What Can Communications Do For You? July 28, 2008

Sure, choosing a major is probably going to be the hardest thing you’ll do in all four years of college, if you haven’t already decided. But after that, what comes next? Find a job, continue your education at grad school, move home and work at McDonald’s (hopefully not…)?

The options are virtually endless considering very few people actually make use of their major once they graduate (according to my dad, at his 25^th Reunion from ISU, out of 8 people at his table he was the only one actually utilizing his college course of study).

That’s not to say that once you graduate with a communications degree you can throw all hope of broadcast, PR, or whatever you end up studying out the door. Many graduates from QU have made great use of their undergraduate education and moved on to bigger and better things.

Graduate school is a common option, depending on what you what to do. Northwestern has a good journalism program, Boston University has a number of Communication options, and at least one recent QU graduate has gone on to Northern Illinois University for Communication Studies.

But, maybe graduate school isn’t for you. I know one of my main problems with the idea of grad school is the idea of paying for grad school. Unless you get into a graduate assistant program or some other work-study/financial aid program, graduate school will likely drain your bank account into negative number. Extremely high negative numbers. Then what?

Get a job, of course! One of the best things about a communications major is that you can do so much with it! Monster.com has a Major to Career Converter which you can find here that can be a big help when evaluating where to go and what to do after college, no matter what your major is. According to the converter, a communications major is likely to be able to get a job as:

Advertising copywriter, advertising manager, audio/video specialist, broadcast advertising salesperson, campaign manager, communications lawyer, customer service representative, events planner, fashion merchandiser, graphic artist, greeting card writer, human resources administrator, industrial & labor relations specialist, media buyer, meeting planner, news writer/editor, photojournalist, print production coordinator, public relations specialist, publisher, radio/TV announcer, reporter , research worker, sales representative, special events coordinator, speechwriter, spokesperson, sportscaster, video programmer, writer/author… to name a few. Seriously, there were tons more listed…

Graduates from QU have gone on to work in Quincy, St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, and places even farther away working in public relations, broadcast, journalism, and other fields. Who knows where I’ll end up… Where will you go?

Get a Job July 25, 2008

Adjusting to college and the schoolwork and the social life that goes with it can be tricky enough, and when you add in a job on the side, things have the potential to get chaotic in your life. Not that everything will necessarily fall apart but it’s probably a good idea to get used to school before diving into a new job as well.

Enter in on-campus jobs. They’re always available (to those who qualify) doing a number of different things- Teachers’ Assistant, library worker, student ambassador for the Admissions Department, Physical Plant worker, Health and Fitness Center receptionist… just to name a few. These on-campus jobs are a great way to make a little money without stressing yourself out (in fact, a lot of these jobs include downtime when you can just do your homework or whatever you want to do). The hours usually aren’t bad at all (10-15 hours per week max, typically) and… ok, well the pay is just minimum wage but hey, it’s better than nothing, you know?

And maybe the idea of working in a library or working for a teacher or whatever isn’t really for you. Naturally you could always find a job in the town somewhere, at the mall or I don’t even know. Anywhere you want, really.

Internships are also always a possibility but I’ll go into more detail on that some other time. The good thing about internships at QU, though? They’re always paid internships. We have a grant that allows the school to pay employers half their interns’ wages. That’s a plus for them and maybe even for you, as it may be a motive for them to pay you even more.

Lambda Pi Eta…Don’t Be a Hata July 21, 2008

You say lame, we say catchy catchphrase to put on the backs of our t-shirts to demonstrate just how much other people just wish they could be a Communications major. Or not.

Anyway, Lambda Pi Eta is quite simply the Communications Honor Society for upperclassmen Communication majors. In the past, well… they didn’t really do anything. It was more something you paid your $30 dues for and could then put it on your resume and brag about to all your friends from home- “Yeah, I’m in Lambda Pi Eta. Jealous?” …To which you probably would just get a few blank stares and an awkward silence in response.

But this past year we decided to switch it up. Rather than do the usual sign up, pay your dues, and never meet as a club again, we decided to schedule bi-monthly meetings and actually do something. It began perfectly, but I have a confession… although we may have started this and it seemed like it was going to be great, after Christmas Break things fell apart. The Trivia Night for Charity that we had been planning got pushed to next year, the prizes we had already collected from donations got put in the advisor’s desk drawer (I think…), and meetings ceased to happen.

Next year, though… We have renewed hope for next year. We’ll have new members, new ideas, and half the work is already done so all we have to do is actually schedule and put on the Trivia Night. That and a president who’s willing to take on the job, but I don’t really have doubts that at least that will happen for us come next year.

I’ll probably be talking more about Lambda Pi Eta once school starts and meetings pick up and we actually start doing things worth talking about. We shall see, my friends… we shall see.

