UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — From the people he met on his dorm floor when he first arrived at Penn State to those he works with almost daily as his college career winds down, Denzel Massaley always seems to find one constant: community.
It’s not some passive discovery, either. Massaley creates and cultivates community.
A senior telecommunications and media industries major from Philadelphia, Massaley arrived on the University Park campus sight unseen. He had watched hours of day-in-the-life YouTube videos made by Penn State students and had reviewed the University’s academic offerings in detail seeking a fit for his interests.
Still, he arrived undecided about his academic path — although certain he wanted to be in Happy Valley.
“I wanted to branch out from my Philly bubble and see a little more of the world. It was a good decision,” said Massaley, who lived in Hartranft Hall as a freshman. “I got lucky and found so many connections there. We’re still connected to this day.”
He considered marketing as a major, but an introductory telecommunications class made an impact — as did Christopher Ali, the Pioneers Chair and professor of telecommunications, who led the class. “What we did was everything I thought I would be doing, or wanted to do,” Massaley said. “So, I knew telecommunications was where I belonged.”
After embracing opportunity at Parkway Northwest High School for Peace and Social Justice, which offered a partnership with WHYY Media Labs, the ever-curious Massaley found similar experiences at Penn State. He worked at WPSU between his sophomore and junior years and later worked for C-NET, Centre County’s Government and Education Access Network, as a production intern and producer.
His time at WPSU offered valuable experience honing his writing skills and introducing him to audio production.
“It was an interesting new format for me to interact with, and in a lot of ways it changed my relationship with media,” Massaley said. “It set up the playing field for me with podcasting, too.”
Every experience brought more connections and community for Massaley. That extended to Washington, D.C., for a hands-on experience last summer as a Degler Fellow. It was an opportunity with a small cohort of Penn State students supported by the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications as they met with media leaders and reported on timely topics during an immersive couple of weeks in the nation’s capital.
From there, Massaley discovered the News Lab at Penn State, and that led to work with a small group of students getting a podcast about community news, “Centre Access,” up and running this spring. He’s sharpened his writing and learned to grab a listener’s or reader’s attention as a result.
Plus, it’s a passion project, of sorts, for Massaley, a first-generation student of Liberian heritage who does not go back to Philadelphia during semester or summer breaks. After a brief time in a group home, he lived with a foster family during his senior year of high school, so he stays in Centre County year-round. As a result, he appreciates the vibrant community that some students might not experience.
Massaley credits mentoring from Maggie Messitt, the Norman Eberly Professor of Practice, and Neda Toloui-Semnani, an assistant teaching professor, as especially helpful.
“They constantly asked me about my writing, ‘Why do you care?’ and that helped make my writing stronger. It was not about me being the story, but if I’m trying to be as honest and truthful as possible for the communities I’m serving, knowing as much as I can matters,” Massaley said.
He anticipates another media-related opportunity and more community building this summer.
Massaley, who will graduate May 9, earned an Ed Bradley Journalism Fellowship and will work alongside an elite cohort of college journalists during a weeklong session in early June in New York City.
After that, Massaley anticipates a journalism role — hopefully someplace he can immerse himself, utilize his wide-ranging storytelling skills and embrace another community.