I am Central: Jalisa Cannon
Sophomore Broadcast and cinematic arts major
Won: CMU's Martin Luther King Jr. Week Oratorical Contest.
At the microphone: "The contest was a great opportunity for me to enhance my communication skills and really refl ect on the message of Martin Luther King Jr."
"In the fourth grade I did a speech on Shel Silverstein. That actually got me started in public speaking."
Early start:
Also a poet: "You can do so much with poetry. It's expressive. I like it when I can touch people through my poetry."
On campus: Jalisa belongs to Word Hammer, a slam poetry group.
Slamming: "Slam poetry diff ers from regular poetry because it's written as performance art. It's aggressive and open and free."
Performance high: "It's an adrenaline rush when I'm up on stage ready to do a poem. It's like no other feeling."
Career path: "I've always loved radio, and I wanted to be a radio DJ. Now that I'm at Central, I'm more interested in TV and writing. I'm also a journalism minor, and I wouldn't mind seeing where journalism takes me."
After CMU: She will enter the U.S. Navy's Offi cer Candidate School with plans to work in communications or public relations for the Navy. •
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centralight summer '10
