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I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to say in this post. It’s still really weird to think about the fact that this is my last semester of college and that I’ll be graduating in….like…a week!?

When I entered college, I knew I wanted to do something with graphic design, but not graphic design, something with writing, but not English or creative writing. My mom suggested I try communication studies. My first college class ~ever~ was COM 101, public speaking, with Mr. Bollinger. Most people might be a little turned away when their ~first college class ever~ is public speaking, but not me! It made me excited to see what else my potential major held. After COM 105, with Dr. Weber, I was sold. As I’ve moved through different classes in the major, I realized that COM is seriously everything that I loved wrapped into one lovely little department.

I discovered at the end of the 2017 fall semester that I wouldn’t be staying at UNCW all four years like I planned, I was able to graduate a full year early. To say this was shock to me was an understatement, I was at first sad to be leaving, I still am, but it also opened so many new opportunities to me.

Since I was mainly taking 400 level classes with other seniors, I was able make new friends who were on the same track that I was. Not that my junior level friends weren’t good friends, they just weren’t in the same stage of life and that made things hard at first.  Honestly, taking COM 438 this semester is one of the best choices I made because I got to meet so many new people who shared my interests and didn’t think I was weird because I liked to make memes of my professors. In fact, they took my memes and put it on social media.

Yes, I made that. Hello, I’m the meme creator. You’re welcome.

I have learned more in college than just how to make dank memes (although that might be my top skill on a resume). I’ve learned how important it is to connect with those who share your interests, I hate networking, but it’s one of the best things you can do during your time in college. I also learned that networking opportunities are hard to come by, so go to COM Studies Week.

*confession: this was the first year I ever went to COM Studies Day/Week. sorry, Dr. Persuit*

So yes, GO! Make the most of the opportunities UNCW and the COM Department provides you because otherwise their few and far in between.

I wouldn’t change anything about my experience at UNCW for anything and I cannot think of a better major than communication studies. Fall in love with what you are learning and doing, it’ll make life a lot easier.

Sea you later, UNCW.

Logan Prochaska

At the risk of sounding overly cliché, these past four years have flown by. I’ll be the first to admit that I did not fall in love with UNCW the moment I stepped on campus. Deciding to go to college here was a risk; it was the furthest I had ever been from home and I only knew one other person in a sea of 13,000. I started as a film major, but quickly realized there was more I wanted to get out of my college experience. I never fully understood what Communication Studies was, but decided to give COM 105 a shot. Taking that class sophomore year made me realize I was where I was meant to be. I became a double-major and never looked back.

My best piece of advice to anyone beginning their journey at UNCW would be to get involved. I found the Association for Campus Entertainment at the very beginning of my freshmen year and I can honestly say it changed my life. This student organization shaped me into the leader I am today and provided me with the home and family I never knew I was missing. Planning events for students on campus was the highlight of my college career. Also, I got to meet Jesse McCartney—if my middle school self could see me now, she’d faint.

Besides ACE, I was also a member of the Club Field Hockey team and an employee of Campus Recreation. UNCW has so much to offer and I am so thankful I got the chance to experience so much.

Senior year may be fast-approaching for you, or a million miles away, but here are some last minute thoughts and pieces of advice to make the most of your time here:

1. Take advantage of UNCW’s internship programs. I did three internships throughout my time here and I loved every single one of them. Through the Film Department, I was able to work at Screen Gems Studios here in town and spend a summer interning at a production studio in Los Angeles. With COM, I worked at the Wilson Center downtown.
2. Find the student org that’s right for you. There are hundreds of student organizations on UNCW’s campus, and if you don’t find one you want to join, you can make one yourself! No only will you make some incredible friends, you’ll also find clubs that allow you to utilize skills you’ve learned in your classes. I used skills from my IMC classes every day with my positions in ACE.
3. Get out of your comfort zone. There are definitely days where I just wanted to sit inside and binge the entirety of Grey’s Anatomy (which I did freshman year, don’t judge), but take a leap every once in a while. I would have never spent the summer in LA if I stayed in my comfort zone.
4. ELECTIVES! The one thing I wish I could have done, but didn’t have the space in my schedule for, was take more classes that were not directly tied to my majors. If you have the space, give it a shot! You could even take some courses outside of your focus in the COM Department and broaden your horizons. My favorite part about COM is how versatile and expansive it is–take advantage of that!
5. Take in a sunrise or two. What’s the one thing we talk about the most in relation to UNCW? How close we are to the beach! Take advantage of Wrightsville Beach’s beauty and see the sun rise over the ocean.

