College Reflection

When first arriving at Berry, I was nervous yet excited about what opportunities this new chapter in life would bring. I began my college career as an animal science major, but quickly fell through the cracks. The technical jargon of genetics and cell biology made my brain feel flooded and I simply was unable to keep up. I was stumbling my way through classes, feeling discouraged and, speaking honestly, I was at my lowest point. Everything changed, however, when I began looking into other options. In high school, I was in the theatre department and an active participant on the student journalism team. After taking Foundations of Mass Communications with Dr. Hersey, and realizing I was truly interested in communicating with others and forming connections, I pressed onwards and changed my major to specialize in public relations. 

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My first real venture into the world of communications was through my Rhetoric and Public Address with Dr. Gellert, and what a time it was. Through this class, I was able to talk about things I was truly passionate about, from presenting the history of Nintendo, to arguing in support of ethical zoos. I still remember practicing my speeches before class in order to get my cadence right and my ideas presented thoroughly. Getting more into the public relations aspect of my academic career, Public Relations Writing with Dr. Field-Springer gave me the opportunity to connect with an institution outside of Berry. Through working with the Rome-Floyd Eco Center, I was able to return to my love of animals and created a media kit for them to publicize. 

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The feature story concerned the history of the Eco Center and how it went from a freshwater pumping station, to an area where children and adults alike can lose themselves in the natural world. I also formulated several fact sheets concerning how the center operates including how it would develop after further construction. Additionally, being able to write about fun animal facts was a highlight. Furthermore, I created a Social Media content calendar which outlined what would be posted and whether to the center’s Facebook or Instagram page. Posts included advertising the then-upcoming archery competition, and an interview with head biologist, James Hosford, about the new alligator area that had been built that year. Despite it not being utilized by the center, it was an excellent opportunity to hone my skills and dip my toes into the world of public relations. Furthermore, Public Relations Writing presented me with the opportunity to write blog posts about another passion of mine, anime. Through utilizing my knowledge of the show “One Piece,” I wrote about the various power systems and how they are implemented in Eiichiro Oda’s fictional world. 

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Another favorite class of mine within the communications concentration was Visual Rhetoric. I consider myself to be a pretty artistic person when it comes to the way I see imagery and connections in art. Dr. Carroll’s class allowed me to delve into the world of metaphors, breaking down both the superficial and deep-rooted meanings behind design and imagery. The knowledge given to me by this course also helped me with my Multimedia Production course, again taken with Dr. Field-Springer. Utilizing my new insights into imagery, I was able to create a cohesive design strategy for the club I help run, Berry College alternate Realities, also known as BCAR. At the time, the club did not have a cohesive design strategy nor a simple logo. Through creating a brand style guide and a small logo representative of nerd culture, I was able to remedy this issue, further solidifying the club as a welcoming environment for anyone interested in video games, board games, anime, and general fantasy. 

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In addition to helping out BCAR design-wise, I used Crisis and Risk Communication to address an underlying issue present on college campuses as a whole. While getting through my academic life, my social life was heavily affected by discovering that close friends of mine had acted in violation of Title IX. Driven by a sense of justice, and not wanting something like this to happen again, I created a crisis communications packet outlining the proper steps to take in reporting sexual assault on Berry College’s campus. As a school club, BCAR is an integral part of the educational environment and must prioritize the safety and support of its members. The potential risks that come with putting club members and other students at risk perpetuates a hostile environment and can discourage victims from seeking the necessary aid. Through the formulation of a crisis communications packet, not only is the club now aware of what to do in case something like that should ever happen again, but how to mitigate the effects on its reputation.

 

Ironically, one of the last courses I have taken at Berry College was Principles of Public Relations with Dr. Field-Springer. While I have taken all the courses pertaining to the public relations concentration, Principles of Public Relations further helped solidify my confidence in my ability to create a public relations campaign. Currently, in class, I am working with partners to create a campaign that raises awareness about the needs of disabled students and how they can gain access to the necessary accomodations to succeed academically. Through creating surveys and identifying challenges such as accessibility issues, I can develop strategies including awareness campaigns to promote inclusivity. Furthermore, this past semester I was hired on as a public relations specialist for the Berry College Theatre Community. This experience so far has allowed me to understand what it’s really like to communicate with the public, outside of a college campus. I don’t think I will ever forget the hecticness of planning a direct ask campaign in the form of a raffle, and the disappointment when it was not able to come to fruition. However, I am taking every opportunity as a learning experience and cannot wait to see what’s next in this career.

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My experience thus far at Berry College has been enlightening and inspiring. Seeing my transformation from flunking out of animal science, to thriving in public relations helped me understand who I want to be and where I want to go. While the path towards my future is still ongoing, I would like to go into working with animals or raising awareness about social justice campaigns. Since I was a child, I have always been passionate about helping others and the natural world around me. Through utilizing my experiences at Berry College, I can hopefully do just that. Ideally, I see myself working as either a social media manager or crisis communications team member for a zoological organization or multimedia company. These career paths would allow me to lose myself in my passions while making the world a better place.