The email showed up in my inbox in mid-November, innocuously beginning with, “We have an idea for a Christmas season video…..” 

The quick follow-up in early December included a unique request: “If you have a black sock hat and an overcoat of sorts to bring on Friday that would be great. Let me know if you don’t have either of those and we will track them down for you to wear.” 

Little did I know how creative the CCOM content interns Ross Hollebon brought together are or how on the nose they would be with the role in which they cast me. 

Nevertheless, always eager for a fun student-led project—especially focused on the holidays—I did as instructed and showed up with a long black coat, scarf, and black hat. As it happens, David Simon ‘25, Blake Richmond ‘26, and Kyira Duchemin ‘25 took their cue from an idea that had been percolating in Ross’ twisted mind since his initial interview with me almost two years ago. They accepted the assignment and sketched out an adaptation of a character from Home Alone, played by Joe Pesci, appearing during a student dream sequence in the middle of a final exam. My part in the project took approximately twenty minutes to film, and the end product was so worth it!

It was so much fun to get to work with these three creative students not just on this project, but for the whole semester.  Each of them brought energy, inventiveness, and a true desire to amplify both Butler and CCOM, and they learned a lot from their mentor, Ross, too. 

I first got to meet David Simon ‘25, a senior Creative Media and Entertainment major in CCOM, during Prof. Cutler Armstrong’s inaugural Butler in LA program in May. We talked about the interns Ross would be hiring, while I also learned about his personal passion project on social media involving Rubik’s Cubes. David’s penchant for creative videos was on display during Homecoming in October when we produced a Bulldog Head logo out of 400 Rubik’s Cubes activation at our CCOM tent. Alumni, current students, and kids of all ages engaged with the fun that is part of our DNA.

Fun content is better when it has a business purpose and not only entertains current Bulldogs and alumni but introduces Butler and CCOM to a wider national audience. This CCOM video has earned 7.2k views on YouTube and an astounding 136k views on Instagram! On Instagram it has also garnered 5.5k “Likes,” has reached 110,517 unique accounts and total view time is 28 days, 18 hours, 32 minutes, and 18 seconds as of the morning of Dec. 21, 2024. Much of that had to do with David’s status as an international influencer with his account Captain Cuber (follow him!).

Kyira Duchemin ‘25, a senior double majoring in Music Industry Studies and Creative Media and Entertainment, has been a member of the Dean’s Student Advisory Board in CCOM since my arrival. In his/their role this fall I got to know him better. Kyira was always around, taking pictures of student and faculty events, storyboarding cool ideas, and learning from Ross and others—while also teaching Blake the technical side of camera equipment. Perhaps the coolest thing he helped with was covering our first Intensive Industry Experience trip to Nashville with 16 other students, again led by Prof. Armstrong. Kyira’s presence and keen eye for photos and stories helped us capture how great that trip truly was!

Then there is Blake Richmond, a Marketing major with a Strategic Communication minor, who will be back with us in the Spring after Fall was jam packed with impact. Blake’s first class of his college career was an 8 a.m. Promotional Writing I course, taught by Ross in 2022, and he stood out immediately. Then Blake impressed me with his very first CCOM project, a competitive analysis of colleges of communication at several other universities that helped us identify some areas of distinctiveness and opportunity for CCOM. Always thriving to learn and add to his skillset, Blake has become a go-to-producer for our recent Pawcast episodes, shadowing Ross and even producing his first solo Pawcast in November. 

This holiday season, as we prepare for some rest and valuable time with those we love and cherish, I would be remiss if I didn’t say how grateful and glad I am for the time I got to spend with these three interns. Every day they remind me of why we are fortunate to do what we do, and how special Butler students are. I just need to read their request emails more carefully moving forward. 😊 

As I close out 2024, I’d like to share two more things. The first is our heartfelt wish for a happy holiday season and healthy and prosperous new year to our CCOM and Butler friends, family, and community across the globe. The second, and this is to David, Kyira and Blake, the casting of me as Harry Lyme is spot on because……Pesci was my high school nickname (he says as his gold tooth glistens 😊).

Happy Holidays!