Why it's great to be a UF College of Journalism and Communications Student

You may be wondering, what does that video have to do with anything? Well, read on to find out!

The College of Journalism and Communications is one of the nation's top journalism programs year after year. Countless successful and well-known journalists have come out of the college, such as Erin Andrews from ESPN. Successful alumni such as Erin and many others have paved the way for current students and soon-to-be graduates to get a leg up in the industry that not many people have. However, having great alumni to network with isn't the only thing that's helping UF Journalism students make it to the top-- it's also constant innovation.

A specific example of this would be the <a href="http://cmir.jou.ufl.edu/">CMIR</a>. More information can be found at the site, but it's basically a tool and a mindset that the university has set in place to constantly keep us (the students) on our toes. Meaning, always trying to find fresh, new ways to tell stories in a way which adapts to and connects with our ever-changing world. The best way to see what the <a href="http://cmir.jou.ufl.edu/">CMIR</a> does is to look at some of the <a href="http://cmir.jou.ufl.edu/projects/">student projects</a>. Recently, the <a href="https://www.jou.ufl.edu/">CJC</a> changed its newsroom's name to the INC, which stands for Innovation News Center, which further exemplifies how UF does its best to make sure the JOU students are constantly changing, adapting, and keeping up with the trends in the journalism world. 

Personally, my favorite thing about the UF CJC is that it enables you to also learn other skills that can translate into other fields that we might want to go into, such as FILM! :)

Remember that film from the beginning of the post? Well, that's a film I was a part of a couple years back. It was made entirely by UF CJC students! This film went onto win many awards and was entered into many film festivals around the nation. The director of the film now attends the prestigious University of Southern California film school and is on his way to becoming Hollywood's next big movie director.

There are many more films that come out of UF that are just as successful. The skills they teach us here are invaluable, and for that I am so grateful. 

The UF Journalism Experience

The College of Journalism and Communications is one of the nation's top journalism programs year after year. Countless successful and well-known journalists have come out of the college, such as Erin Andrews from ESPN. Successful alumni such as Erin and many others have paved the way for current students and soon-to-be graduates to get a leg up in the industry that not many people have. However, having great alumni to network with isn't the only thing that's helping UF Journalism students make it to the top-- it's also constant innovation.

A specific example of this would be the CMIR. More information can be found at the site, but it's basically a tool and a mindset that the university has set in place to constantly keep us (the students) on our toes. Meaning, always trying to find fresh, new ways to tell stories in a way which adapts to and connects with our ever-changing world. The best way to see what the CMIR does is to look at some of the student projects. Recently, the CJC changed its newsroom's name to the INC, which stands for Innovation News Center, which further exemplifies how UF does its best to make sure the JOU students are constantly changing, adapting, and keeping up with the trends in the journalism world.

Personally, my favorite thing about the UF CJC is that it enables you to also learn other skills that can translate into other fields that we might want to go into, such as FILM! :)

Here is an example of a student film I was a part of, done entirely by UF CJC students. La Piedra. This film went onto win many awards and was entered into many film festivals around the nation. There are many more films that come out of UF that are just as successful. The skills they teach us here are invaluable, and for that I am so grateful.

Students' Blogs!

Rochelle Alleyne

Laura Arango

Elizabeth Beisel

Benjamin Bornstein

Keighly Chambers

Lauren Crawford

Kayla Gaskins

Leah Harding

Clinton Holzapfel

Dana Kurtz

Dyanne Lesnever

Stephanie Matarazzo

Ashley Mondesir

Elle Newbold

Taylor Nones

Charlene Ochogo

Savannah Olinger

Jezer Pagan

Adam Pages

Melissa Perez

Sarah Reichert

Alexandra Rivera


Kayla Rumpfeldt

Robert Scheppke

Trevor Sikkema

Stephanie Strasser

Dana Winter

Amanda Wood

The Future of FOX

... and other big news organizations besides Fox I just liked the alliteration.

Anyways! My last post was about students like myself who do not want to work in news. This one, however, is about my peers who do want to work in news. They are the future Matt Lauers, Bill O'Reillys and Katie Courics of my generation. I know, just by seeing them in classes, in the newsroom, and reading their blogs, they will take the world of news by storm. After all, at UF, we do have one of the best Telecommunications programs in the nation, so with that background plus their skill and drive, there is no limit to where they will go. I can't wait to find out!

Leah Harding

Kayla Gaskins

Keilghy Chambers


Below are the links of the comments I posted on some of the blogs:

Rochelle comment


Keighly comment

Kayla comment

Beyond the Scope of News

The most difficult thing I have learned in my 4 years as a Telecommunications news major, is that I don't like news. I don't regularly watch the news-- never have and never will. I respect and understand its importance and role in our society, but it's just isn't for me.

Hence why this blog has nothing to do with news. I think you can study communications in school and learn very valuable lessons that will help you in ANY career you want to enter into. I am also a firm believer in the (cliche) saying: "anything is possible." Just because you studied communications and news in college does not mean you are bound to that profession. At the UF J-School we are equipped with the career and life skills that enable us to succeed in whatever it is our dream job is.

Here are a few of my fellow classmates/Telecom. majors who, like myself, want to veer a little bit off of the hard news track we have been working so long in, and their blogs are about things they are interested in other than news. I'm so excited for them, admire their courage, and can't wait to see all of the places they will go!

Kayla Rumpfeldt

Benjamin Bornstein

Melissa Perez

Highlights

Last time I posted on here, I linked back to my very first blog entry on here, in which I described myself and my reasons for making this blog. This time, I am going include the link to that post again, along with a new, shorter, more recent bio about me and my life right now.

As you can probably tell, my name is Monica. I am now 21 years old, and a getting ready to graduate from the University of Florida. My degree is in Telecommunications and Theatre, and I want to work in film. I don't have many plans beyond that at the moment, except for that I'm going to pick up and move to LA as soon as I get that diploma, and see where life takes me. That may seem scary to some people, and it is, but the free spirit in me tells me everything will be OK and everything will work out for the best. If you'd like to be a part of my journey, and know anyone who can help me/employ me (ideally), please feel free to view my RESUME.

On a kind of related kind of unrelated note, I found out recently that one of my favorite actors grandparents live in my hometown of Zephyrhills, FL. I wrote about him in one of my blog entries a while back, so I feel like it's fate-- we're getting married. He just doesn't know it yet, that's all. :)

Until next time, friends.

Just in case...

So just in case you were wondering some more about who the heck I am and why I'm doing this blog, this was my first blog post introducing myself, starting out with a photo of me when I visited Hollywood , how appropriate, huh?!

Not too exciting, but just gives a face to a name and a person behind all this writing! Hope you enjoy it!


xo