The campus culture that UWM fosters leaves a lasting impression on students, so much so that many graduates may not want to leave. For alum Elora Hennessey (BFA 2017, Art), she didn’t need to. Hennessey has been a Staff Photographer for UWM’s Division of Marketing, Communications, and University Relations (MarComm) since graduating.
What goes into campus photography
Hennessey began working for UWM in 2016 as a student intern for MarComm. She was recommended by Joseph Mougel (Associate Professor and Area Head, Photography & Imaging), who helped her apply for the internship and eventual full-time role.
Staying in the UWM world has been consistently fulfilling.
“I love this community,” said Hennessey. “I was so supported, and a lot of people gave effort and time to me… Not a lot of places are you supported the way that I feel I am here… Why would I want to leave that?”
Shooting campus photography is a varied role, as she is tasked to shoot a range of things depending on what is happening on campus. For Hennessey, this is part of what makes her role exciting.
“As a university photographer, my role really varies,” said Hennessey. “I can be doing headshots for staff and faculty then photographing research, which is one of my favorites. I also photograph just beautiful campus, campus life, events—it’s different all the time.”
Preparations from PSOA
Being prepared to shoot a variety of subjects is a skill that Hennessey developed during her time as a PSOA student. Specifically, she feels that her time at the Peck School helped teach her how to be a storyteller with her photography.
“The fact I got to do more storytelling as a photo student led me to do well in my job here because instead of just covering it, I like to dive deeper, and I think that shows in my photographs,” said Hennessey.
According to Hennessey, storytelling in photography is all about knowing your subject.
“I personally love to get to know our students on campus,” said Hennessey. “I’ll find out stories about them just from talking… It takes just not me just coming into the space but asking them what feels the most exciting part to them… It’s a collaboration between me and the subject.”
While Hennessey was focused on photography as a student, she also took art classes in fibers, metalsmithing and more.
Throughout her education, Hennessey felt supported by the PSOA faculty and staff, which created a lasting and positive influence.
“I loved when I was a student here,” said Hennessey. “The faculty are so passionate, so supportive of their students, and it definitely led me to be ready for this job.”
Story by Jason McCullum ’25 | Video by Cameron Wise ’26 (BFA Film)