IMC Hawks Blog

Category: UNCW

  • And Just Like That… It Is Over

    Nine days. Nine days until I graduate from the Department of Communication Studies. Nine days until I graduate from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Nine days.

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    Two years ago I transferred to the University of North Carolina Wilmington and felt like a lost puppy. I started my collegiate experience at a tiny college in the mountains of North Carolina that had max 700 students. When I stepped foot onto the campus here I felt overwhelmed and out-of-place. For the first week of classes I carried a campus map around with me. Yes, I was that person. Now, you cannot get me to leave campus. I clock in close to twelve-hour days almost every day and would not have it any other way. This campus and most importantly, this department, have become a part of me.

    When I first decided to become a COM major I missed the deadline to register for COM 105 so I decided to write 44898_4007609985004_1192673791_nmy appeal so I could receive an over-ride into the class. I thought that I followed all of Dr. Weber’s strict guidelines but made the one mistake that no COM major should ever make… I wrote ‘Communications Studies’. It was social suicide. Needless to say, I received a very detailed response from Dr. Weber explaining why I would not be getting into the class and how I need to do more research before I claim I want to be a part of this department. Today, I have taken a class with Dr. Weber every semester since taking COM 105 (after I got registered the next semester), completed a DIS (Direct Independent Study) with him and just received the Undergraduate Research Award from him. It is funny how everything comes full circle!

    Not only have I thrived within the department but outside of it as well. This past summer I had the experience of a lifetime. I was offered a position as one of twenty-five interns at the 2012 Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and I was fortunate enough to have the support of my professors Dr. Weber and Dr. Persuit. These professors shared the excitement with me and kept up with me throughout my time up in Pennsylvania, although I am sure Dr. Persuit would have preferred me to have been at the Steelers Training Camp. For a month I was immersed in the culture of the Northeast, the land of WaWa gas stations, where pizzas are called pies, subs are hoagies and people stared at me when I would say “holy cow!” I got to see first hand the behind the scenes process of a professional sports team. The level of organization was amazing and pushed me to work as hard as I possibly could.

    Training Camp was held at Lehigh University and we were involved in every aspect of it. We started our journey together by completely setting up camp prior to the arrival of the rookie players. Once rookies arrived we had close to fourteen hour days. We started our days around 5:45am, worked morning practice, had a lunch break, worked afternoon practice and then were able to leave once everything was broken down and all players were back in the locker room. Veterans arrived a week after the rookies and I was so thankful for their arrival at camp because that meant filet mignon and lobster tails in the dining hall! I could singly handedly write this entire blog on the food I ate at training camp but will end this little tid bit with your mouth watering as you think about the jumbo shrimp, king crab legs, and monsterous lobster tails that we consumed daily. Hungry yet?

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    Because of my strong communication skills my boss put me at the Welcome Tent for the afternoon practice. The afternoon practice was the busiest because it was full pads for two plus hours every day. Training Camp drew in close to 7,000 fans daily and I was the first person they came in contact with upon their arrival. My job was to be in constant contact with my boss over the radio, make the fans feel welcome and get them excited about being at camp.

    When I came back to “civilian life” as I called it, I felt like a changed person. All of my COM classes prepared me for that experience. I utilized my interpersonal and small group skills but also conflict resolution because some fans were not so friendly. I know, hard to believe for Philadelphia fans. After interning with the Eagles I am a much more confident communicator and know what it takes to complete tasks and complete them well. This experience has opened up a whole new world for me. My professors have a strong level of trust in me. I have been fortunate enough to represent the department while meeting Provost Battles, help with media training and be a part of an amazing DIS project.

    Although entering the ‘real world’ is nerve-wracking, I feel 100% prepared for this next step. I will be a temporary employee in the Seahawk Sports Marketing Department here at UNCW and feel fortunate to have such a wonderful job with wonderful bosses.

    To wrap things up my advice to all of you is to embrace everything this major has to offer. You never know what direction it can take you and it is up to you to make the most of it. Two years ago I would have never imagined that I would be the person I am today. Thank you to all of my family, friends and professors who have helped to mold me into a strong and confident individual. I look forward to hearing what great things everyone comes to accomplish and staying in touch with the professors who I can never thank enough for all they have done. Remember your Seahawk roots and Dare to Soar in everything you do.

    –Caroline Merrill

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  • Reframing Our Reality

    This week the Department of Communication Studies was lucky enough to host Dr. Jacob Storch. Dr. Storch is the Senior Director of the consulting firm Attractor. His practices range from different areas such as organizational communication, coaching, leadership development, and organizational change. Within his lecture he focused on the application of communication theory to real world organizational practices.

    Dr. Storch brought some interesting ideas to the COM Department. He emphasized the impact the language we use can have on our reality. Language is a fluid, ever developing system. By consciously choosing the way we label the world around us, we can purposely affect the situations that are presented to us. Dr. Storch gave an example of a choice he was faced with when the economy began to look bleak. His company wanted him to address the “recession” and he chose to speak about “re-session.” Instead of focusing on the challenging times ahead, Dr. Storch challenged his colleagues to “re-session.” He explained re-sessioning as thinking of the market in a new, open mindset. As consultants, he said, they should begin to prepare for new questions that clients will have in the face of an unpredictable market and anticipate the changes that may arise in client needs.

