Michael Kornegay had not planned to attend Southern Arkansas University, but a visit to the campus took him by surprise.
“From the moment I stepped on campus, I loved it,” Kornegay said. “The people were nice, the campus was beautiful and it felt like home to me.”
Initially, Kornegay, a band student at Lake Hamilton High School in Hot Springs, was drawn to the music program with a degree in music education on his mind, but once he discovered the digital cinema program, his plans changed and he didn’t look back.
“The digital cinema was the closest thing to broadcasting that SAU had to offer, so I gave it a try. After being in the major and learning a lot about it, I have fallen in love with film,” he said.
As a child, Kornegay watched TV and news casts with his family. He found the programs fascinating.
“I always wanted to do that or have some part in doing it, but never gave it any thought until I experienced the process in college,” said Kornegay.
Marek Dojs, assistant professor of Mass Communication and Digital Cinema, has served as quite the mentor to students in the program. Kornegay is no exception.
“He cares about his students and he wants to see them make it in the real world,” he said. “He is always there when we need him.”
An opportunity to intern at Channel 7 in Little Rock made him realize even more his desire to work in communications, in the news industry or in some form of media even more so than filmmaking.
He gained valuable experience and made connections that would network him to opportunities on his chosen path. He returned to work as assistant to SAU Communications Director Aaron Street during the 2012 fall semester, contributing his filmmaking skills to creating feature promotional videos for SAU.
Together, the two brainstormed and feverishly worked with students, teams, faculty and staff to compile in two weeks a funny “Gangnam Style” parody video they called “Mulerider Style.” Their efforts didn’t go unnoticed. “Mulerider Style” went viral, garnering more than 43,000 YouTube views in a matter of weeks. In January, the collaborative effort was awarded a gold and “Best in Show” by the Service Industry Advertising Awards. The video was picked above 2,000 other entries from larger universities, corporations and national ad agencies.
“That has to be one of my high points at SAU,” said Kornegay. “But, my most proud moment would have to be when I received SAU’s Freshman of the Year Award in 2008. There were a lot of people involved throughout my freshman year that helped me to become the person I am today.”
Most notably, Kornegay said he remembers advice from Dustin Wolfe, the graduate assistant for the Greek organizations.
“He told me that I should always be myself and never to be someone I am not. I will always remember that,” he said.
During his time at SAU, Kornegay has been active in the Student Activities Board, Realife College Ministry, Residential Housing Association, Leadership Academy (leader), and BAM (leader).
He continues to make productions for the SAU Communication Department. His work at SAU has opened up new possibilities in his future.
“I am still passionate about the media in general, but I would love to be able to work promoting a business through video or working for a news station,” he said. “I think the digital cinema department really makes us do things on our own. It is kind of like a job in that we have to come up with ideas and make them happen,” said Kornegay. “(Marek) Dojs gives us the confidence that it can happen, so that we will be prepared for our future and know what it takes to make it happen.”
