IMC Hawks Blog

By: Jaci Grachen

Before coming to college, I did not have any plans to major in Communication Studies. My mind was set on graphic design which meant that I would be sticking with Digital Arts as my major. However, the more I got into the major the more I realized that it wasn’t for me, and I needed something with less tech and more people. Digital Arts were some graphic design, but a lot of coding and computer skills. Communication Studies, and more specifically the IMC track, gave me the chance to learn how design and communication became integrated into the marketing industry. I found that this is what I had been looking for all along. There were plenty of chances for me to sharpen my design skills for the work world and improve the interpersonal skills that would help me in the workplace.

Favorite Course

            To this day, my favorite class within the IMC track record was COM 334 IMC: Message Design. This course had a huge focus on the creation of a BIG, Brand Identity Guide. This involved all aspects of branding, from dreaming up the premise of a brand, choosing the colors, and designing the logo, we did it all. Within the semester-long design project, the professor integrated different types of message design, hence the name. We created social media posts, advertisements, and even a website to promote the brand that we were developing. Although all the work we did was not for a real client, we developed and strengthened skills that we will use in the marketing world, if that is where we choose to go.

            I greatly appreciate that I was able to finish the class with a product in my hands that I felt confident showing to future employers. This is one of the best qualities of the IMC track in Communication Studies. Most classes will allow you to sharpen a few very specific skills, implement them into a project, and then end with a final product that is close to a professional level. Granted, the quality of the final product is dependent on the work ethic and skills of the student, but the professors provide the opportunity and leave it up to the student to take advantage of it or not!

Development of Workplace Skills

            This leads me to another point about the IMC route. This major, and this concentration specifically, has helped me develop the skills that many employers include in their job postings. As a soon-to-be graduate, I often cannot meet the “experience required” category that many employers want. Time and time again I see the want for a candidate with 3+ years of experience in the industry. This is something that many new graduates cannot meet because they simply have not had the ability to gain that much experience yet. Full-time students can’t graduate with years of experience in an industry because they have been in the process of learning about that industry so that they can work in it one day. However, the IMC concentration has equipped me with skills like proficiency in the Adobe Suite and Hootsuite certification which I can market to future employers to make up for the lack of years of experience. Having these skills allows students to market themselves as a competitive candidate to future employers.

            Thanks to the IMC concentration in Communication Studies, I am able to confidently say that I feel prepared for whatever job I land after graduation. The IMC track offers students the opportunity to explore all aspects of today’s marketing industry, and appropriately prepares them to leave the academic world and enter the work world.

By: Gabe Thomas

When I started my college career in the fall of 2018, I was unsure of what I wanted my major to be. After taking the time to go through every possible career choice that interested me, I narrowed down my possible majors to communication studies and business. When I looked through the possible courses I could take through UNCW’s Communication Studies department, I was excited by the opportunities available. Four years later, I am incredibly grateful for the decision I made then, and have learned so much along the way. As I reflect on my experience at UNCW, there are three main factors that contributed to a positive experience.

Variety of Skills

First was the range of options offered to students in the program. As I freshman I entered school knowing that I was interested in sales or marketing as a career, but that was the extent of my hopes for my professional future. Communication studies allowed me to take a variety of classes that allowed me to broaden my understanding of the professional workplace, and later narrow my focus on a more specific career path. Taking classes such as strategic writing grew my skills in writing with a target audience in mind, while classes I took in integrated marketing taught me how to build a brand, understand your message, and develop campaigns.

            Skills that I learned through the courses I have taken are much more than learning “how to communicate,” and have expanded my understanding of many facets of business and the workplace. I am not only more prepared for the workplace now than I was before college, but am also confident that the information I have learned will be of practical use to me in my future career.

Unique Coursework

Another factor that led to a great experience through communication studies was the class structure of most of my courses. I have many years of experience from an early age through high school and into college to know that I do not thrive when taking exams. Not only have I always been slow to complete standardized tests, but I learn less when I am studying simply to pass an exam. While I did not manage to fully escape tests throughout my time at UNCW, most of the classes that I took during my college career gave me many other ways to weigh my grade that suited me much better. In most of my classes, I was graded on assignments with team members, presentations within the class, and writing assignments. All of which will better prepare me for future jobs.

