’m doing and I’m excited to see what I can do with students,” says Carey. “I want to be able to give back and give students the same experience I had.”
As for Karambelas, who started the internship program with an idea to give back to two organizations that enhance the quality of life in northeastern Pennsylvania, she couldn’t be more thrilled. She looks forward to the search for the next intern, the multimedia journalism lessons to come and the opportunity to launch careers for more Wilkes students.
“They’re exposed to everything, including radio. That’s music to my soul,” says Karambelas. “The feedback from the students has been wonderful and WVIA has been delighted. I think it’s obvious that it’s a win-win-win. There’s no question about it.”