Archives – Page 6 – Harrison Connect

December 3, 2012woocw No Comments

[Blog Post] PRSSA National Conference

From October 12-16, 2012, five members from James Madison University’s Public Relations Student Society of America, including myself, headed to San Francisco, California to enhance their professional development and network with public relations professionals at the PRSSA National Conference. Speakers came from all over the country hosting professional sessions on various PR related topics such as pitching, media training, sports PR and the importance of social media.

JMU PRSSA’s professional development coordinator, Angela Scibilia, said that the conference was a “really unique opportunity to meet and network with students from all over the country and exchange ideas to improve our organization and our careers in public relations.”

Students also had the opportunity to meet and network with many agencies around the country while representing their chapter and university. “I absolutely loved the atmosphere in San Francisco. We had the opportunity to make great networking connections with both students and professionals in the field,” says Melissa Peale, Secretary of JMU PRSSA.

The SCOM has six organizations to help enhance your education and kickstart your career. Joining one of these organizations allows students to become involved in leadership positions and help build your pre-professional career.

What are some other benefits of joining pre-professional organizations? Share your comments below.

December 2, 2012woocw No Comments

(Blog Post) How Current and Prospective SCOM Students can get Help

According to James Madison University’s Career and Academic Planning website, “More than half of the students who enter JMU with a declared major change their minds at least once.” When I started at JMU in fall 2009, I was declared to be an accounting major. After taking courses like calculus and economics, I decided that my interest in pursuing a career that involved math was non-existent. I decided to go undeclared at the end of my first semester of sophomore year.

Over Christmas break, that year, I thought a lot about what I was going to change my major to. It wasn’t until a family friend, who works in Public Relations, told me about his working experience at CBS, which made me interested in pursuing a career in the media. I conducted some research and talked to my parents about changing my major to Public Relations in the School of Communication Studies. They thought it was an excellent idea since I am creative and love to write.

After I made a decision that I was going to declare a major in communication studies, I had no idea who or where to go from there. Most underclassmen, who change their major, may find it difficult to access resources that will help guide them through their transition into a new major. I asked my accounting advisor on whom to talk to and she directed me to Career and Academic Planning.

CAP was an excellent resource for my career development and planning. After I told them that I wanted to major in communication studies, they guided me over to Dr. Sharon Mazzarella, director of SCOM. Once a student declares SCOM and is enjoying it, he or she can seek help from either Dr. Mazzarella, Dr. Toni Whitfield, assistant director of SCOM, or Gretchen Hansen, SCOM’s program support technician, through the application process in order to become a fully enrolled SCOM student.

As a declared SCOM student, it is required to take Introduction to Communication Theory and Communication Theory Lab. The professors who are teaching those two courses can also advise prospective SCOM students. When I was taking the introduction courses, Gretchen Hazard mentored me at times when I was afraid I was not going to get accepted into the program. Many declared students may find the two introduction classes to be difficult at times. My friend Stacey Petty, an SCOM senior, said, “When I was taking the introduction classes my sophomore year, I found the exams to be too long and specific. As someone who is mainly interested in Organizational Communication, it is difficult to study every aspect of communication studies.” The reason why some students get discouraged after they take an exam in there intro courses is because there is a GPA requirement of a 2.7 or higher between the two courses. It is important that prospective SCOM students use their professors as mentors because they can make sure that their students continue to work hard and keep their hopes up.

Once students are accepted into SCOM, they will be assigned an advisor that they will have until graduation. Advisors are also great sources and mentors for current students who need help deciding what classes to take or if they are meeting all of their requirements for graduation.

Students can access more infomation regarding career planning and SCOM by following CAP, @jmucap, and SCOM, @jmuscom, on Twitter.

Contact Information:

Career and Academic Planning

www.jmu.edu/cap

Wilson Hall 3^rd Floor

(540) 568-6555

Dr. Sharon Mazzarella

mazzarsr@jmu.edu

Harrison 1283

(540) 568-5633

Dr. Toni Whitfield

whitfits@jmu.edu

Harrison 1256

(540) 568-3166

Gretchen Hansen

hansenga@jmu.edu

Harrison 1284

(540) 568-6775

Have you changed your major before? If so, how were you guided through your transition from your original major to your current major? I would love to hear from you!

November 30, 2012woocw No Comments

[Blog post] End of year musings on student feedback

The era of course evaluations is coming. In every class, students will be asked to comment on the past semester: how much they learned, how effective their professor was and how fairly the grades were assessed. As a fifth-year senior, I’ve filled out more of these than I can count. I know that my feedback is confidential and anonymous, but that it’s used by both SCOM and the professor.

Last Spring, I received an email from a professor, Dr. Leppington, who taught one of my favorite classes at JMU. She was asking for student comments on that course so that she could market the course to new students better. I, of course, offered my response happily. This past week, I visited her again to ask her how she uses student feedback. She said, “I try and work out to what extent I have succeeded in connecting with the students. What I try to look for is evidence of growth and learning.”

As I got ready to leave, I told Dr. Leppington that her course had been one of a handful that had really made a difference in my college career. She smiled and said, “Well that is the most helpful feedback of all.”

Have you had any experiences like mine? Share in the comments!

November 29, 2012woocw No Comments

[News Release] JMU Professors Attend National Communication Association Annual Conference

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The National Communication Association hosted its 98th Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida, Nov. 15-18. Communication scholars from around the country, including 28 James Madison University professors from the School of Communication Studies, presented their own research and participated in panel discussions.

Professors from the SCOM presented research on topics ranging from family communication to health communication to social media. Assistant professor at JMU SCOM, Dr. Isaac Woo, said before he left for the conference, “I am excited about traveling with colleagues and building relationships with communication scholars around the country.” Woo also presented two research studies. “I am especially excited to present my paper about the use of social media in collegiate sports organizations because I am very interested in both social media and sports,” Woo added.

This year’s conference theme was entitled Celebrating COMMunity. “My experiences at the recent NCA convention were quite diverse, but all served to energize both my scholarship and my teaching,” said Dr. Melissa Aleman, professor of communication studies. Aleman presented a project on the use of narratives in bicultural families with her co-author, Dr. Carlos Aleman, associate professor in SCOM. “It was particularly rewarding to hear the narratives of the other panelists, as they resonated with our own family experiences. I am looking forward to sharing those insights in SCOM 440 Family Communication this coming spring semester,” Melissa added.

In addition to presenting research and participating in panel discussions, JMU SCOM had the opportunity to share their new MA program at the NCA Graduate Open House. This event was a way to meet prospective graduate students as well as introduce the new program to colleagues from around the country. “We had fantastic conversations with other faculty about our respective programs and are hopeful that they will encourage their students to apply to our program,” Melissa said.

According to the NCA website, the NCA “advances communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific and aesthetic inquiry.” The NCA serves its members by supporting their teaching and research. The NCA Annual Convention is a way for members to present their research through the leading outlet for the discipline’s scholarship. Attendees had the chance to participant in special sessions/events, special series and annual series.

To learn more about the NCA Annual Convention, visit http://www.natcom.org/convention/

The School of Communication Studies is part of the College of Arts and Letters at James Madison University. Their mission is the teaching of communication theory and criticism, the development of communication and advocacy skills, the research of communication processes and practices, and the application of generated knowledge about human communication toward the betterment of self and community. Visit http://www.jmu.edu/commstudies for more information.

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November 16, 2012woocw No Comments

[Blog Post] Kathy Clarke

SCOM students have many great resources to help with school work. One of those resources is SCOM Librarian, Kathy Clarke. Kathy is the person who buys all of the journals, books and movies that we use to assist us with our research projects. In addition to those responsibilities, Kathy also helps out in the classroom, to get our research off the ground.

I had a chance to interview Kathy and ask her a few questions.

Question “What do you do to help SCOM students?”

Kathy “I help the SCOM 280 classes, to show them what research is about. We look at how we would study a topic, how we would find information about the topic, and how would we look at it from a communication studies perspective.”

Question “How do you help individual students with their research?”

Kathy “If a student is stuck on their research, we look for things to study.”

