Communication/Journalism Alumni
Steven McGinnis (Class of 1993)
StevenMcGinnis chose Shippensburg University for its strong communications/journalism curriculum and the welcoming campus radio station WSYC. When he heard that WSYC allowed freshmen students to host their own radio shows, he signed up immediately. During his involvement in WSYC, McGinnis acted as General Manager, Program Director, Music Director, and host of an alternative rock show as well as WSYC's first hip-hop mix show for which he was recognized by the Office of Minority Student Affairs. He was also a writer for SU's student-run newspaper, The Slate, and worked in stage crew for many student theatre productions at the university.
McGinnis graduated from SU in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in communications/journalism. His Shippensburg education has given him the opportunity to host radio morning shows at several stations in major markets including WDRE Philadelphia, "The Zone" in Dallas and "The Edge" in Detroit. He is currently a morning show host at Channel 955 in Detroit and goes by the name "Spike" that he first used as a freshman on WSYC. Since the creation of his "Mojo In The Morning Show" seven years ago, Spike's show has gone from #14 to #1 in the Arbitron ratings. The show has broadcast from the Olympics, Grammy Awards and around the world as he has interviewed Hollywood icons, world figures, and even President George W. Bush. Currently, Spike lives in the Detroit suburbs with his wife Kris, also a communication/journalism alumnus from SU. In his spare time, Spike is a photographer, music buff and expert on the Disney Channel ... thanks to his two daughters.
Megan Walde Manlove (Class of 1997):
Megan Walde Manlove received her Bachelor of Arts degree in communication/journalism from Shippensburg University, then continued her education at the University of Alabama where she taught media writing to undergraduate students while earning a master's in journalism. Newspaper career highlights include covering news from three of Alabama's major universities, all of which had robust science programs including agriculture, engineering, health and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Megan also covered the following stories: an eight-day assignment to the Badlands of North Dakota, following the quest of a university archaeology team searching for bones with evidence of dinosaur DNA; a two-hour flight in a refurbished B-24 bomber with a man who'd flown the bird as a tail gunner during WWII; a week-long writing seminar at the Poynter Institute in Tampa for which she was selected from a national candidate pool; and being awarded the U.S. Army's Outstanding Civilian Service Medal for coverage of the repatriation of a Vietnam solider's remains after he'd been MIA for 29 years.
In 2005, after a 10-day stint in New Orleans reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for the newspaper and a decade as a reporter, Megan took an opportunity to switch careers. As a specialist for science communications and marketing at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, she now fills multiple roles. She is alternately responsible for translating amazing but technical scientific discoveries into meaningful lay language, managing the production of promotional publications, promoting medical student honors and events, and coordinating advertising for clinical trial recruitment. In her spare time, Megan enjoys hiking with her husband, her son Christopher, and their dog Molly. She also enjoys spending time with their two cats, reading, photography and watching movies.