Students Who Soar: Faculty Helps Media Production Major Find Success at Buffalo State and Beyond

When Joana Leamon, a Buffalo State College senior media production major, learned she won the Tim Russert Media Career Award from the Buffalo Broadcasters Association (BBA), she was ecstatic and in a state of disbelief.

This may be a natural reaction for many students, but for Leamon, the news took on greater significance. It spoke to the 180-degree turn her life has taken.

“Buffalo State has allowed me to achieve things that I didn’t believe were possible for me,” said Leamon, an honors student with a 4.0 grade point average.  

The child of a pastor, Leamon moved frequently, including stints at three high schools. The constant feeling of being the new kid while also struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) crushed Leamon’s self-confidence, which resulted in her dropping out of high school. While she found work after earning her GED in 2003, including several years as a pharmacy tech, she said it wasn’t fulfilling. She knew she wanted to pair her love of talking with people with the creative world of media production.

She started at Jamestown Community College, near her home in Silver Creek, New York, where she lives with her partner and 11-year-old child.

“The fact I had failed that first time around weighed on me,” she said. “I thought, ‘I can’t do this. I’m not good enough.’”

Quickly, however, Leamon realized she had the acumen for the coursework and a talent for storytelling behind the camera.

“When it came time to move on, my adviser told me that Buffalo State has an excellent media production program,” she said.

Soon after transferring in fall 2020, Leamon saw for herself. At Buffalo State, she’s honed her skills as a producer, director, and editor, as well as an interviewer, videographer, and script writer, and has even completed a drone piloting course.

Although she’s enjoyed all her media production courses, Leamon said, she especially loved COM 433: Advanced TV Documentary Production, which she took with Meg Knowles, associate professor of media production. 

“We worked with local artists and filmmakers to build teams and make documentaries, which is something I’m passionate about,” Leamon said. “Professor Knowles and other professors in the program inspire us every day to get out there, do what we love, and do it well.”

In addition, she’s found inspiration in the speakers the Communication Department has brought to campus.

“We’ve had several guest speakers, including Academy Award–winning film producer Deborah Oppenheimer, who spoke last fall and showed her most recent documentary,” she said. “It’s incredibly inspirational to hear the journeys of these highly successful people who graduated from Buffalo State.”

As part of her own journey, Leamon jumped into several career-building opportunities on campus, including serving as president of the Buffalo State chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Association’s honor society; vice president of BSC-TV; and an interviewer for “Let’s Talk Buffalo,” a public affairs program produced for WBNY-FM 91.3. 

Last fall, with help from Knowles and Dorothea Braemer, assistant professor of communication, Leamon put together a portfolio of three videos, one radio interview, and one written piece to submit for the Russert award.

“Joana is a standout student in terms of her achievements in media production, but also in the laser focus she puts into each challenge and the supportive spirit she brings to team projects,” Knowles said. “It was a no-brainer to recommend her for the Tim Russert award. She is a creative thinker and an outstanding producer with a bright future ahead.”

Along with receiving $1,000 for the award, Leamon was honored at the BBA’s Hall of Fame celebration in November.

“It was a place I never thought I’d be,” she said.

And her winning streak has continued. For her final semester at Buffalo State this spring, she landed an internship at PBS affiliate WNED-TV and recently learned she was nominated for both the President’s Medal for Outstanding Undergraduate Student and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.

Leamon attributes her success to the steadfast support of her family and the guidance and backing she’s received from faculty members in the media production program.

“Every project I’ve gotten involved in, every club I’ve joined, they’ve responded with, ‘You rock. You can do this. We’re so glad to have you here,’” Leamon said. “Their support has meant the world to me. It’s helped me to become more confident in myself and my abilities.”