To me, being a student of Communication and Media Studies means learning how to achieve my personal and professional goals by developing and maintaining successful relationships through communication as well as being able to offer my employers knowledge of the ever-changing world of media and how to best use it. Writing this essay, I have just begun on my path as a Communication and Media Studies student but I have already learned so much. Early on, I discovered my interest in crisis communication and the importance of image repair theory and the balance of moral and business decisions that go into image repair discourse. I have also learned new things that help me understand communication on a personal level such as the way that interpersonal communication takes place on a continuum between impersonal and interpersonal reflective of the relationship’s rules, uniqueness, and history. Both things mentioned above as well as the rest of my knowledge from my communication courses have helped prepare me for a successful professional career. Before switching my major, I felt unprepared for life in the professional world as I had no clue where I wanted to apply my skills after graduation. While there was a certain joy to feeling as though the whole world was my oyster, there is something to be said about what the stress of not knowing can do to a student with graduation creeping over the horizon. Since I have changed my path, I have also changed my perspective. I realize how much I find joy in creating social media content, and want to seek out a career in social media content creation and writing. This finding has given me a sense of purpose and has also made the search for internships much simpler.
With my Communication and Media Studies major, I have decided to specialize in Communication because I have always enjoyed interacting with people and customer engagement in the workplace so I decided that an emphasis in Communication was best for me. Some of the scholarly perspectives I’ve worked with include: William Benoit’s theory of Image Repair Discourse, Griffin-Padget and Allison’s Theory of Restorative Rhetoric, and Meg Tully’s definition of and discourse on Millennial Feminism.
After graduation, I plan to pursue employment with any company that will allow me to work with or manage social media and content creation as I stated above. My specific areas of interest include Instagram and Tiktok, but I also can work with Twitter, Facebook, Youtube among others. I also would look into general content creation like blogs and videos. Writing this essay, I have recently accepted an internship position with Technology Therapy Group as a social media intern, and I know that the experience this opportunity gives me will be a huge help as a transition from college life to the world of employment.
