Digital Media Production Student Finds Her Place Behind the Camera at UCM

Digital Media Production major Jordan Birk will earn her bachelor’s degree during Spring 2025 Commencement.

 

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The University of Central Missouri offers a community of support, allowing students to redefine what’s possible as they forge a path to their future. With help from faculty and staff, UCM students are empowered to be the heroes of their own stories and as we prepare for 2025 Spring Commencement, the News Bureau is shining a spotlight on some of those stories.

 

Even as a child, Digital Media Production (DMP) major Jordan Birk was fascinated by everything behind the scenes of her favorite movies and TV shows. Now a senior at the University of Central Missouri (UCM), she’s the one making TV magic.

For the last four years, Birk, of Boonville, Missouri, has worked at , the PBS station on the UCM campus. As a production specialist, Birk works on live event broadcasts, helps with production needs and assists with , a YouTube channel that houses student-made documentaries, TV shows and music videos. Recently, Birk added , UCM’s student radio station, to her list of media experiences. 

“I've always really liked the idea of TV and the in-studio stuff with all the different cameras and directing all of it. So when I heard that UCM has KMOS on campus, I knew I was interested in it and I knew I wanted to be involved,” Birk said. “And then The Beat, I've always loved music. It's always been a big part of my life and I always liked the idea of DJing.”

Birk said one of her favorite KMOS shows was “Pester the Professor,” where students interviewed UCM professors to learn more about them outside the classroom. She’s currently working on “Riot,” which she described as a sketch comedy show that involves games, improv and scripted scenes. 

Joe Moore, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Communication and Digital Media Production, was a guest on “Pester the Professor” when Birk was co-host. He said she was well prepared and made the experience fun. He was also impressed when she decided to host her own show on The Beat.

“That's not something I ever would have expected because she is very quiet and reserved, but it just shows how she is willing to try new things and to step out of her comfort zone,” Moore said.

Her work on a music video, “Dancing with Ghosts,” earned her team second place in the 2024 Missouri Broadcast Educators Association awards. But if you ask Birk to list her proudest accomplishments at UCM, she doesn’t list too many awards. Instead, she focuses on the growth she’s experienced.

“I usually like being behind the camera and editing and telling people just how it works and all that, but I've been able to get out in front of the camera and be talent and create my own shows, which have been absolutely amazing,” Birk said. “I think that's one of my biggest accomplishments. I'm very introverted, so being able to get out there and go, ‘Hey, I actually really want to do this show, I want to do this project,’ takes a lot of guts for me.” 

Birk said it’s hard to name specific faculty members who helped her along the way because every one of her professors offered guidance and support. DMP students learn the fundamentals in class, like video and audio editing and working in a live studio, but Birk said that’s not what stands out to her about UCM faculty.

“You learn all of the material that you need, but they also help you mentally and emotionally -- they help you prepare to get out in the real world,” Birk said. “They tell you ‘here's the experiences you're probably going to encounter. Let me help you understand how to get through them.’ I think that's the biggest way that they've helped me prepare.” 

Moore met Birk on her campus visit when she was a shy young student. Now, he sees someone extremely creative, eager to learn and not afraid to try new things.

“She has just blossomed,” Moore said. “I see her taking a lead role in several projects, she is confident and sure of herself, and is ready to step out into the real world and thrive.”

Birk is returning to UCM this fall to start working on a master’s in Communication. She also plans to find a full-time job, hopefully in video editing, that allows her to create; she said she’s happiest when creating.

“I think she would be maybe a little shocked about me being able to get out in front of people and create my own shows and be talent on some of those shows,” Birk said of her younger self. “I don't think as a freshman I would have thought that I would be able to actually put something together or I would want to put something together, but I had too much fear to do it. I hope freshman year Jordan would be very, very proud.”

 

 

 

Check the News Bureau daily from May 5-9, as we share stories of UCM graduates who are redefining what’s possible and shaping the future, one step across the stage at a time.