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I never thought this day would come. I have dreamed of this day with both fear and excitement as I prepare for this next chapter of life. These past two and a half years at UNCW have been amazing, and I wouldn’t have traded them for anything in the world. I came down to Wilmington in the fall of 2012 after transferring from a small school in Virginia. I had come from a school where I was a student athlete and majoring in Business Administration. After realizing that I needed a change of pace, I made the tough decision, packed my bags and headed to the beach.

As soon as I walked onto campus I knew that I had made the right choice. I changed my major from Business to Communication Studies, and I have to say that I really didn’t know what to expect when I signed up for my first class. Everything about this major has been exactly what I needed as the classes I have taken have ranged from Integrated Marketing and Communication to Qualitative Methods. These classes have made me realize that I want to go into a career that involves marketing and advertising. Although this is a competitive career to go into, I know that the COM department has prepared me as I have completed various marketing plans, surveys and advertising strategies.

The days are counting down, as graduation approaches and I am suddenly both excited and afraid of what happens next. I am excited for all the new adventures that lay ahead of me, and all the new people I’ll meet. But then there is also a part of me that is afraid. I won’t ever walk down Chancellors walk with my friends, or attend another lecture in Leutze Hall with some of my favorite professors. All of the little things that I took for granted at my time at UNCW are now coming to the surface and if I could do it all over again I know I would.

Throughout college you make memories that will stay with you forever, and I know that my fondest memories have been made here in Wilmington. I may not know exactly where I am going to end up, but I know UNCW has molded me into a perfect candidate for whatever life throws at me.

Danielle Salas

I made a lot of pit stops on my way to UNCW but after three years, three schools, and four majors, I finally made it in the fall of 2012. Once I was accepted to UNCW, I decided to change my major (again) to Communication Studies because it was a broad discipline that would give me wiggle room in deciding what I wanted to do after college because I still wasn’t sure (I’m a little indecisive, obviously). After taking Public Relations I and IMC I, I fell in love with that aspect of the communication discipline and knew that I had found my niche. I have always had an intense love for sports so I knew that I wanted to channel that into my future career and public relations and IMC would allow me to do that.

The best part about being a COM major for me has been the professors. Each and every one that I have come in contact with has gone above and beyond to guide me and to help me grow not only as a student but also as a person. The professor that has had the strongest influence on me is Professor Chin. She has helped me to perfect my resume, professional portfolio, and presentation and interviewing skills so that I can feel confident any time I walk in to an interview. She pushes her students to do their absolute best because she knows they are capable of it. She cares for each and every one of her students and it shows in the amount of time and effort she dedicates to them.

Throughout my college years, I have had the pleasure of making many friends and meeting a lot of great people. Several of those friends have now graduated so I was able to witness the freak outs they experienced during that final semester. I never understood why they were so scared because I have been ready to graduate since my first day of college. So obviously it came as a shock to me when I found myself sitting on my couch crying because my final semester was coming to an end and I wasn’t ready for it yet. The amount of times I have thought, “When did I become a grown up, and how do I make it stop?” over the past few weeks is very comical and slightly embarrassing. I may not be emotionally prepared for life after graduation, but I am prepared in every other aspect and I have the amazing professors at UNCW to thank for it.

-Malia Swift

Well, here we are. Four days until exams begin and twelve until graduation.The past three and a half years have been the most incredible years of my life. It is crazy to think how much has changed since freshman year and how much I have grown as a person. I remember my freshman year of college like it was yesterday. I moved in with a roommate I had never met and left my parents for the first time. It was a rude awakening since I was coming from a small private school in Winston-Salem, but after getting involved in a sorority and different clubs on campus, I had made a new home. 

My experience at UNCW has been the most rewarding yet challenging time and this semester has not been an exception. While taking 300-400 level classes, I have also been building my professional portfolio and applying and searching for jobs, which has been no joke. After a long process of many interviews and some rejection, I am happy to say that after graduation I will be moving to Charlotte and beginning a career with Diversant on January 5th. I owe this success to the wonderful Communication Studies Department and the time they put into me.

Since I am finishing my degree, I have put together a couple of pieces of advice. First of all, make sure you take the time and effort into maintaining relationships with your professors. These mentors can become great references and eventually friends. Also, make sure you do an internship! Maybe even two. While classes prepared me for my career, the internships I did helped put it into practice and I was able to get experience in what I wanted to do after graduation. Lastly, get involved. Join clubs, honors societies and play intramurals. By doing this you will become well rounded and make more friends and connections.

