Every other week, our Highlanders are using their education to do extraordinary things. Here, we鈥檒l highlight some notable mentions from local, regional, national and international news media. Whether our students, alumni, faculty and staff are featured as subject matter experts in high-profile stories or simply helping make the world a better place, we鈥檒l feature their stories.
Sport authority
A sports administration graduate who found himself drawn to journalism recently accepted a beat at one of the largest newspapers in the Lone Star State.
Ronald Harrod Jr. 鈥�21 started as the high school sports reporter with the Dallas Morning News on Sept. 16. Harrod covered similar territory last year at The Roanoke Times before moving on to the San Antonio Express-News.
According to the Texas Press Association, the Dallas Morning News, with a circulation of 137,000, is its state鈥檚 second-biggest paper, just behind the Houston Chronicle by fewer than 6,000 readers.
To kick off his tenure in the bleachers, , 鈥淔ive things you need to know about new SportsDay reporter Ronald Harrod Jr.鈥�
Those cover his background 鈥� including a shout-out to his alma mater 鈥� as well as his hobbies, the best sporting event he has attended and his favorite athlete. His final question, about other career paths he may have taken, reveals that Harrod鈥檚 future may have been cast in part by an internship he took with the Washington Commanders football team.
鈥淪ince I majored in sports administration in college, I had a choice between working on the business side for a team or becoming a writer,鈥� he told the Morning News. 鈥淎nd I chose the latter.鈥�
You can follow Ronald Harrod Jr. on X (formerly known as Twitter) via @ronharrodjr.
Playing through
A star of the links at Radford has continued his winning streak beyond graduation.
Earlier this month, 鈥�24 won the Middle Atlantic Amateur Championship in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Founded in 1902, the Middle Atlantic Golf Association is one of the oldest amateur golf organizations in the country, according to its website.
鈥淐orbett shot rounds of 63-67-71 to finish 9-under and secure the wire-to-wire win,鈥� . 鈥淗e was the only golfer to finish the championship under par.
鈥淗e finished with 19 birdies and 10 bogeys at Columbia Country Club through 54 holes,鈥� the golfing website declared.
While a student at Radford, Corbett built an impressive record, earning spots on the 2024 First Team All-Big South team and the 2024 Big South All-Tournament Team.
And just as he departed, another promising prospect appeared 鈥� his younger brother, , whoas a transfer from the University of Lynchburg, where he scored two top 20 finishes and another in the top 10.
Viral analysis
Thanks to modern technology, it鈥檚 never been easier to share information.
By that same equation, however, threats and hoaxes are often able to spread briskly and widely, particularly when it comes to incidents or claims involving schools.
A recently examined ways in which students can deal with threatening posts without making them go viral, and reporter Roxy Todd spoke with two experts from 澳门老奇人论坛.
Associate Professor of Social Work Philip Mongan said students and parents should familiarize themselves with ways to report suspicious posts to the school other than actually sharing them.
Circulating such threats, according to Professor of Communications John Brummette, 鈥渃an cause a contagion effect.
鈥淭his really contributes to the issue,鈥� Brummette said. 鈥淎nd gives the people who are posting the content what they want, and that鈥檚 for this content to go viral.鈥�
Brummette is the director of Radford鈥檚 Social Media Analytics and Research Technology (SMART) Lab, and he and other students are currently using social media data to try to understand more about threatening posts, the story said.
One upside to the ease with which posts can be shared, however, is that they can sometimes act as distress signals.
鈥淥ne thing we know about school shootings and extreme school violence is there鈥檚 always what we call leakage,鈥� Mongan said, adding that perpetrators 鈥渨ill always drop a hint. They鈥檒l say something, they鈥檒l do something, and after the fact, we always go back and go, oh, it should have made sense to us. Since social media came about, it鈥檚 given us free range to do that.鈥