Question “Why do you like being the SCOM librarian?”

Kathy “Communication Studies comes at you in a different way. It’s very interesting”

Question “What else do you do as the SCOM librarian?”

Kathy “I help out with the Debate team and IE. If the topic was something not related to communication, I would help them to find that research”

If you would like more information about how Kathy can help you, visit the libraries Communication Studies website.

November 15, 2012woocw No Comments

[Listening Post] Be the Change

We are all humans. As humans, we find stories about other humans to be interesting. They can be inspiring, heart-breaking or funny. This is why the JMU blog, Be the Change, is worth a read. The blog contains human stories about how people are living the motto, “Be the Change.” As SCOM students, we should be especially interested in these human stories. We can look at how the bloggers use their words to construct a reality. We can build relationships through discussion. We can use these stories to learn about our field of study.

Gil Welsford, a 2012 alumnus, had an inspiring story about how powerful the little are in life. “People feel like they have to do something big to change someone’s life, but doing small things can be so powerful. I truly do feel like smiling at somebody who’s sitting on the street will save their life,” Welsford said. He also spoke about his desire to make the world a better place by using his College of Business education. As SCOM students, we could use his story to promote JMU and Be the Change. The Be the Change blog is full of stories like Gil’s. Be the Change can be a great resource for SCOM students. Whether we use it for publicity purposes by promoting the stories, for research purposes or just to be inspired, Be the Change is worth the read.

If you would like more information about Be the Change, email them at BetheChange@jmu.edu or post a comment on their blog.

November 15, 2012woocw No Comments

[Listening Post] How JMU Students Portray “Be the Change”

“Be the Change.” Here at JMU, we hear that phrase almost daily, but what does it really mean? JMU students, on and off campus, have been changing the world every day just by being inspiring, creative, and innovative.

JMU alum, Gilbert Welsford Jr., taught a Motivational Entrepreneurship class through JMU Teach, which is an experimental program that allows students to create and facilitate their own classes. This class paved Welsford’s way into being involved in two current ventures, Sparks Entertainment and ValveMan, in which he has partnered with his friends and family.

“That’s not why I live on this earth-for business. Not because I want a lot of money- well, so I can earn a lot of money to give it away, change peoples’ lives,” Welsford said.

“Be the Change” not only symbolizes changing others’ lives, but being our own role models. Levar Stoney, a 2004 JMU political science graduate, had been chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party for the 2008 election. Stoney defused any negative comments he received against the Democractic party with saying that there is a certain time and place, right and wrong tone, for these discussions. He was courteous and sensitive when others may not have been.

I believe that every student at JMU embodies “Be the Change” in one way or another. We are each finding our path to changing the world here at JMU, and the Be the Change blog is a great way to showcase the work of our students. Being surrounded by so many interesting and inspiring people reiterates JMU’s strong sense of community. What do you think empowers JMU students to “Be the Change”?

November 15, 2012woocw No Comments

[Listening Post] Be the Change – in SCOM, at JMU and in the world

At JMU, we embrace the slogan “Be the Change.” Every member of this community, no matter their hometown, year or major, strives to do the best that they can with every day. That’s why this blog, Be the Change, is a must-read for students, staff and faculty alike.

The blog posts on this site vary greatly, from guest bloggers to interviews with graduates to updates about life at JMU. The most recent post, titled “Why Vote?”, is written by a 2004 alumnus Levar Stoney. He maintains a humorous, bipartisan tone while encouraging JMU students and other readers to use a right that “many people around the world would die to have.” There’s also a short post written during Homecoming week that encourages alumni to gather virtually if they can’t physically be in Harrisonburg.

For me, the most compelling story written in the past month was about a hurricane. The author begins, “None of us can control a hurricane like Sandy — or any hurricane for that matter. Such unbridled power provides endless fascination in large part because it is out of our control. We can only react, as the university is doing today by closing in an abundance of caution in the face of Hurricane Sandy.” He then goes on to describe a devastating hurricane which hit close to Harrisonburg over 50 years ago. It’s a powerful story and it really shows how changes in the media have affected the way that we communicate, especially during times of disaster.

