The Candor

Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Matt Libs Seely teaching his TV Production class.

Every weekday, hundreds of students pass through the corridors of the Kindlon Hall of Learning. While on their way to class, the attention of many students seems to be diverted to the flat screen TVs mounted on the walls. With the school news program "Eye of the Eagle" playing, many students are able to see some of their fellow classmates being reporters and may begin to wonder who is in charge of such a task.

The success of the school TV station comes down to one man, Mr. Peter Seely. Without him, BEN News and the "Question of the Month" would be non-existent.

Seely is an alumnus of the University of Illinois-Chicago. He received two undergraduate degrees in Communications and Political Science; and a master's degree in Communications.

Throughout Seely's years at UIC, he was interested in the radio broadcasting aspect of the Communications department because he had some prior radio experience in high school.
However, by his senior year of undergraduate, he had a new interest spark in him. The TV production area had opened up a whole new form of expression for Seely.

After getting his degrees from UIC, Seely taught at Western Illinois University, Chicago State University and Northeastern Illinois University all prior to coming to teach at Benedictine.
Seely is currently teaching his 26th year at BU and has been the Communications Department Head for eleven consecutive years.

Seely teaches many of the required Communications classes such as TV Production, Advanced TV Production and Mass Media Law and Ethics.

"I am very fortunate in that I love all the classes I teach," Seely said. "I enjoy teaching the TV classes because it's fun to watch talents blossom, and it's a rush to do live productions. But Mass Media Law and Ethics is my absolute favorite because it challenges and fascinates me," said Seely.

As a part of the TV and Advanced TV Production classes, students assist Seely in filming "Eye of the Eagle" once every month. The main basis of "Eye of the Eagle" is to update the students and staff with what has been happening the past month at BU. Members of the class film stand-up interviews with different students, staff members, athletes and coaches; while other members help out in the studio to anchor the news or edit the final product.

"I love working with one student who is primarily in charge of pulling it together, because it allows me to work one-on-one with someone who is highly motivated to learn," said Seely. "I like seeing contributions from students who never thought before of producing a segment for a TV show. And I love seeing the finished product up on the screen."

Being at BU for many years has brought Seely countless memories. He mentioned that his favorite memory from BU did not happen on campus, but consisted of two of his former students. In 2007, two alumni from one of his TV Production classes asked him to perform their marriage ceremony. Another one of Seely's favorite things to do is to reconnect over the years with some of his favorite alumni.

After hours of hard work, planning, filming and editing, Seely is the brains behind every "Eye of the Eagle" seen on screen. Without him, the hallways of Kindlon would be a lot less exciting.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools