IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Seniors

  • On a Lost, Senior Seahawk.

    Many years ago, in the midst of my five-year career as an infantryman in the United States Army, I had a grand vision. My best friend at the time, Ryan Wood (pictured below on the left, with me in 2006), and I, were going to get a house together in Oklahoma City. I was going to go to college for creative writing, and he was going to go for art and political science. Our goal was to create a graphic novel showcasing the reality of American imperialism and its brutal effects on the globe. We assumed that eventually we would be rich enough to open a punk rock venue/bar together and go from there. The plan was solid. Nothing could of went wrong, until Ryan Wood was killed in Baghdad in 2007. That event threw everything off track.

    MeNWood

    So I got lost. I developed many problems, and worst of all (for me), my future was shot, my friend and focal point of my plan was gone. I left the Army with my plan dissolved, but eventually I moved away from my family in Arizona and enrolled at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, NC. I had no definable goal in mind, and I was only going to school to make money off of the government’s generous compensation for my service (Service members get a GI Bill when they get out, which pays them monthly to go to college.) I chose Communication Studies because it had the easiest math requirements, and seemed somewhat related to a career in some sort of writing, which was good enough for me at that time.

    I made it to UNCW at 28 years old. I never felt like I fit into the college culture. I lived off campus my whole career and never got involved in extracurricular activities. I also found I could never connect on any lasting level with my classmates because I constantly compared them to the friendships I had forged in the inferno of 25 months of war. I noticed, a few months after completing all the prerequisite courses and earning an AA, that I was losing the knowledge I gained in those courses. There is no screening process to divide potentially dedicated, outstanding students from the ones who just attend to attend, and those listed second forget everything. So I slipped in through the cracks and ended up jaded by the ordeal. I approached college in a less-than-ideal way: I just did enough to get through it.

    But the resources were, and are, there for those who are interested. There is a career center to build a resume, volunteering, applied learning, and internship opportunities to add valuable experience to your education. There are professors who, if you come to them with concerns, will go out of their way to help you reach the place you’re aiming for. But nobody is going to drop any of that in your lap. You have to seek it out and pursue it yourself. I didn’t reach out. I skirted by with the minimum, and am left with a mostly hollow experience of what could have been another milestone in my life.

    What I have learned about myself in my four years of college is that my lack of a plan has morphed into a lack of passion, which has reinforced a lack of precise direction. I sit here on the cusp of graduation, with a hazy track of uncertainty unfolding before me. I see my classmates rattling off their big goals to their buddies, detailing the rungs they will need to climb to make those plans work, and I see their youth, which I am quickly losing. It leaves me wondering what I have been doing the past four years, and causes even more concern about the next four. I have the wisdom to know I did not do the best that I could in school, but the wisdom came too late to be of any use at UNCW.

    It could be argued that I was never a go-getter, and was doomed from the start due to a personality defect, but at least I am here sharing my wisdom instead of shivering in a gutter somewhere. I did have a plan at one point, but have failed to create one since it was lost. So don’t write me off as just a bad example of a good college student. Look at me as a wise, bad example of a good college student, since I have recognized and shared my shortcomings. You could learn something from me. I could tell you how wonderful the opportunity was and how clear it made my life, or I could give you the truth of it. I went to UNCW without really knowing why, and now I am leaving without knowing exactly why I was there. College seems like a logical “next step” for many, but you have to engage with it far more than that for your education to be a life-changing experience. You have got to know yourself and know what you want out of life, or college is going to be just another grind for you.

    To be fair, I did take an internship opportunity that may have sharpened me up a bit, and every one of my teachers were excellent, passionate, and dedicated to their craft. Not one person entrusted to my education failed me in the slightest. I remember being asked “What is your career goal?” during advising, and instead of sticking with “I don’t know,” I would come up with fuzzy answers to push the meeting along. But the tools were there. I just passed them up. UNCW was a great place that has enriched and guided many lives, and will continue to do so after I pass through. The tools will be there for you, and you ought to use them.