UNCW has changed my life in the best possible way and it is going to be hard to leave.

 

-Katie Solinski

College is a great place. It’s a place you can learn what you want.  A place where you can meet people your age and spend time with them constantly.  College is also the first time you get to be an adult and as scary as that can be, it’s great when you decide to take control.

Hey everyone,  my name is Sean Owens and as you’ve probably figured out from the recent blog posts:  I’m a senior who will also be graduating soon.

Everyone comes to college for different reasons and from different backgrounds, but the best advice I can give you is to figure out who you want to be and make it happen.  College is the first place you can really choose on your own what’s best for you.

When I first came to college, I knew that I wanted to be a Theatre and a COM major, that I wanted to be academically successful, and that I wanted to do a lot of film work.  I also knew that no one was going to make that happen for me, but I wasn’t afraid to start from the ground up.  Here’s a step to step guide that might help you if you’re feeling a little lost.

1. Set your goals.  I’m not going to tell you that you need to have a 5 or 10 year plan right now, but you do need to have some idea of what you’re doing here and what you hope to accomplish before you leave.  For me, I wanted to do at least a play a year and then do some films, I thought an even dozen would provide a good resume; instead, I ended up performing in 9 plays and over 3 dozen film projects.  Why?  Because I set my goals and then had other people push me towards them.

2. Get friends to push you towards your goals.. This is probably the best part of college.  You’re in a place surrounded by amazing people who are the same age as you are.  Find a club, meet up once a week, take some classes, but do it with people that are going to help you to grow and push you to be better.  It’s hard to want to sit on your couch when all your friends are doing cool stuff!

3. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know something.  Everyone is lost when they’re first starting out.  Talk to your parents or family when you want some advice.  Ask some friends weird questions.  Seek out your professors!  The professors here at UNCW are great and they’re willing to help you figure life out, but you have to ask.  Show you’re actually interested and most of them will help you in any way they can (including writing recommendation letters for you which is a HUGE– make sure you write a Thank You note if they do).

4. Go the extra mile.  This doesn’t have to be on every assignment, but you will help yourself by doing the extra bit when you have time and it’s something you’re passionate about.  Your resume will be stronger and your portfolios after college will look much better with quality work to fill in the spaces!

5. Lastly, DO WHAT’S BEST FOR YOU!  It’s okay to say ‘no’ sometimes when you need a weekend, but don’t make that a habit because it wouldn’t be best for you.  If something is a little less traditional then that is okay, as long as it is best for you.  After college, you don’t have to always do what everyone else expects either, just make sure you can justify why you made the decision you made.  Either way, remember: you’re an adult now.  At the end of the day, you have to make your own decisions.

 In short, you guys got this.  Make sure that you’re willing to put in the work and your college experience will be a blast.  It’s better to get stuff done and have some pizza than to be freaking out when you’ve procrastinated till the night before on your 20 page paper.

Oh, and a freebie: DON’T PROCRASTINATE.  Seriously. This is coming from a professional.  It’ll help.  I promise.

Well, we’re leaving you all in goods hands: your own.  (And of course, all the staff and faculty of UNCW).

Good luck,

Sean Owens

 

You can picture it in your head a thousand times, but never do you actually think it’s going to happen. Graduation is two weeks away and I still don’t think it’s real. As a senior they say that your last year will be easy and that it is the best year of your life (maybe a second close to freshman year). But it is not. It is hard, you are under a lot of pressure, and there are so many projects and final presentations before you actually have a chance to walk across stage.

