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Senior Seminar
15 November 2019
take a moment to reflect on what led me to where I am today. In elementary school, we were
asked what we wanted to be when we grew up. For many years, I had one answer: a teacher. I
had a love for school like no one else. However, as I continued to excel in school, I began to feel
uncertain about my desire to become a teacher, and eventually decided to follow a different path.
The main reason for changing my mind about teaching was due to the pay teachers receive and
my fear of being unable to support myself. My mom works in the school system and I see how
hard she works each and every day, yet for so little pay. In high school, we took a variety of
assessments that matched our skills with potential career paths. On the list of potential careers, it
stated that if I were to go into a career in business, then I would have a substantially higher
paycheck. Although I was passionate about teaching, I put my passion to the side and decided to
Bryant University, Roger Williams University, and Bentley University. I chose Bryant because I
appreciated the additional arts minor requirement that would be in conjunction with my business
major. As a creative individual, I was nervous about aiming for a business degree because I did
not want my creativity to be constricted, so having an arts minor was meaningful to me. When
deciding on my specific major and minor, I declared as a Marketing major because I felt I could
be creative within digital or social media marketing. When talking to other Bryant students and
my advisor, I decided to have a communication minor because I was told they paired well
together.
unsure if I would enjoy it. I remember watching a movie one evening when I was in high school
called Endless Love. There was a scene in the movie where a father and son were talking, and the
father expressed his disappointment in his son for choosing to major in communication, rather
than become a lawyer or doctor. This movie scene was the first time I had ever heard of
“communication.” I remember thinking to myself, “You can earn a degree in how to talk to
people?" When I think about this moment, I cannot help but laugh. I never thought that years
course. It is safe to say that taking this introductory course had me hooked. I had the opportunity
to take the course with professor Alyce Viens, who only taught at Bryant for a short time. Unlike
most business courses, this communication course allowed me to think critically and engage in
valuable discussion. We examined introductory theories and applied them to real world
scenarios, allowing me to see the world differently. I do not mean to sound dramatic, but I fell in
love with communication very quickly through this initial course, and I knew it was right for me.
However, making the decision to officially switch my major to communication was not
an easy choice. So many doubts flowed through my mind because I had to accept the reality that
I could not bear to have a desk job where I make a substantial salary doing something I have
absolutely no passion for. It is no secret that liberal arts majors simply have to work a little
harder to be successful. This is especially the case at Bryant, where career support is heavily
leaning towards the college of business and does not always take the arts students into
consideration. Although I was nervous about this, I took the leap. I have always been a
hardworking individual and I determined that I did not mind working a little harder to find a job
Once I declared myself as a communication major, I was absolutely thrilled to select the
communication courses that I felt were exciting. I have taken many communication courses and
each one has been impactful and changed the way I think about and view the world. This
connects with one of the main reasons I love communication: I find it very complex. There are so
many layers to communication, which can be seen when looking at communication theories.
Theories start at the individual level with theories such as constructivism, action assembly
theory, or attribution theory, and then become more complex. Communication theory can be
reduction theory, face theory, or groupthink. From there, communication theories move to an
does not stop there though. Communication theorists also analyze mass communication and look
at media effects through theories such as cultivation theory, agenda setting theory, spiral of
silence theory, and many more. There are also global theories looking at information flow, world
systems theory, and cultural imperialism. So, it is easy to see how one could become incredibly
moments that stick out to me as meaningful. The first that comes to mind is my communication
research methods course. I have never been more nervous for a course until this one. I knew it
would require a tremendous amount of work and dedication. For me, it was critical that I took
this class very seriously and truly learned the material. I knew someday that I may use the
material taught in this course, and looking back, I was right. This course challenged me
communication discipline. I learned a lot throughout this course, but two specific takeaways
come to mind. First, I learned my true potential. I went into the course with many doubts about if
I would be successful, but as it turns out, I came out on top. Research methods taught me how to
push myself and not give up when I am frustrated or confused. I successfully executed a research
study and wrote a research report. It made me realize that I had potential as a scholar and could
continue to grow in that direction. Second, I learned the importance of ethics in communication.