    I learned many things in college, but the most important thing I learned wasn’t in the brochure, at orientation, on the website, or in the course catalog: have a plan and a backup plan as quickly as possible, and get motivated and involved enough to turn the plan into reality. Seek out and grab every opportunity that moves you towards that reality and never let up. Otherwise you may find yourself at 30 years old, sitting with backed up classwork clawing at your heels and a foggy future two weeks before graduation, wondering how so many others seem to have it all figured out while you float on through to no apparent destination.

    -Chad Darrah

    I must say, the situation is not as dire as I have presented it. All I know is that a lot of people think I am a good writer, enough to make me believe it. But I do not know how that translates into a career to tell an advisor. So I’ll trudge through the muck until it all clicks, or I will die before it ever clicks. Either way I am following a path that is good enough for me. I’m just not so sure where college fits on that path.

    I also have to use my soapbox one last time to express a hearty thank you to Dr. Jeanne Persuit for giving me the most monumental, colossally meaningful display of encouragement I have ever received on this murky trek. I thank you with the highest degree that a blog post can convey, and can honestly say that that moment was the undisputed highlight of my college career.

    I have to ask that you please raise a glass for Sergeant Ryan Mitchell Wood next time you get a chance. Google his name and title to get a feel for him, as he is the driving force of my motivation. Pay your respects. I give his memory and family extraordinary credit for helping me hold onto something sacred, which is a necessity to keep me moving.

  • Looking Forward

    Going green.  It seems to be at the top of every corporation’s priorities.  In this day and age we have a better understanding for how unsustainable our daily lifestyles have been since the start of industrialism.  In the past, building and developing areas was praise-worthy.  Urbanization has supplied new jobs and opportunity for the ever-increasing population.   It is only in last fifteen to twenty-five years that we have started to realize that depleting our natural resources and burning fossil fuels cannot persist at the rate at which they are.

    Alternatives must be sought out. 

    Today, we can still live freely without compromise, however, the media has brought on an underlying pressure to conserve and to use less.  People are speaking out about Global Warming’s effects and the public is listening.  The message is now resonating that the way we do business personally and professionally needs to change.  With a heightened awareness of going green amongst the general public, it has opened up a new avenue for companies to use in appealing to their target audience.

    “Green this, organic that”…  business motives have shifted and companies are doing whatever they can to show they are a green, sustainable business. Marketers have leaped into branding “green” through strategies and ideas that promote the better goodness of the environment.  Besides a company’s involvement in becoming more sustainable, the main concern lies within the image they portray. Today, for the general public green equals good.  In going with a “green” company, it allows people to grant themselves with a feeling that they are doing the right thing for themselves, their environment, and the future based on what the mass media has hyped about the environment.  The color green symbolizes many positive aspects about a company’s values, making it crucial for any business to incorporate the theme into the design of their logo, website, advertisements etc.  Having an overall look of being clean, simple, sustainable, organic or recyclable seems to be what’s driving some of the most successful companies around us today.

    by: Oliver Evans, Sally Shupe, Jared Sales

  • The Life & Lessons of Communication Studies Seniors

    After four years I am ready to graduate and take the next big step in my life.  When I first came to UNCW I thought I wanted to major in Biology.  I learned after my first two semesters that it wasn’t a good fit for me.  That summer I took some communication classes and found my match.  Since then I haven’t looked back.

    I have been very fortunate to have such wonderful friends and professors that made my college experience amazing.  I have found so much support here that it will be very hard to leave.  But thanks to their help, I am truly ready to join the professional world. Between my course work and campus involvement I know I can balance a heavy load and I welcome the challenge.  There have been many times in my four years that a week has gone by and I realize how much I accomplished.  I have pushed myself and learned that I will meet my goals.