    As we continued to listen to Dr. Storch’s lecture we began to notice his infectious realistic optimism. His example was just one demonstration of the impact our language can have on our world. By reframing the way we talk about our reality, we can positively impact the messages we send via language. Gatorade is a strong example of how positive language can impact a brand’s narrative. By promoting ad campaigns with headlines like, “Win from Within” and “Everything to Prove,” Gatorade is motivating their consumers to push their limits and give it their all with a positive and inspiring message. Their word choice intentionally gives their consumers a vision of motivation and success. From their commercials to the labels on the bottles, they are re-framing what most people may see as challenges as opportunities to improve.

    Dr. Storch also made us think about how we are conditioned as students. Our education system conditions us to seek out patterns and follow the instructions explicitly given to us. Often we are so concerned with following the map we are given that we forget how to take a minute and observe the world around us. The problem with this is that businesses do not need someone who can follow all the instructions. As Dr. Storch pointed out, “imagination is much more important than certainty.” Businesses need someone who can critically analyze the world around them and envision the future in a way no one else has. No pressure. Seriously, though, as Dr. Storch stated, “there is no place for average in our end of the business world.”

    Thank you, Dr. Storch and Dr. Cronen!

    – Alexandra Huss, Caroline Merrill, Alyssa Morrello, Lauren Van Trigt, Dann Williams

  • The End is Near…

    That’s right folks… election day is just around the corner! After a long year of campaigns taking over commercials, social media, and highway grass, it is high time the winners are decided. The question is: do you know who you will be voting for? If you find yourself in need of some unbiased information on the election, check out this non-partisan voter resource created by UNCW’s Media and Politics class! UNCW Know Your Vote is intended to help voter’s like you get the facts without the spin. Information is available on both the presidential and North Carolina’s candidates for governor. Along with links to fact checkers, mainstream media sources, and political blogs! Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think!

    -Alexandra Huss

  • “Dare to Soar”

    Colleges and universities are places that can unify people from all over the world.  They have sports, clubs, fraternities and sororities, honor societies and many other groups and opportunities to unify the student body.  Another way schools have started to unify people is with words.

    This year will be the first year with Gary Miller as the chancellor of UNCW.  When he was inaugurated in early May 2011, Miller brought with him a new way of thinking and a new school slogan: “Dare to Soar.”  With this new slogan, Miller wanted to try to echo the school motto, which is “dare to learn,” and bring students together in hopes of achieving higher goals than were previously set.

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    Miller hopes that this new slogan will help build the UNCW brand.  The school already has a very solid brand because of its academic values and Miller hopes this new slogan will further better the brand name.  He hopes that this new slogan will show an aspiration to reach higher goals in the future and reflect the soaring growth of our school.

    As UNC Wilmington students, we noticed the attempt to unite the school and motivate the student body with words. There are many other schools which have created slogans that have utilized powerful words that were intended to convey specific messages to students, faculty, and the community surrounding these colleges. After the shootings at Virginia Tech, the school used the words “Together We Stand” to make sure that the students who had survived the horrific events could all unite to get through the tragedy.

    Some words have been associated with certain campuses for decades. Harvard University, for instance, has the word “veritas” written across the university arms. Originally, the phrase was long and dealt with the truth of Christ and the church. However, today the campus has changed the motto to simply mean “truth” and is a reminder of the morals and standards at Harvard.

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    Many campuses attempt to bring these powerful phrases onto their campus to motivate and unite their students. The question is, do these words always create the campus environment that they are trying to create? Are these words really powerful, or are they just trying to be powerful? How long will the students remember these slogans and mottos?

    – Zachary Abramo, Meaghan Beam, Jessica Butner, Jackson Lane

  • Time Flies Faster Then You Think

    Our three years here at UNCW has been a nonstop learning experience. We have not only gained knowledge in classes, but have also gained valuable and unforgettable life experiences. Laura transferred to UNCW after her freshman year and since she has been in Wilmington has had three very valuable internships. The key to getting a job in this market is to have experience in your field of interest and being able to effectively market yourself to potential employers. In our IMC 1 class we had an assignment where we had to market our personal brand and why we should be hired over our competitors. It is crucial to understand how and why your brand is better than the kids sitting next to you. It is not only important to know why your brand is the best, but you also need to understand how to market your experiences and internships to fit the qualities for your potential employer. Taking advantage of internship opportunities, especially for credit through the Department of Communication Studies, is a great idea for anyone and everyone. Without those experiences we would not be as prepared or as knowledgeable about our field of interest as we are now. So, when you’re thinking of what to do with all your time during the beautiful summer in Wilmington, think about taking an internship or think about how you can make your brand stand out among others.