Learning…Not just about COM Studies

            The last factor that led to a positive experience as a UNCW COM student was the freedom to take classes outside of the department. I know is a slight juxtaposition, but because of this, I was excited about my learning through taking classes that I was curious about and interested in. Communication studies have fewer credits required to complete the major than some other majors, and therefore to complete my credit hour requirements for the university I was able to fulfill them through a range of interesting classes. Compared to many of my friends in different majors that spent all four years taking classes that were all related, I was able to study many different topics such as concepts in film, the theory, and practice of hip hop, religion classes, and much more that kept me inspired about the experience of learning.

            This ability to take courses outside of COM also led to me minoring in leadership studies. I took Leadership 211 as an elective course during my junior year and was blown away by the professor, and my understanding and growth of myself as a leader. Because of the flexibility I had in my major I was able to dive further into this subject and ended up completing my minor, which I could not have done otherwise.

            As I finish up my last semester at UNCW, I can say without a doubt that I have no regrets about becoming a communication studies major. The courses I have taken gave me practical experience in the workplace, kept me excited about learning, and presented me with opportunities that were both challenging and rewarding. I am eager to begin a new part of my professional life and I am forever grateful to UNCW for the many amazing experiences.

By: Jaime Mull

I’m graduating college in less than two months. It doesn’t feel real.

To say it has been a difficult, but exciting, four years at UNCW is an understatement. Being in college during two major hurricanes and a pandemic hasn’t been easy in the slightest. Regardless of the challenges I’ve faced, it has also been the best four years of my life. I’ve learned so much about myself in my time at UNCW, and I feel like I’ve become a better person along the way. College is one of the most unique experiences and it truly forces you to leap headfirst out of your comfort zone.

Here is a breakdown of my last four years at UNCW, and how what I’ve been through has helped me grow into the person I am now.

Freshman Year

Your 18th birthday is supposed to be an exciting day, signifying your transition into adulthood, and yet it was one of the saddest days of my life. I started my freshman year at UNCW in August of 2018. The day I moved into the suites, an on-campus dormitory that had 10 single bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, was my 18th birthday. I had never left my family for more than a weekend, and I was suddenly being thrown into this new home where I knew practically no one. I remember going to Mellow Mushroom for lunch with my family and before we even got our pizza, I broke down into tears. I had this overwhelming feeling of homesickness, and my family hadn’t even left yet. I was homesick for the next few weeks, calling my mom every day and already planning my next visit home. Lucky for me, I got my wish less than a month after moving in.

Hurricane Florence landed in North Carolina on September 14th, 2018. UNCW issued a voluntary evacuation only a few days prior, and I was already back at home before the hurricane hit. Classes were canceled for the time being, and I remember thinking I would be gone for a week at the most. One month later, I was still at home. It was so strange to have just moved into my new home and have to make new friends, only to have it ripped away in just a few weeks. I felt like I was back at square one, having lost all the progress I had made at school. Little did I know, this wasn’t the worst thing that would happen in my time at UNCW, and it was only the beginning.

Sophomore Year

My freshman year went pretty smoothly after that. I made friends with my suitemates, did pretty well in my classes, and got a job working at a student-living apartment complex. Florence definitely set me back, but I made it back okay and with little to no damage. I became close with two of my suitemates, and we decided to live together at the apartments I worked at in my sophomore year. Another hurricane, Hurricane Dorian, hit almost a year after Florence, but it was much less severe and this time I was only home for a week.

The real storm hit in March of 2020 with Covid-19. Classes were all moved online, and I lost my job at the apartment complex in April. Honestly, I was just really scared and had no idea what the future held at that moment. I remember watching the movie Contagion with my roommate when news of Covid-19 started spreading and looking back on it now two years later, it’s scary how similar the movie has become to our reality.

Junior Year

My third year at UNCW was pretty unremarkable, to tell you the truth. I got a new job, and just before my first day of work, I tested positive for Covid-19 for the first time. I had about all of the symptoms you could possibly have, but luckily, I fully recovered.

Up until this point, classes hadn’t been too difficult, and I had been mostly taking gen-ed’s and pre-COM classes. During junior year, I fully enrolled as a Communication Studies major and began taking more advanced classes, like Rhetorical Theory. I had also already begun taking courses to complete my journalism minor, which was really exciting. I had courses with some of my favorite professors at UNCW during my sophomore and junior year, and most were in the Journalism and English department.