When looking at past studies that have been completed without ethical boundaries, I discovered
how truly devastating this can be. Now, I have an understanding of what constitutes as ethical
and how to create an ethical research study where participants are properly informed and taken
care of. Overall, my research methods course was one of the many successes I have had in my
discipline.
The second profound success I have had in my major is being inducted into the National
Communication Honor Society, Lambda Pi Eta. Academically, I work very hard to ensure I do
well in my classes and take away as much knowledge as I am able to. I also aim to be involved
with communication events on campus and support my fellow classmates and communication
faculty. Being inducted into this society meant a lot to me because it showed that my efforts were
seen. I was so excited to attend this induction with my fellow communication students and share
our achievement together. This evening was one I will always remember and appreciate.
I feel very strongly about my third accomplishment within my major. Throughout my
four years at Bryant, I have become increasingly media literate. Through my mass
communication and media effects course I have truly begun to understand what effects media has
had on me, my family, my friends, and society. From the teachings of Stanley and Susan Baran, I
have been able to overcome some of the hardest trials of my life, facing an eating disorder for
several years. By increasing my media literacy skills, I have been able to improve my self-
esteem and gain a sense of self. Also, by better understanding media effects, I can understand
how media may be affecting my loved ones, which allows me to help them.
A fourth accomplishment relates to my public speaking abilities. I have never had anxiety
about public speaking and have always felt I would excel in it. I took public speaking my
sophomore year at Bryant and developed greatly as a public speaker. I successfully gave
informational, analytical, persuasive, and special occasion speeches. Taking this course then
inspired me to partake in Bryant University’s public speaking colloquium where I spoke about
my history with eating disorders and how they relate to media effects. Although I did not move
on to the next round in the competition, I was congratulated for a job well done. I am hoping to
My last and final achievement that I wanted to mention involves my internship where I
was able to employ my major and minors. Summer of 2019, I earned an internship at FUN107
Radio. This had been my dream internship since I was a young child. I worked tirelessly to earn
the internship and after a year of showing interest, I was hired as a Digital Media intern. I was
able to learn the ins and outs of radio, as well as become familiar with journalism, social media
marketing, audio visual technologies, and production. The most memorable moment at my
internship was when I was able to be a guest on air discussing my opinions on drag-queens. At
the time, this was a newsworthy topic and I felt extremely confident giving my input. After the
show aired, the director of the radio station told me I had a guaranteed future in radio if that was
the career path I wanted to take. This is a moment I will never forget.
Those accomplishments are just to name a few, but they are all very meaningful and I
will most likely always remember them. I have had a truly enjoyable and impactful time at
Bryant University and in the College of Arts. So much so, that after years of putting my
ambitions of teaching off to the side, my mindset has begun to shift. As a junior, I decided I was
truly passionate about communication and wanted to further my knowledge on the subject. For
several months I thought about my potential and whether or not to pursue a master’s degree.
Having formed close relationships with the communication professors at Bryant, I determined it
was the right fit for me through discussion with them. I applied in the fall semester of my junior
year and was accepted into the Bryant University Master of Arts in Communication program in
the spring of 2019. I have begun my journey in my master’s program, and while it is as
Recently, I have been tossing around the idea that I would like to pursue a doctorate degree in
communication. This would allow me the opportunity to teach, which is what I have always
desired to do. It would be an amazing opportunity to attend a school in an area I am not familiar
with so that I can experience the US more. If I do not take that path, I hope to continue working
at Ulta and moving internally up the ladder. I absolutely love working at Ulta because my world
revolves around makeup. I find myself employing communication theories everyday at my job,
and I would love to become a district or regional manager for the corporate office.
Four years later, I reflect on how happy I am about my decision to switch to a
and engage in public discourse, I truly appreciate everything I have learned in my undergraduate
career. I feel prepared for the future and excited about all the wonderful opportunities I will have.
I am very grateful for the faculty who have mentored me, educated me, and inspired me. The
communication department at Bryant has allowed me to reach heights I was never sure I could.