FALL 2021 WAS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW CHAPTER IN
MEDIA AND WHAT THAT UMBRELLA ALL ENTAILS. PRIOR TO THE CERTIFICATE, I WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH ANY WORK
PERTAINING TO THIS SUBJECT: WHERE TO START, HOW TO START, AND WHAT TO START WITH. NOWADAYS, IT SEEMS LIKE PEOPLE
INVOLVED IN MEDIA CAN TALK ABOUT WHATEVER THEY DESIRE, YET SOME MEDIA PLATFORMS, NETWORKS, AND COMPANIES
ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN OTHERS.
BUT WHAT MAKES THEM MORE SPECIAL? HOW DO THEY CAPTIVATE AUDIENCES?
MY JOURNEY BEGAN WITH A PRODUCTION COURSE THAT INTRODUCED A BASE LEVEL OF THE INNER WORKINGS OF WEB DESIGN.
FROM GRAPHIC DESIGNERS TO ADVERTISERS TO NEWBIES IN CODING, NEW MEDIA PRODUCTION TAUGHT STUDENTS ALL THE SAME,
NO MATTER WHAT BACKGROUND AND PRIOR EXPERIENCE PEOPLE HAD IF ANY. TO ME, WHAT MADE THIS CLASS THE MOST IMPACTFUL WAS
THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIMENT WITH A VARIETY OF WEB DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS, SUCH AS HTML, BOOTSTRAP, CSS, WORDPRESS, AND
JAVASCRIPT. THIS NOT ONLY GAVE ME THE CHANCE TO BUILD SKILLS WITHIN EACH SERVER, BUT ALSO IDENTIFY WHICH ONE
I AM THE MOST COMFORTABLE USING AND IMPROVE IN DIFFERENT AREAS WITH PRACTICE.
MY NEXT STEP IN THE CERTIFICATE GAVE ME INCREDIBLE INSIGHT TO THE FRIGHTENING STAGE OF ADULTHOOD.
WHILE BEING AN ADULT SEEMS TERRIFYING YET EXCITING, DAUNTING YET EXHILARATING, I WAS ABLE TO HEAR FROM A
VARIETY OF GUEST SPEAKERS ABOUT THEIR JOB EXPERIENCES, PERSONAL MOTIVES, PASSIONS, AND SKILLS THAT GOT THEM
TO WHERE THEY ARE TODAY. I, LIKE THE MAJORITY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS, WAS INTIMIDATED BY THE EXPECTATION
THAT "YOU HAVE TO HAVE EVERYTHING TOGETHER" AFTER YOU GRADUATE. THE REALITY OF THAT STATEMENT, HOWEVER, IS ACTUALLY
UNREALISTIC TO A DEGREE. IN FACT, MANY SPEAKERS HIGHLIGHTED THE OPPOSITE: HOW MOST ADULTS ACTUALLY HAVE
NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE DOING. THIS GAVE ME A LEVEL OF COMFORT MOVING FOWARD IN THIS COURSE, AS WELL AS INTEREST IN
EVERY SPEAKER SPEAKER, AS I GOT TO HEAR HOW EACH INDIVIDUAL NAVIGATES THEIR OWN INTERSTS AND LEVEL OF SUCCESS.
