The Last Year

The past three years have come and gone, and senior year has finally arrived. I have heard from several alums that senior year would be tough, but I did not realize how tough it would be. Not only am I balancing the workload of six classes, but I am also debating whether to go to grad school or not. I have come to realize that senior year is not only about finishing my undergraduate degree but also about making decisions in regards to my future. I plan on taking the GRE, hopefully this fall, because I will at least have a fallback option if the job route does not pan out in my favor. I am currently in the program Comm Leaders, which has me thinking that I should get a job right after graduation and I could potentially go to grad school after I start my career. My dream job would be to work in a major corporation's communication department and write press releases and work with the media during special events. When I was interning for the West Life newspaper this summer I met several people who were in this position and I was able to learn from them about their careers. I loved being a reporter this summer but I did not like crazy hours and the unpredictability of my schedule. If I worked in the communication department of a company I could still write and meet with the media, but I would have a set of regular hours and I would be able to do more things other than just writing. Hopefully I decide sooner rather than later which path is right for me, but for right now I am going to enjoy every last minute of my Wittenberg experience!

Politics at Wittenberg

To be honest, I am not interested in politics as much as I should be. Many of the issues such as the economy, women's rights and healthcare affect me and I should pay more attention and be more informed. It is hard to make myself read the news or even watch television because it is hard to tell what is true and what is slander. It was interesting to see how much my classmates knew in regards to the major issues and it made me realize how important it was to be well informed for the upcoming Election. Since I plan on voting in the Election I know it is extremely important for me to become well informed about each issue and how the candidates stand on each issue. When I do read about politics I go straight to the Internet, which I found that many of my classmates do too. I prefer AOL because I find their layout easy to use and their stories to be trustworthy. What turns me off though are the incessant commercials on television where each candidate just bashes the other one. I get frustrated with the fact that the candidates are not preaching what they could do for their country, but instead are bringing down their opponent. I am excited to hear everyone's stories on this subject because I hope they will motivate me to read further information on the upcoming Election.

New York Times at Witt

The free New York Times have been a staple in many students experience here at Witt. Many might even take it for granted that they are provided with a free issue of the New York Times each day. A few professors may also feel the same since they require students to read the paper in their class. As a journalism minor I think this is a wonderful opportunity that the university provides free issues of the New York Times to students. Last year rumors began circulating that the university was going to cut funding of the paper because of their debt situation and I heard that it cost around $20,000 each year. I claimed the story because I do not think that is fair to students to remove the paper, especially because the paper is a fundamental aspect in many various classrooms. I am excited to begin writing stories, even though I was fairly burnt out by the end of the summer and I never would have thought I would be feeling this way. I am a bit nervous that since all I have heard are rumors, the administration may not talk to me. I hoping that Jon Duraj will be receptive to me and willing to share information. I also plan on talking to professors who require students to read the Times in class and see how they expect this cut to affect their courses. Finally, I will speak to students who are both in classes that require them to read the Times and those who read the Times on their own on a regular basis. I am excited to get the ball rolling on this story and I hope everything goes smoothly!

Advanced news

I am very excited to be taking this Advanced News Writing course this fall. With my past experiences in journalism, I have grown to truly appreciate the profession and I would love to keep learning different aspects of the profession. This past summer I wrote numerous features on various topics throughout my internship, but I would like to expand and learn the techniques of writing a proper news story. I liked writing features because I could make each story more colorful, but I also enjoy how straightforward news stories are. I am excited to learn how the profession is changing and keeping up with technological advances, such as blogs. I also want to grow confident in meeting new people and taking charge in the interview. This summer I had to come up with my own story ideas and I found that to be difficult, so I am excited to also work on that skill throughout the course.