Although I have had an amazing time at UNCW and have made some of my best friends here, I am very excited for the next step of my life. The Communication Studies Department has prepared me for a career and I cannot wait to use the skills that I have learned in college. Unlike me, take your time finishing college. Enjoy all four years and make the most of your time at UNCW!

Cheers,

Margaret Cafasso

As the pumpkin pie was passed around and things began to quiet down on Thanksgiving Day, my cousins darted from the table and ran upstairs; only to return a few minutes later, fully dressed with purses in hand. “Where are you going?”, my grandmother asked. They replied in unison, “the mall”, and began on their shopping journey. Appalled, my family began to talk about store hours and how the Thanksgiving traditions we cherish are being damaged by the world of consumer culture. As a holiday once focused on family values is being transformed into a commercialized saga of who can get to the sale 60-inch TV first, “Black Thursday” is changing how America views holiday traditions.

According to the Houston Chronicle, “Consumer culture is a form of capitalism in which the economy is focused on the selling of consumer goods and the spending of consumer money. A significant part of consumer culture is an emphasis on lifestyle and using material goods to attain happiness and satisfaction.” No “holiday” plays more on this theory than Black Friday. However, as stores are beginning to move their hours forward, the holiday has crept into Thanksgiving Day traditions, creating a new term, “Black Thursday”. According to the National Retail Federation, over 45 million customers showed up to shop on Thanksgiving Day in 2013, with 2014’s “Black Thursday” showing increasing estimates. With stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, Toys ”R” Us, Best Buy, Big Lots, Shoe Carnival, Kmart (opening at 6 A.M. Thanksgiving Day and staying open whopping 42-hours), Michaels, Belk, JCPenney, Goody’s, and Ulta opening at 6 P.M. or earlier, the consumer culture madness doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. As retail employees are forced to cut their holiday short, Steve Osburn from management firm Kurt Salmon explains, “”Consumers have started to accept that shopping on Thanksgiving is a growing habit. With consumer acceptance comes more people shopping.”

With the prior one-day shopping event expanding into a weeklong extravaganza, Thanksgiving is quickly turning into what the New York Post calls “thanksgetting”. By turning the focus from what we are thankful for, to what new item we are going to purchase when we leave grandma’s house to hit the mall, consumer culture is rearing it’s ugly head into one of the most beloved American holidays. As more and more door-buster sales and opening times are released, it’s clear to see, “Black Friday is no longer an event for customers who wake up at the crack of dawn to get good deals.”

– Rachel White

It only takes one look at a Youtube video of Black Friday deal seekers stampeding through the doors of a Target to deter many people from venturing out into the madness. For the employees of these stores, it is impossible to avoid the hysteria and many have to give up their Thanksgiving with family in order to accommodate the rush of customers. Even worse, many of the mega stores like Macy’s, Target, Sears and Toys R Us are beginning their sales on Thursday, before some Thanksgiving Day meals are even enjoyed.  This transition is due to the new perks of online holiday shopping and the extended deals that these sites are offering. Black Friday is no longer just restricted to the Friday after Thanksgiving, causing many retailers to panic over the money they could potentially be losing. For the most part, consumers have not punished retailers for staying open on Thanksgiving–even though it is subject to a lot of criticism.

Some companies are taking a stand this year by remaining closed on Thanksgiving, which may set a precedent that other companies could be forced to follow in coming years. Costco, the second largest retailer in the U.S. after Wal-Mart, is closed on Thanksgiving and has taken the stance that employees deserve to be off. Some big name companies are sacrificing the financial benefit of keeping their doors open today to allow their employees to spend the holiday with their families. This makes the companies appear to genuinely care about their employees, which is important in an age where income inequality and minimum wage are hot-button issues. Aside from the surface benefits of staying closed on Thanksgiving, these companies may have made a beneficial marketing move. By showing support for the family, these companies leave customers with a good impression, which may give them the edge when Black Friday comes around.

Thanksgiving should be spent with family and friends eating turkey and watching football not at the mall  struggling against strangers for discounted TV. Black Friday isn’t going anywhere, but maybe other companies will see the example set by businesses like Gamestop and Crate & Barrel and help stop the infiltration of Thanksgiving. So enjoy your Thanksgiving without the stampedes and crowds, that’s all tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brandon Hawkins, Bobby Huckabee, Savanna Mitchell, Tony Mangili, Danielle Salas

To some people Target is just another “super store,” while to others it is a mysterious wonderland of savings that you somehow always leave with everything you didn’t need. Target has launched an app that allows customers to save even more money on all these “have-to-have-but-don’t-need” items. Target’s free Cartwheel app launched May 8, 2013. When launched, Target called the app a new “choose-your-own-offer savings experience”, unlike any other money-saving app out there.