    Another important piece of advice is to get involved on campus. Once you are a student, UNCW becomes your home away from home. The best way to find comfort is meeting and bonding with other students who are in your exact situation. UNCW has over 200 clubs and organizations for students to become involved in. The only hard decision you have to make is: which club should I join? Tennis, TealTV, Communication Studies Society, the choices are endless. The moral of the story is this: get involved on campus and make your presence known. You only have four years, which believe me, flies by in a blink of an eye. The friends you make in college become your friends for life. It is important to make your college journey memorable, exciting, and one that you can laugh about 40 years down the road reminiscing with your old college friends.

    Lastly, as a college student, one of the most important things you do is research. Whether it’s writing a report, putting together a presentation, or simply watching the news on TV to catch the latest events, you are gathering information to analyze. Some of this information will be forgotten shortly after graduation, if not before you even cross the stage to get your diploma. However, some information you have gathered through your college career will stick with you for a lifetime and will become helpful in future career situations.  Learning doesn’t just stop when you get your diploma. The research skills you learn to use as a student can be used for the rest of your life, as you strive to be an informed individual.

    So just remember, time flies. Before you know it you will be walking across the stage to receive your diploma.  Don’t just be a beach bum, at least, not all the time. Do something that will show your future employers that you did something with your short time here to make a difference.

    -Laura Simmons, Brooke Keller, Ashley Oliver

  • Filter Your Way To A Greener Earth


    “What do you want for dinner honey, how about plastic?” This may seem like a ridiculous statement, but it’s one that needs to be taken seriously. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a large island in the Pacific Ocean that is full of tires, plastic, nets, and lots and lots of trash. To be clear, the largest landfill isn’t on land, it’s in the ocean. An estimated 80% of the garbage in the ocean comes from land sources and plastic composes 90% of the trash floating in the oceans around the world. The size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not verified, but some say that it is twice the size of the state of Texas while others say the garbage island is 3.8 million square miles. The trash leaves human hands, goes into the ocean, and kills sea animals. Sea turtles become entangled by fishing nets, eating plastic bags mistaking them as jelly fish, and dying because of it. Birds are also scooping up the trash and feeding it to their young mistaking it for food and dying from starvation or ruptured organs. How does this process come to a full circle? The trash leaves humans hands, goes into the ocean, animals then eat the trash, bigger animals eat the smaller animals that have ingested the trash, the animals are then caught by fisherman, and then the fish, which have ingested trash and plastic, ends up on your dinner plate. Sounds delicious right? No, I didn’t think so.

    Mostly everyone can agree with the statement that we live in the “Age of Plastic”. However, it has been a growing issue within the world that plastic is harmful to the environment. But has anyone stopped to think of what it is doing to the human body? Werner Boote has and that is why he created the documentary called Plastic Planet. Boote traveled all over the world to understand how plastic is made and used throughout the countries. During the video he speaks to the world’s foremost experts in biology, pharmacology, and genetics to receive some answers about the effects of plastics. A shocking revolution of this video is that plastic is actually in our blood. He created this video to educate those about the risks of plastic and how long the material really lasts on earth. This video is encouraging those to limit the use of plastic and to educate the next generations of children so that they understand what kind of a plant they are being introduced to. Last year, the Green Team on UNCW’s campus collaborated with another sustainability group to play this movie for the students to see. People should be educated on the effects of plastic and understand how harmful it really is.http://firstrunfeatures.com/plasticplanetdvd.html

    Many companies are now producing products to help save the environment and cut down on the amount of plastic bottles the world uses every year. Brita water filters has made technology so that customers can make tap water from their home safe from harmful bacteria and pure while using their own glasses. Brita has a new campaign, Brita For Good, which asks customers to use their bottle and pitcher filters to save about 300 plastic bottles from being used and thrown away. The average filter needs to be thrown away every two months, so you don’t have to constantly be worrying about changing the filter. Camelbak is another company striving to save the environment from being consumed by waste. They have recently designed a product to solve water purification problems with a system that uses UV light. The bottle takes 60 seconds to purify the water inside, which is not too long to wait for pure and fresh water.

    -Kelsey Bendig, Brooke Keller, Andrea Blanton, Brian Burch

  • Watch TV on your own time

    Digital video recorders, also known as DVR’s, have been around since 1999. Replay TV and TiVo were the first two digital video recorders launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. DVR’s have become increasing popular because it allows you to record your favorite shows or movies and watch them later when you have more time. Now there is no need to rush home or stay up late just to catch the news or E! True Hollywood Story. DVR is changing how we watch television. With DVR on everyone’s mind, cable companies have created apps so that their users can set their DVR’s to record even when they are not home. Another feature of DVR that has caught many people’s attention is the fact that you can fast forward through the commercials. People can enjoy their favorite shows without interruptions. This has made it difficult for advertising companies to get the viewers to watch their advertisements.

    With the development of DVR and television show recording programs, companies have to find new and effective ways to market their products to their target markets.  Television viewer’s ability to fast forward through commercials is thought to be affecting buying habits of consumers.  Companies and marketing experts have to peruse other means of getting their products out to the public.  Social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and especially Pinterest are effective ways for companies to market their products in a way to get consumer attention.  Through this marketing hardship, integrated marketing communication is very important to gain and retain interest.

    -Kelsey Bendig, Brooke Keller, Andrea Blanton, Brian Burch