    A big part of my accomplishments can be credited to my classes.  I have tried to take a variety as well as advance coursework.  I want to thank the professors that have designed these courses and taught me all that I have learned.  A special thanks to Dr. Persuit who I have taken for many classes.  She has brought her experience to the classroom and showed us how we would use our skills in the real world.  A thanks to Professor Bollinger who taught us to work hard and never underestimate ourselves.  And another thanks to Professor Pezzuolo for providing a creative outlet in the classroom.  There are many other members of the UNCW team that deserve thanks.  Without them, my experience would have been very different.

    – Carissa Niederkorn

    As the semester comes down to a close, it’s hard to imagine that this is the end. For some of us, the thought of finishing high school and going on to the promised land (a.k.a college) was all that filled our young, scholarly minds. Now that we have gotten through this institution dubbed as higher education, some of us begin to feel nervous, anxious, scared, and even lost as to what to expect after this fantastic journey.  I for one forgot to think about what life might be like after college. I was so busy just trying to get here that I never even thought about what my life might be like after all of this was said and done.

    All of my experiences so far have been wonderful. Through all of the ups and downs, I can say that I will be graduating with my head held high and my future wide open. Specifically speaking, my professors have taught me so many invaluable skills that even I may not yet know to what extent these skills will help me in my future. Classes concerning speech, personal finance, integrated marketing, research methods, and more classes that talked about theories than I could handle, I can safely say that I am truly grateful for the time that I have spent here at UNCW. I am looking forward to what the next few pages of my life will bring, but I will always remember my studies, professors, the memories that I created, and the friendships that I will never let go of.

    – Deji Adeleke

    As the semester comes to a close, I can only look back at the last four years and wonder how it went by so fast.  I entered into UNCW with no direction and am now leaving as a confident, knowledgeable young professional.  I want to use this post give a little “Senior Advice” to those of you who may still have a couple of years.

    Write EVERYTHING down.  If I’ve learned this lesson I’ve learned it a thousand times.  You really do have the best of intentions on remembering that homework assignment or that group meeting but trust me on this one, if you don’t write it down (in a place that you’ll look back at), you will slip up eventually.

    Stop PROCRASTINATING! Seriously.  Stop.  Have you ever finished something a few days early and had that overwhelming feeling of accomplishment?  Okay, I can’t say that it’s happened to me very often but when I do, my life seems to be in much better order and I can focus on the other things that I’ve thrown by the wayside.  (Like laundry. Just ask my roommate.)  So use those time management skills you like to refer to during a job interview! Get it done now and be ahead of the rest.  You’ll just feel better.

    Get to KNOW your classmates.  Most likely, you will see them again so sit somewhere different in the classroom, set up a small group study session, and after you’ve finished a big project together, go celebrate!  These are the people who have been through the same stressful papers and projects as you.  Take note of what they may have to offer because you never know, they may be your boss one day.

    Get INVOLVED!  Whether it’s an academic club, sports, Greek life, or the other hundreds of activities offered on campus, this is your opportunity to branch out and network.  You never know who may stop in as a guest speaker or have a parent in your field of interest.

    Same goes with INTERNSHIPS.  Internships, internships, internships.  Enough said.

    I hope that my experiences can help guide those of you who are still living the good life.  Make the best of it!  Good luck to my fellow Seniors!  The end is bittersweet but I am confident that my education at UNCW as a Communication Studies major has prepared me for what lies ahead.

    -Tiffany Evans

    I’m a big fan of lists. I like To Do Lists, lists of funny animals, lists of the top songs of the radio. Put anything in list form and, chances are, I will read it. So, to wrap up my time on the IMC-Hawks blog and at UNCW, I present the Top 4 Things I’ve Learned At UNCW.

    4.) There’s a reason that you’re required to take the core classes in COM Studies. When you’re sitting in COM 200 or Communication Theory, you might be tempted to zone out or phone it in. Resist! Facebook will still be there after an hour and a half, I promise! Our professors have debated and discussed and voted on why these courses are required for majors and its because they tie into every single class we take as COM Studies students. So take listen up, take good notes, and, most importantly, see how the theories and concepts that you’re learning fit into your other courses. It can actually be (not to sound nerdy) fun!