I have been at UNCW for three years, I came here as a transfer student from ECU and I will be graduating college a year early. I am pretty proud of myself. I have made so many relationships and friendships and there are so many people I am going to miss. While being young and mature, there are some things that others don’t tell you when you are in college. So for you, and for those around you, let me give you a little advice.

You have the opportunity to be a kid for the last time, don’t take it for granted; but also don’t ignore your responsibilities.

Go above and beyond to meet people. You never know who they might turn out to be in your life and what they can eventually do for you.

Don’t be that person that settles for your grade. Don’t settle for some job just because it is nice to have the security of being employed. Get what you deserve out of life, but don’t be prude.

Aim high for your dreams. Don’t stress out about how you are going to get there; first you have to want it enough to try. But don’t put down others to get there.

No one likes someone who thinks that his or her work or his or her way is the best way. Don’t think too much of yourself because sometimes it is damaging to your relationships and can potentially damage your future.

I know that this is a hard one, but try your best. Don’t be to over anxious because it can damage your health. Just know that with the pile up of projects, papers, and presentations, you will get through it and it will all be over one day.

While graduation is stressful and crazy within itself, it is also sad because now you are going into the real world. I will always be a Seahawk but never will I ever be an undergraduate student going to house parties and acting reckless because I am young and I can. It is time to grow up and sometimes I am ready and sometimes I am not.

Alas, whether you are ready or not, the time is here.

Good luck hawks. Wings Up!

-Kristan Cottle

 

 

 

I never expected to be a communication studies major in college. When I was a senior in high school, I thought I might to major in history or anthropology. By the time I entered UNCW, I had decided on pursuing a degree in marketing at the Cameron School of Business.

For me, marketing was and is the perfect marriage between my strategic and creative sides. I took business classes for my entire first year of college and did well. I enjoyed economics, business statistics, and accounting was… tolerable. I first discovered the communication studies major when I had to do a project where I had to interview someone in the field of my dream job. While interviewing one of the Marketing Department professors, I was given some advice that would change my life “Take some upper-level communication studies courses.”

As the first Marketing Coordinator for Atlantis Magazine at UNCW’s Student Media, I found myself a lone business major in a sea of communication studies majors. Talking to these students, I was intrigued by the major and all the different skills I could learn. Already, I felt stifled by the business school and felt that I wasn’t learning things that applied to what I wanted to do. Communication studies offered the opportunity to spend more time in areas that interested me.

I signed up for COM 105 not knowing what to expect but quickly fell in love with the major. The communication concepts I learned in that class helped me through a difficult time in my life. Every time I went to the class I found elements that I could apply to things I was working through. I also learned how I could pursue public relations, advertising, IMC, journalism, and even qualitative and quantitative research as a communication studies major. I had always been interested in these fields but never imagined that there would be a major where I could learn all of them. Communication studies gave me the chance to pursue what I was passionate about.

Communication studies has opened doors for me that I never imagine. Through the major, I have been able to pursue qualitative research, work with clients in public relations, advertising, and IMC, and learn more about myself and relating to others. I also had the opportunity to study abroad and study advertising at a Costa Rican University (in Spanish eek), which would have been much harder to do as a business major. The upper-level communication studies classes that I first learned about as a freshman have been some of my best experiences in college. I’ve never regretted my decision to switch my major and have enjoyed every minute of my time as a communication studies major.

Now, nearly a graduate of the communication studies major, I can’t believe how quickly it has all passed by. My time through the major has felt like a whirlwind, but I have loved every moment. I wish I could stay longer and keep learning about this amazing field. As I look ahead to graduation, I know that the communication concepts I learned in this major will help me achieve success in my career, my life, and my relationships. I can’t believe it’s over, but I can’t wait to see where communication studies will take me.