ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY — In honor of Women’s History Month, RMU Sentry Media sat down with sophomore Gabriella Rankin to talk about her experiences at Sentry Media.

Gabriella Rankin has been a part of Sentry for two years. She is currently the multimedia director and station manager of RMU-TV.

Rankin has fond memories of her first sentry retreat meeting new people as a freshman. She remembers playing capture the flag and world cup at the retreat, noting the team effort and encouragement from others from the very beginning.

“These are all amazingly talented, yet incredibly goofy people, just wanting to motivate you to continue doing great things,” Rankin said.

Rankin’s most memorable project is working as the floor director for the 2020 SCJ Election Night broadcast. She remembers keeping up to date with everything and helping out whenever possible. She was also open to any input on articles, photos, or videos.

Working on election night and other projects have helped Rankin reach out to people as she felt supported by other women in Sentry Media. While she was quieter in high school and did not reach out to many people, she found a support system in college. Rankin describes her time in sentry as a “welcoming environment,” where everyone is willing to help each other.

“Everyone is okay with you not being normal, and that’s the best thing,” Rankin said.

“It was a little difficult in the beginning because it is a male populated [campus], but even the most egotistical men here, especially in Sentry, they’re all still acceptable as long as you work hard and do what you need to do,” Rankin said. “If you’re a powerful woman, they’ll accept that.”

Besides being the multimedia director, Rankin’s life outside of Sentry can get stressful. She is a delivery driver for Joe and Pie Pizza, a teacher’s assistant for a Multicam class, and a studio technician for RMU-TV.

Music and art keep her motivated despite her heavy workload, while her biggest inspiration is her grandmother.

“She’s worked all of her life to make a better life for her kids and grandkids,” Rankin said. “That’s truly all that I want to do is help and care for people.”

After college, Rankin hopes to work at a photography job for a magazine. She is interested in nature photography, portraits and has recently been trying out food photography.

“My endgame is to travel the world while doing nature photography while having a portrait studio back home,” Rankin said. “Photography since the invention of the camera has been a male-dominated field. [My advice for women] is to get out there… always work towards your best aspirations.”

To view Rankin’s photography, visit her Instagram @changing_colors_photography.