    3.) Take Your Time Figuring Out Your Path Whether you need to take your time figuring out if you want to pursue PR or TV Production, or if you want to be a COM major or a Creative Writing major (or both!): Take Your Time! So often in our lives we’re rushed to make decisions and it can feel like everyone’s pressuring you to just make up your mind. Here’s the thing, those people won’t be the ones in your classes or taking your exams or, eventually, looking for jobs in that area. I have a friend who’s switched from Marine Bio to Biology to Nursing to Biology (again) and she’s one of the happiest, most well-adjusted people I know. This is YOUR life and it’s okay to slow down, take a breath, and take your time figuring out your next step!

    2.) You have the rest of your life! As graduation was looming in front of me and I had no job in sight, I started, to put it lightly, freaking out. After spending numerous nights losing sleep over it and having it act as a dark cloud over my last few weeks at UNCW, I finally had a revelation. For the past 21 years and a handful of months, I’ve been trained to think in terms of “summer vacation”, as in “What will I do to occupy my time for the next 3 months?” And, after thinking about it, I realized that after I leave UNCW, I’ll have the next 80 years or so to fill with amazing adventures and life-changing decisions. So, when your time comes to leave this wonderful place, take a deep breath and know that it’s ok to do something completely unique to you for a few weeks, months, or years before finding your next step.

    1.) Your Professors Are People Too! When I was in elementary school, I always had this idea that my teachers lived at school. If I opened the closet, I would find that it was actually a door to a nice apartment set-up where my second grade teacher resided. As a matured, my ideas of my teachers did too. If you take nothing else from this list, please realize this: The people standing in front of you in your classes are people with thoughts and dreams and goals. And, because they’re wonderful, a lot of these dreams and goals are focused on the success of their students (that’s us!) So whether it’s taking the time to tell a professor that you really liked how they taught a particular theory in class or even just asking how they’re doing that week, do it! I can not thank the professors I’ve encountered enough, both in the COM department and outside, for the guidance they’ve provided during my four years. So, do me a favor, and say something nice to one of your professors before the year is out!

    – Anna Kate Babnik

  • Communication Studies Family

    The countdown for UNCW’s Communication Studies graduation is getting smaller and smaller. Now the graduating seniors can see the “real world” at a distance, and the reality of graduating and growing up is causing stomach pains filled with nervousness, but excitement for the future. Personally, I find it so hard to say goodbye to my Communication Studies family. I have developed such great relationships with not only the students, but with the professors as well.These are the people that helped me become the motivated woman that I am today.  I’ve learned so many aspects of communication, from interpersonal to integrated marketing communication to negotiation and conflict management. Therefore, I want to thank the members of the UNCW Communication Studies faculty that taught me so much.

    I want to thank David Bollinger from the start in Introduction to Communication Studies. It was great traveling with you on the class trip to Greece and Italy. Most of all, the Direct Individual Study of communicating with women in a public health setting is what really helped me focus my career goal of communicating in the public health field. I also want to thank Tammy Bulger, it was great to have you in Interpersonal Communication and I learned so much from you in 490. I am so thankful for learning about the job search process and informational interview from you. I’ll miss seeing you at the basketball games. Although I didn’t have many classes with them, I still want to thank Bill Bolduc, Lauren Frye, Jerry Bagnell,  Dr. Olsen, and Susan Lanier. You all taught such different parts of communication and I know I will use these skills in the future.

    Most of all, I want to thank my fellow Communication Studies classmates. You all are so supportive and make a great family. I’m going to miss seeing all of you everyday.