When you first download the app you are given 16 open slots that you can fill with coupons of your choice. Savings range from 5%-60% off. The app has been widely successful since its launch and has recently launched a campaign advertising early Black Friday deals, with a strong emphasis of using the Cartwheel app.

The launch included a long list of deals throughout the season but the best way to save without leaving your house on Black Friday is using the Cartwheel app for early shopping. With Cartwheel, Target will offer fifty percent off of a different toy each day. Also, from November 23rd through the 29th, Cartwheel will give users access to exclusive deals such as sixty percent off select movie titles, forty percent off select bakeware sets, and thirty percent off board games. Target started these holiday deals as far back as November 10th and they are continuing until November 29th. This article from Target’s pressroom breaks down all of the deals, extended holiday hours, and discusses more about ways to save on Black Friday:

“Nov. 23-29

Throughout the holiday season, Cartwheel – Target’s mobile savings app – is offering 50 percent off a different toy every day. Additionally, from Nov. 23 to 29, Cartwheel will feature exclusive deals, including at least 25 percent off more than 100 offers. Top deals include:

• 60 percent off select movie titles
• 40 percent off select multi-piece bakeware sets

30 percent off board game favorites “

Target’s Cartwheel app has been one of the easiest ways to save money while shopping. But this year they are making Black Friday deals even better and more competitive with other retailers by offering their sales throughout most of November. The CEO of Target, Brian Cornell, was quoted by CBS News explaining how they came about designing their holiday deals this year.

“We know that as we look at the holiday season, the consumer, the shopper, our guest, wants to be out there. So as we looked at our strategy, we started with, what is the consumer looking for? And they told us they actually like to shop at the end of the day. Some of them actually don’t like to get up real early on Black Friday morning,” –Cornell to CBS News

What do you think? Does this make shopping at Target this holiday season more appealing than other stores since you won’t have to beat the crowd on Black Friday?

By: Kelli Hall, Stephanie Jordan, Morgan McCleaf, Shawn Rause, and Danielle Walters

Photo Credit

With the holiday season quickly approaching, savvy shoppers look for the best deals possible. Every Thanksgiving, shoppers wait in anticipation for a weekend full of frantic purchasing during Black Friday and the following Cyber Monday. This year, many online stores have opened their “doors” early to let people start shopping before the rush. Stores are also using incentive marketing to draw attention to their products during the busy shopping season. Incentive marketing is when companies use motivational items, such as promotional prices, to encourage consumers to purchase their product. This year, Amazon has taken advantage of incentive marketing by releasing a special ‘Prime Early Access Deal’ to members with Amazon Prime accounts.

Earlier this month, Amazon started allowing their Prime members to access select lightning deals before any other shoppers. Lightning deals are special discounts that are only offered for a limited amount of time. This gives every Prime member a jump-start on saving money and it gives non-Prime members another reason to create an account. Some other benefits of Amazon Prime include, free 2-day shipping, access to thousands of free movies and tv shows, access to more than 1,000,000 free Prime Music selections, and now early access to select lightning deals. The first 30 days of a Prime membership is free and then after that it’s just $99 per year. New lightning deals are being posted every day, but they appear to be getting better and better as Thanksgiving approaches.

Prime members also have access to early shopping at MyHabit.com, which was founded by Amazon.com. MyHabit.com is a free, members only, online fashion website where you can earn up to 60% off on designer clothes. While this website is known for their good deals year round, they are offering even more deals through the end of Thanksgiving weekend. On a daily basis, deals are posted on MyHabit.com at 9am, but now, Amazon Prime members can access these bargains early, starting at 8:30am.

By using incentives during the holiday season, Amazon will gain new members that will stay loyal for the rest of the year. People will see that signing up for Amazon Prime has added benefits and they won’t want to miss out. Some of these new members will choose to keep their membership, while others will simply forget to cancel it after the free 30-day trial period ends. Either way, Amazon will have added many new Prime members after this holiday season. So whether you become a member for the holiday lightning deals or for the year-long benefits, Amazon has successfully found a way to reel in new members through their incentive marketing strategy.

– Hannah Rodgers