Joining the communication/journalism department at Shippensburg University was the best decision I have made for myself.
Throughout my life I have always wanted to be a writer.
Through every hard time in my life I have always turned to writing down my thoughts, poetry or short stories. But when I got into high school, I lost sight of that. I thought I wanted to be a music teacher and wanted to attend Slippery Rock University.
I wanted to be as far away from home as possible; the one place that held every memory I did not want.
But once I started community college the year after I graduated, things became clearer to me.
I wanted to be far enough away from home that I was not able to drive home every weekend, but not too far that I could not see my family.
Honestly, SU caught my attention because I knew someone who was attending here and it became more appealing to me.
Once I visited the school, I was hooked. So choosing my major was the tricky part.
Not only did I not know what I wanted to do, but I was also scared to make the wrong decision.
Picking a major is something everyone seems to be pressured into and it becomes a stressful choice in your life.
So as I sat down to write one day, I realized, why would I not want to do this for the rest of my life?
And from then on it is what I wanted to do with my life all over again.
My mom could not say enough positive things about the dean and the department’s faculty and I agreed 100 percent.
I have not spent one day with regrets about joining the department.
Every class I have taken has benefited me in some way.
Every professor I have had has lived up to my expectations and have become role models and excellent mentors in my life. The connection the professors have with the students is special. Not only does the faculty strive to make us the best in what we do, but also they want us to learn.
They are all excellent professors and are setting us up for what is about to come after graduation in our fields.
To know how much your professors care about your work, your experiences and the amount of information you learn to apply into the work force after graduation, is amazing. Student media are also impressive at SU.
At the end of my first semester at SU, I applied to write for The Slate.
I did not think I had a chance at anything more than a staff writer position, but I ended up being interviewed for the assistant opinion editor.
It was such an amazing experience for me to learn, use my writing skills and develop countless skills on page design and running a section.
The next semester I became the opinion editor, where I still sit today.
Without this experience, my skills would not be put to use and I would be much less likely to get a good job after I graduate.
The communication/journalism department really pushes the students to get involved and get experience in a student media branch.
And even though I am a print media student, the other two emphases are well-staffed too. There is at least one professor who is a professional in something you are interested in.
Whether it is magazines, newspapers, radio or television, the professors in this department are very intellegent and are experts in what they do.
Knowing that I can relate to one of my professors about my upcoming career is so comforting.
I cannnot imagine being at any other university or in any other major.
The communication/journalism department has given me nothing but opportunities, experience, knowledge and confidence in what I want to do with the rest of my life.
Thank you to the department and all my professors for being inspirational and great mentors; I am grateful.
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