    -Megan Canny

    I have had a great four years here at UNCW, and have been through some ups and downs. Unfortunately, I will not be graduating in two weeks like the majority of the best class of Seahawks to ever grace UNCW with their presence, the Class of 2011.  Instead, I will be officially walking across the stage in December. Though I would much rather be graduating now, it is simply not an option.  I originally came to the university as a NC Teaching Fellow, with plans to teach high school history. Halfway through my junior year, it finally occurred to me that I had not desire to teach. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to completing this “victory lap” as “super-senior” and entering into the real world. Yes, I am a rarity, as I am so ready to be out of college and into the real world on my own!

    I am so glad that I made the switch to communication studies. It has presented a world of opportunities for me and I have loved every minute of it. My future plans are to either have a career in public relations or IMC, we shall see where I end up at once I receive my degree.

    I would like to thank a few professors, who are so lucky to have to put up with me for one more semester. Dr. Persuit for giving me the override for this class after my countless emails and office visits begging you to let me in. It has been a great experience and has really been one of my favorite classes.

    Jennifer Chin for letting me into Intro to PR this semester so that I could take Advanced PR in the fall, which would allow me to graduate in December. I am looking forward to it.

    Tammala Bulger for answering my email in the fall of 2009, and calling me out for not properly calling communication studies the right name. You helped put on the right track to graduate.

    I can’t leave out my amazing group mates in Com 200, Taren, Sam, & Heidi. We made it through that challenging class, which I have to say, was much harder than any history class I ever took, including my senior seminar class.

    Congrats to all of the graduates….now go out and find a job so you can hook me up with one for January 2012!

    -Scott Burgess

    With my graduation date drawing near, I am forced to evaluate my life; where it has been and where it is heading. My time at UNCW has taught me a lot about myself and what I want to do with my life as well as other plans for my future. The classes that I have taken in my path to a degree in communication studies have taught me many things about many subjects that I will use in my future no matter what communication studies related job I take. At first when I was told to blog about my time at UNCW, I wanted to boycott. I don’t want to reminisce about my four years at UNCW and how I am now a big girl and have to face the real world. The most important thing I have learned since moving to Wilmington and attending college is to be true to myself. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and didn’t know how to figure out what I wanted to do. So by taking the wide range of courses offered through the Comm Studies department I was able to try a little bit of everything. I think that the capstone course that is required before graduation is finally what forced me to choose.  I didn’t have a choice but to pick something and go with it. I decided that I want to be a wedding planner. There aren’t any classes in particular that made me choose this but a little of everything. I realized that it’s scary to choose a path and start down it but by staying true to myself  I know that I am making the right choice for me, not just because it’s time to be a grown up. It’s time to graduate and make a name for myself in the real world but my experience at UNCW has me fully prepared to jump off the deep end and straight into the pool of professionals. I want to thank every single professor that I have had the pleasure of taking classes from. Each one of them have made such an impact on my life and I am prepared because of their expertise and real world experiences. I am truly going to miss of them and miss this school, even though I will be very happy sleeping in before I get my real job!

    -Melissa Gagliardi

    This semester has given true meaning to the expression “time flies”, probably because I have been so busy with school and my internship. I want to thank Dr. Persuit, Dr. Fellows, and the Southern States Communication Association for letting us create an IMC Plan for them and guiding us along the way. I have enjoyed putting the lessons learned in the Advanced IMC class to actual use with clients. I also want to thank Lauren Frye, who taught me the joys of writing in Strategic Writing last semester. Honestly, I had no interest in writing before I took her class. Now, I write everyday in my internship using the skills Ms. Frye taught me in her course and I actually enjoy it! Lastly, another reason I have been so busy this semester is because I am the Community Outreach Chair of the Communication Studies Society. I want to thank Jennifer Chin for being a wonderful faculty adviser and for helping us make a difference in our Com Department and the community of Wilmington. I won’t be graduating this semester, so I look forward to new and exciting experiences this summer and next fall in Wilmington! Good luck seniors, I’ll miss you!

    -Allison Day