Campus Extras July 18, 2008

Obviously there’s more to a college campus than the dorms and the classroom buildings, and QU is no exception. The Health and Fitness Center, which was closed for a week or so to house the National Guard during the flood, has a pool, hot tub, basketball courts, volleyball nets, racquetball courts, a weight room, cardio equipment, and a suspended track. It’s actually pretty new. It was finished maybe a couple years before my freshmen year. It’s pretty nice- you should check it out. The funny thing is, it’s on the opposite side of campus from the dorms so the common complaint is “…but it’s too far away!” Ironic…

Much to my dismay, college students are not immune to sickness and disease. That’s why it’s always nice to know that there’s a Wellness Center located right on campus that will see students for free and even sneak them into the Doctor’s office for ASAP appointments when necessary. Try to have an insurance card in your wallet just in case you do ever need to go to the doctor. I left mine at home and apparently that just causes problems when you show up at the receptionist desk and have nothing. Oh well, it got worked out in the end… just a little hint though. Bring the card to school- it makes life easier.

Occasionally there comes a time in everyone’s life when they just need someone to talk to. Sometimes, my problem with that is that either what I need to talk about is too complicated to explain to my closest friends, involves my closest friends leaving me with nobody to talk to, or involves people that my closest friends may know and that makes it hard to really talk to them about it. That’s where the counseling center comes in. A licensed counselor is available by appointment or walk-in to treat and discuss and provide services for Anxiety and stress depression, relationship concerns (friends and/or partners), worries regarding grades/major, family situations, adjustment to University life, and other mental health issues. The Counseling Center also will collaborate with community health professionals tp provide you with the best care you may need.

Ministers from the Campus Ministry department are also always available to talk and provide guidance in spiritual or any aspect of life. They also arrange different service projects and other activities for the campus. The best (in my opinion) is Grilled Cheese Night, which they’ve been having as a study break during finals week. Bill, the campus ministry, makes great grilled cheese. I don’t even know why they’re so great… grilled cheese is pretty basic but he does something…

Enough about silly things like health and spirituality… just kidding! But no really, one of my favorite parts of walking into the library (aside from all the books… yay learning) is the Gray Gallery. Located in the front entranceway and the foyer of the Brenner Library is a small art gallery run by Bob Mejer. Local artists and artists from all over the country are both featured in art shows that are completely free to the public. They also have student art shows at the end of every school year so it’s always fun to see your own artwork in there if you took an art class during the year.

You can’t really take classes without books… sadly… And for that, we have the Campus Bookstore, which sells QU apparel and gifts, school supplies, and of course, books. It’s located underneath the cafeteria in the student center, which was actually just fixed up recently with new paint, TVs, wall decorations, and more. It looks a lot better down there than it used to and it actually is a fun place to do homework or watch TV or whatever floats your boat. You can get wireless too so a lot of people will bring their laptops and go online. It’s fun stuff. Try it out.

Study Abroad July 14, 2008

So… maybe you’ll be shocked to find out that I just got back from Ireland. Or maybe you don’t care. I don’t know. It was pretty much the experience of a lifetime and I am so glad that I decided to go. I have family that lives in a small town in Tipperary so my grandma, my sister, my cousin, and I all went to stay with them. It’s always nice to not have to pay for a hotel, especially with exchange rates as horrible as they are right now. It costs enough just to be able to eat, you know? I just wish I could have traveled to more places in Europe… oh well. Next time, perhaps. If there is a next time… We’ll see.

My cousin studied abroad in Galway, Ireland  a couple years ago and she managed to travel her way to Italy, Norway, Germany, England, Scotland, and so many European places it makes me dizzy. And somewhat jealous. I guess I needed to spend more time in Ireland and gosh, I wish I could have.  Should have studied abroad, I reckon… Studying abroad is actually a great opportunity that Quincy University and other schools offer.

QU has a number of options for study abroad with the International Study Program.

Assisi Experience Program- Being a Franciscan school it’s only natural that we’d have a Franciscan-style study abroad too. Students in this take a course before heading off to Italy to tour Assisi, San Damiano, LaVerna, Grecchio, Vatican City, and Rome. The class and trip together are worth six credit hours so that’s not a bad deal either.

Regent’s College in London, England- I had a couple friends go through this program last year for a semester they have a number of study programs available for joint credit with Regent’s College and QU. You take classes in the college in London for credit at QU, plus you get a number of opportunities to travel both independently and with a group.

College Consortium for International Studies (CCIS)- QU has a contract of some sort that allows student to go all over the world with this program. The consortium allows students to study 48 different programs in 29 different countries throughout Europe, Central and South America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and North America.

Loyola University Rome Center- The union between the Loyola Rome Center and QU is a long-standing one. Students are allowed to attend school at the Rome Center for a semester or a year and then transfer the credit back to QU upon their return. My mom went to Rome through this program when she was in college and she absolutely loved it.

