While 4.5 million people bear the distinctive honor of a PhD, Dr. Joe Dennis shines through the masses with his iconic fedora, which you can often see him sporting and the many hats that lie underneath.
“I always wondered what I’d look like in a fedora and of course the person who was working the booth said, you would look great in a fedora,” Dennis said, recalling the day he bought his first fedora when he met a hat vendor on the streets of New York City.
Dennis currently works at Piedmont University as a professor and chair of mass communications, where he has helped build up the program from 30 students to over 60 students. During the summers, Dennis stays busy though, working at UGA as a journalism camp instructor and teacher to the future journalists of America. However, college isn’t where Joe’s various hats begin to show. His hats come from various events and connections he has made through his life. From the baseball helmet he wears, to the salakot which reveals his Filipino identity and even the hat of radio, his headphones, Joe Dennis wears many hats.
Nowadays, his students know him for the frequent reminders that “girls are players too,” but in the past he was known for his iconic radio voice. Working for Rock 103.7 in Athens, Dennis said, “I did radio full-time and it was the most fun I’ve ever had at a job… and it was also the lowest I ever got paid.”
The now-closed radio station holds very fond memories for him, but he unfortunately had to step away due to the needs of his family. He doesn’t regret making the switch back as a journalist though, adding that “I look back and I’ve done everything I’ve ever wanted to do, maybe not at the level, like I wanted to be the next Howard Stern. I wasn’t there, but I got to live my dream and do radio.”
However, the time spent in journalism wasn’t easy for Dennis. When starting, he worked for a smaller publication which was “relying on the community that you are covering. You know those people — the mayors, the congressman, and the politicians you talk to — who also own the auto dealer and the grocery store that advertise in your publication. There’s a balance there that as a young journalist, I didn’t understand”.
Joe struggled between trying to hold his journalistic integrity and holding on to a necessary job. Writing stories that got to the center of the issues, due to the connections in his community, he was at times turned away by his publisher for exposing the same people who were “the biggest advertisers we have.”
At the time, Dennis said this was extremely hard but as he has grown older he understands.“It’s sad but I get it, that’s the business.”
Shifting to the non-business part of his career, Dennis and his wife have a great love for the show Parks and Recreation. Dennis said one of the highlights of his life happened at the Peabody Awards in 2012, Parks and Recreation won an award. After the Awards, Amy Poehler, an actress who he stated he “had such a crush on,” saw him taking pictures and asked if he was a photographer. He responded with a nervous “Yeah,” to which Poehler dragged him through the green room to take a picture for her. After taking the picture for her, she began to hand him a business card and he thought “Oh my God, I’m about to get Amy Poehler’s number,” but unfortunately she said 6 fatal words. “Send those pictures to my publicist.”
In Ancient times, civilizations settled near water as it was not only the roots of their plants, but also of their life. Without the water to survive, danger could easily creep up onto the people and cause the destruction of their lifestyle as they know it. However, to Joe Dennis, his water is White Sox baseball. Growing up “5 minutes from the stadium,” Dennis found the choice of being a White Sox fan easy, even when his team struggled or players became injured. Since he grew up a fan, Dennis found it “natural that when my sons were born, I kinda raised them as White Sox fans,”
This bond extended through just watching the game, as Dennis has watched as his sons played baseball both from the stands as their loyal fan and from the dugout as the loving coach. Even though his oldest son has moved out now and life is busy, Dennis stated that baseball is “just something that’s kind of at the root of our bond together.” Through separation and hard times, he and his sons have found comfort in America’s pastime. It isn’t just a game but “such a big entity that bonds me with all my boys.”
Even with the various hats buried under his fedora, Joe Dennis finds a way to show himself in all the best ways everyday. He continues to bring joy to his students within and outside of the confines of a classroom.
Rock Star Writers Blog 