I was beginning to really enjoy my time at UNCW. Of course, I had been enjoying it for the past two years as well, but once you start getting into the classes that you’re really interested in, college becomes a whole new level of excitement. Getting to take multiple classes with some of your favorite professors and learning from people who really enjoy teaching is something I began to appreciate and not take for granted.

Senior Year

And just like that, it was senior year. For the past three years, college felt like it was never going to end. I’m sure a lot of college students feel the same way, but I think it’s because you don’t really want to accept that you’re going to have to finish at some point. Now that I’m in my last year, the fact that I’m going to be graduating and moving to a different city in just a few months is hitting me like a truck.

I’ve met so many amazing people during my time at UNCW. I’ve taken really fun, interesting classes, and also some classes that maybe weren’t for me, but that’s just all part of the experience. College is a time for you to try new things and branch out of your comfort zone, even if there were a lot of rough patches along the way. At least I can say I’ve grown, mentally and emotionally, since the day I moved in four years ago.

By: Julia Dolinshek

Some may say that college is the best four years of your life, and others may argue that it is the most confusing and chaotic. As a senior in college, I have experienced a little bit of both.

A Fresh and Exciting New Beginning

Coming into college, I was excited, optimistic about the future, and eager. As time goes on throughout these four years, challenges are to come. Burnout is expected, as well as unexpected events. Pushing through college as a UNCW COM student has been one of the best experiences I have had so far.

As a freshman in college, I was unsure of specifics when it came to college, but I always knew I wanted to attend. Education was important to me and the future that I dreamed of. Beginning with the basic classes, I had many ideas circulating around my mind as to what path I wanted to go down. Experimenting with different courses helped lead me to the major I chose: Communication Studies.

The Possibilities of Communication Studies

When I decided to take the beginner COM course, I was unsure of the opportunities and experiences that a major in COM could provide for me. I learned that COM can be useful in many career paths, including marketing. Marketing and social media advertising have always sparked my interest. As I grew in my major and began to take higher-level courses, I was able to gain knowledge and skills from the Integrated Marketing Communication courses that were offered. I obtained so many helpful lessons such as how to reach your intended target audience, design skills, writing skills, and how to market throughout social media platforms. These skills have been extremely useful throughout my marketing internship, and the current job I hold now. The education I was provided will also smoothly guide me through any future jobs I will hold.

Expect The Unexpected

I feel greatly prepared for my future after graduation with the education that I have received. It hasn’t always been an easy journey, though. Unexpected events should always be expected. The COVID-19 pandemic is something I never thought I would have to experience. For it to happen during my college career made it even more difficult. I was a sophomore when the pandemic struck, and I was unsure of what the future would hold. Online classes were put into place, which was a new experience for me after having the majority of my classes held on campus. UNCW and the COM department as a whole took great precautions and steps in order to keep students safe as well as get them the best education they possibly could have received. Classes were held via Zoom, but I still felt a sense of community and togetherness throughout the whole experience. The COM professors made it easy and worked around difficult circumstances. They were there for the students who needed extra assistance to be successful. We were still able to work as teams and collaborate effectively. I believe that everyone worked strongly as a team in order for us to get to the point we are at now. Without the motivation and drive from my professors and fellow classmates within the COM department, I wouldn’t have made it successfully. Although attending college during a pandemic isn’t an ideal option for most, UNCW made it possible for me to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Get Involved and Make the Most of it

For any pre-COM or current COM students reading, I encourage you to make the most out of your major. There are various opportunities and ways to get involved within the Communication Studies program.  The opportunities provided will not only assist your future self but will also allow you to experience and grow with many other students who are in the same position as you. UNCW is a great place to be and also a great place to learn.

These four years will go by fast, and then onto the real world. College is a time to experience new things, express yourself, and make an impact. Although I am sad to see this chapter of life come to an end, I am hopeful and excited for the future. Make the most of your time, take advantage of the countless opportunities and assistance, and have fun! I am grateful and thankful to have made it through this far, and I couldn’t have done it alone. Congrats to the class of 2022!