The Life of KC
Self portraits at home in Iowa City on Wednesday, October 3, 2018.
KC McGinnis
KC McGinnis, professor of practice in the Communication Department has only been working at Grand View University for a little over a year and a half. McGinnis has freelanced for well-known companies like National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Politico and many more. After graduating with a journalism degree, he found an entry-level job for a nonprofit organization, although he knew it did not quite fit in with his recent diploma. McGinnis still enjoyed photojournalism, and once he felt comfortable and steady enough at his new job, he started his freelancing career. His first freelancing gig was for the local newspaper in Iowa City, where he lived at the time, starting with a few weekends photographing the local football games and community events.
After a few starter jobs for his freelancing hobby, McGinnis decided to take his freelancing a little farther. He started pitching to regional and national publications, anywhere that wrote stories McGinnis found himself interested in. For example, McGinnis had a story idea for the New York Times and reached out through a friend of his who works there. After NYT worked with him on this pitch, he ended up getting more work from the newspaper. One after another, McGinnis kept pitching his ideas and his work to big-name companies. He was considered a full-time freelancer.
Storm Lake, Iowa – June 12, 2020: Francisco Gonzalez Vasquez pitches while the Storm Lake St. Mary’s high school baseball team practices at Memorial Park in Storm Lake, Iowa on June 12, 2020. Iowa was the first state in the U.S. to re-open sanctioned high school sports since the coronavirus pandemic shut down most sports in March, with baseball and softball practices starting on June 1 ahead of a June 15 season opener. 
Storm Lake, Iowa – June 12, 2020: The Storm Lake St. Mary’s high school baseball team practices at Memorial Park in Storm Lake, Iowa on June 12, 2020. Iowa was the first state in the U.S. to re-open sanctioned high school sports since the coronavirus pandemic shut down most sports in March, with baseball and softball practices starting on June 1 ahead of a June 15 season opener. 
Storm Lake, Iowa – June 12, 2020: Francisco Gonzalez Vasquez poses for a portrait after the Storm Lake St. Mary’s high school baseball team practiced as Memorial Park in Storm Lake, Iowa on June 12, 2020. Iowa was the first state in the U.S. to re-open sanctioned high school sports since the coronavirus pandemic shut down most sports in March, with baseball and softball practices starting on June 1 ahead of a June 15 season opener. 
Keaton Cornish of Des Moines, Iowa, Jan and Dave Pope of Grinnell, Iowa and Jamie Cornish of Des Moines eat the popular crab rangoon pizza at Fong’s Pizza in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, January 18, 2020. KC McGinnis for Buzzfeed News 
Downed trees and debris illustrate the damage at Riverside Cemetery in Marshalltown, Iowa on Tuesday, August 25, 2020. Marshalltown resident Pamela Dennen’s husband, Kyle Brown, died from complications of COVID-19 on April 29 and is buried at the cemetery. Dennen visited her husband’s grave at the cemetery frequently until a derecho storm caused massive destruction at the cemetery, forcing it to close until further notice. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The Wall Street Journal. WORSTDAY__IOWA 
Color gradations in Mark Guy’s field outside Iowa Falls, Iowa on Friday, August 28, 2020 illustrate how a hybrid corn seed grows in soil near a runoff stream. The farmer uses Farmers Business Network’s data analysis to identify parts of his field where hybrid seed will grow best. The Bay Area-based startup has built an Amazon-like online marketplace for agricultural supplies like seeds and herbicide sprays. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The Wall Street Journal. FARMTECH 
Cindy Spellberg of Granger, Iowa casts her vote on election day in Granger, Iowa on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. 
Melanie Weatherall waves a flag and holds a sign in support of former Vice President Joe Biden on election night in Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. 
Joe Biden and Jill Biden wave to crowds during a campaign event at Hiatt Middle School in Des Moines, Iowa on Sunday, February 2, 2020. KC McGinnis for Politico
Photos by: KC McGinnis
McGinnis had a successful career in freelancing, but that was not his dream job. He always had a huge heart for students, so when a teaching position at GV was offered to him, it was almost too perfect. McGinnis immediately said yes to the offer. His reasons were that GV is local, the school has a good reputation and he has family nearby. His teaching skills were easy to apply, and he tended to connect to the students more than most professors. McGinnis said he believes that his recent background in freelancing helps him relate to his students more.
“One of the things that stood out about KC during his hiring stage was his teaching skills because he was really good at bringing what he does professionally into the classroom, and he was able to teach visual storytelling and consistently produce in the field,” said Dayne Logan, Communication Department chair at GV.
Since his students know about McGinnis’ success in photo and video production, they relate and trust his teaching process.
“I like how he goes step by step when he’s teaching new material to his students,” said Donminic Goosby, a communications student at GV. “What makes him a good professor in my eyes is he always asks if anyone needs help or if anyone is struggling. KC backtracks and helps his students no matter what; not a lot of professors do that for students especially if it affects class time.”
“I believe that every one of my students has the ability to work for well-known companies much like I have”
KC McGinnis
One of the classes McGinnis teaches is Basic Digital Photography. In this class, he teaches all the small steps it takes to create a phenomenal photo. One of his recent freelancing jobs showed how important photography is. McGinnis was offered a job for the Washington Post to cover the derecho that Iowans experienced last year. This story was important to McGinnis because it had to do with helping people, much like his teaching job. McGinnis used his photography skills and helped spread the emotions the storm brought to thousands of Midwesterners. Serving the community is what McGinnis enjoys most. Being able to help his community through spreading viral news stories, sharing wonderful photos and writing inspirational and information pieces was what he savored.
“I believe that every one of my students has the ability to work for well-known companies much like I have,” McGinnis said. “I believe that students are more than capable of making a career out of photography, journalism and video production.”
For Goosby, McGinnis definitely reaches Grand View students’ teaching expectations and makes the university worth the time and money.
“I would recommend taking Professor KC classes to any student, especially if the students are media communications majors,” Goosby said.
Leave a comment