So, SCOM, listen up. I know we’re all really busy, but this is a great blog to follow. It will keep you connected to the JMU community; and who knows, maybe it will inspire you to “Be the Change.”

Check it out, and share your favorite post in the comments.

November 15, 2012woocw No Comments

[Listening Post] on how JMU Students can help make someone’s day by Being the Change!

Everyone has a dream to be the change, but in order to be the change you have to make a difference. As May quickly approaches, most seniors are getting ready to graduate. Students are applying for jobs and finishing up their academic studies as undergraduates. One of the major goals as a JMU student before he or she graduates is to follow JMU’s slogan, Be the Change. The reason why JMU, as a university of higher education, follows this slogan is to make sure students grow as leaders throughout their college career.

As I was reading through the blog, Be the Change, I found a story that currently pertained to many out-of-state JMU students. As many of us know, most out-of-state students come from the tri-state area of the U.S. Two weeks ago, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut got hit with a devastating hurricane that left people stranded with dangerous living situations, leaving some people homeless. The blog story titled, Any Given Storm, reminds us that “Change is often spurred by events out of our control, by forces so powerful that we can only react.” This quote gives students, who were affected by Hurricane Sandy and other crisis situations, hope that JMU, as a community, will be there for one another during difficult times.

It is important for JMU students to keep up with the Be the Change blog if they are looking to make a difference in college. The blog reminds students that the smallest things can make a huge difference in someone’s life. According to another article on Be the Change titled Easier than you might Think, College of Business student, Gilbert Welsford Jr., also known as “Gil”, said “You have so many vehicles to create things here, so many resources. You can’t beat it.” Gil has made a difference at JMU through giving students positive advice when they need it and telling them to smile. I think Gil is an excellent source for students to look up to if they want to Be the Change. Hopefully, after students read this listening post, they will be motivated to go help put a smile on someone’s face and make a difference in someone’s life.

Share how you think JMU students can make a difference in the comments section below!

November 13, 2012woocw No Comments

News Release: SCOM Announces New Master of Arts Graduate Program in Communication and Advocacy

HARRISONBURG, Va. – This fall, James Madison University announced that the School of Communication Studies will be offering a Master of Arts program in Communication and Advocacy. The new graduate program will begin fall 2013.

Advocacy Studies professor, Alison Bodkin, says that “the graduate program will give students opportunities to advance their studies and to open up a breadth of interests that they did not know of.”

According to the Master of Arts in Communication and Advocacy website, students who are interested in the Communication and Advocacy graduate program will be required to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination as well as overall GPA will also be taken into admission consideration.

The graduate program allows students to choose between two concentrations in health or environmental communication. The program will require 36 credit hours of graduate coursework. According to the website, students should complete 18 credit hours of core course work in advocacy studies, applied interpersonal and organizational communication as well as communication research methods. Students will choose their concentration after nine credit hours of study in advocacy topics both in academic and professional contexts. Six credit hours of thesis or internship credit will be required for students to gain experience in the field. The graduate students should also complete at least three credit hours of elective course work in any academic program.

Director of the Master of Arts program in Communication and Advocacy, Melissa Aleman, says that “students can choose from a variety of career paths, whether that be in Strategic Communication, Public Relations, Communication Consulting, Media Relations, Environmental Communication, Environmental Advocacy, Communication Development and Management, Patient and Healthcare Advocacy, Research and Program Development, Community Outreach and Relations, Advocacy/Civic Program Coordination or Health Communication and Outreach.” She also explains that “through theoretical research, campaign theories and work in advocacy organizations will help prepare students for their selected career path.”

According to the website, the deadline for students interested in applying for the graduate program is February 15. Applicants will submit their graduate applications at http://www.jmu.edu/grad/admissions/Comm_&_%20Adv.pdf. A written offer of admission will be sent to the applicant if they are accepted into the program. The letter of acceptance will include the effective date of admission as well as the faculty adviser assigned to the applicant.

“I loved attending graduate studies at Miami University of Ohio; I realized that everyone’s education is richer, more relevant and recent. Everyone is challenging each other to be better,” explains Bodkin.

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