If there’s a program that you know of that isn’t available directly through QU, it’s also possible to talk to Linda Godley who is in charge of all that and she might be able to arrange it for you for credit. There are a lot of opportunities to be had through studying abroad. Everyone I know who has done it has loved it so much they didn’t want to leave wherever it was they studied. I wish I had had a chance to study abroad but my timing was all off and I procrastinated too much. Oh well, maybe it will work out better for you.

Dealing with your Roommate July 11, 2008

Picture this: you’re going to a new school in the fall and will be living with some complete stranger from a small town in Missouri. All you know about this person is that they like hunting, sports, and motocross and had often been to Quincy before to go shopping because it was the closest decent mall.

Maybe for some of you this sounds like the perfect person but for me, I was scared senseless. I had never even known anyone who enjoyed hunting (and with a friend who’s an avid member of PETA this was also kind of a conflict of interest). We e-mailed back and forth a couple of times but she didn’t have internet at her house so she wasn’t able to respond all that often and after about two e-mails they stopped altogether.

I tried calling her once but that didn’t work- the phone number for some reason was out of service at the time or something. That pretty much left me in a rut. I had just received a refrigerator from a family friend and wasn’t sure (1) if she had one already, (2) if she had a microwave or if I needed to get one, and (3) who would be bringing the TV? With no way to contact her and move-in day fast approaching, I decided to just bring the fridge and TV and forget about it. I could always just send home what I ended up not needing.

When I walked in our new room she had already been there for a couple hours and was out to lunch with her family. Her side of the room was all set up and sitting in the very center of the room was a microwave and nothing else. Ultimately, it worked out perfectly but I was so lucky it did. I’ve heard stories from some of my friends who said they wrote letters back and forth all summer, used facebook to contact one another back and forth, e-mailed or called… The forms of communication are endless but somehow my roommate and I were never able to even really talk until we had finally moved in and met each other face to face.

The good news is, there was so much more to her than the hunter tom boy that she made herself out to be in her e-mails. My roommate freshmen year actually became a really great friend who always had my back, no matter what. She’s since left school and moved to a completely different state to get married and we don’t talk anymore. Sure, we had our differences every once in a while but that happens. I got lucky when it turned out I had a roommate that I didn’t completely clash with, but some people aren’t as lucky.

Roommates are like little makeshift arranged marriages. Sometimes you are put with someone who is great for you and you just click with right away. But sometimes you don’t get along at first bat and you have to work on it and eventually things might be able to work out. And then sometimes there’s just no way you could ever live with your roommate for a week, let alone a whole year. Luckily, after all else fails, there’s always the option of moving into a single or getting a new roommate. You probably aren’t alone in your roommate woes so if, after talking to your roommate and you both agree that moving is the best option, another friend is having the same problem as you, there’s always the option of moving in with them instead. A lot of people who end up moving just do this if they don’t get a single.

Here are some basic tips for dealing with your roommate:

Dorms… so many options! July 7, 2008

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner… Choosing what dorm to live in my freshman year was the hardest decision I had to make that entire summer. Okay so maybe not really, but it certainly seemed like it at the time. I had no idea what the difference was between the two options they gave me and on my tour of campus they only showed me one of the dorms anyway. Not that I regret the decision I finally made of where to live- in fact, I wouldn’t change it for the world. But that was all based on luck if you ask me. Or maybe I would have been happy wherever I ended up… I don’t know. Either way, here’s a little guide to the world of dorms at Quincy University (interestingly though, the dorms have changed around a little bit since I started- now more of them are co-ed than before).

Choosing a Major July 4, 2008

I know choosing a major can be tricky. It took me over a year to finally settle on mine. All throughout high school and into college I went through a ton of different options. First I wanted to be teacher, then a social worker, and then I randomly decided I wanted to major in English. Finally I thought I settled on graphic design until a friend of mine convinced me to just go away for school and decide once I got there. So, off to Quincy I ended up going and instead of deciding what to do I just became more and more confused. Psychology? No. History? Definitely not. Theology? I don’t think so.

At the beginning of my sophomore year of college, one of my friends actually sat me down next to her at the computer and forced me to go through the list of majors that QU had to offer. As we began narrowing them down it soon became clear that my options were significantly fewer than I had originally thought.

In the end, all I was left with was Communications, Graphic Design, or Business. Well, Business didn’t really sound that much fun to me so that was then taken off my list. In the end I decided that I probably could do more with Communications. It had a little bit of graphic design incorporated into the program and I have since declared a minor in it anyway to fulfill those creative needs. Ideally I’ll be able to find a job someday that incorporates Graphic Design with Communications but I have another year before that even begins to matter.

It’s really important to keep your strengths in mind when trying to decide what to study. For some people like me, it might not be completely obvious what your strengths are or what you’d be best at. No worries though, you don’t have to declare your major as soon as you set foot at school. Most universities and colleges don’t make you declare until the beginning of your junior year- that gives you 2 years to get the feel for things, take a couple classes you might be interested, and get used to college before dedicating yourself to something you may or may not love. Trust me, it’s a lot harder to switch majors your junior year than it is just wait to declare it.