Communication

I chose Fairfield University because of the way the University focused on a wholesome education.  It was important to me that the college I attended had that focus because I was uncertain of what I wanted to do after I graduated.  By taking different courses I was able to figure out my major early, and from there start to develop a plan for my post graduate career.  Because of my work at Fairfield University I was able to get my dream job working for the Walt Disney Company.  Fairfield University also added great opportunities to meet alumni from all over the area, and the support program of the faculty and staff helped solidify my decision. 

The faculty at Fairfield University preached an open door policy, but they always stuck to it.  I felt comfortable approaching different professors to talk not just about my studies, but personal growth too.  The faculty truly cared about their students, and truly cared about their success.  In the Communication Department I always knew that regardless of the professor I had I was always able to talk to any about things happening academically and personally.  To this day, 3 years after I graduated from college, I still stay in contact with my professors.  They not only were professors, but were mentors.  

One of my favorite courses I took at Fairfield University was Dr. Gudelunas’ "Communication in Pop Culture" course.  I took it during my first semester of my junior year. The course was so important to my academic growth because Dr. Gudelunas pushed his students to dig deeper, and not just focus on the surface. Through this course I was able to realize that I made the right decision in choosing communication as my major. I realized that there were endless possibilities with communication, and most importantly it helped redefine the way I watched television, movies, listened to music, and read books.  The course forced me to find the deeper meaning in things and from there get more out of the potential message trying to be portrayed by the piece of media.  

• Fairfield University Office of Admission 

As a Communication major and a member of the Honors Program, I used my mass media concentration as a filter for my senior Honors thesis. At the time an economic downturn impacted businesses of all sizes, and I had just completed 3 internships with a major media corporation. With the support of Dr. Gisela Gil-Egui and text analytics software, I reviewed the content of annual letters to stockholders from News Corporation and The Walt Disney Corporation over a period of ten years to assess framing strategies of corporate performance in the context of a struggling economy. The quantitative and qualitative results showed that these two corporations were indeed framing both their successes and challenges in a positive light during both economic peaks and valleys, likely in an effort to maintain stockholder backing. I was particularly proud of my thesis not only because it broadened my understanding of corporate communication, and was well received within the Honors Program, but also because my thesis earned me the Award for Distinguished Work in the Social and Behavioral Sciences from the College of Arts and Sciences. I owe much of this success to the constant guidance and encouragement from Dr. Gil-Egui and the Honors Program, and I continue to reference what I learned from this project in my various jobs since graduating.

I only had extremely positive interactions with the faculty within the Communication department, and still do even four years later. What I found particularly helpful, outside of their quick email response time to my many questions and therefore also their patience, was their diversity of backgrounds and expertise. Between all of the professors from whom I had the pleasure of learning, I was able to gain their insights and perspectives into journalism, mass media, interpersonal and organizational communication, pop culture, medical communication, women and sexuality, and much more. Having this exposure to multiple facets of the communication field, and seeing the overlap with other fields ranging from psychology to finance, was crucial for application in the “real world” after graduation.

My favorite course was one that I took not once but three times: my for-credit internships. The opportunity to intern two days a week in New York City while balancing a full course load was not an easy undertaking, but it was one that was absolutely fundamental to getting the most from my Communication degree. I was able to apply and build on my classroom knowledge on organizational communication and mass media in a corporate media environment at NBCUniversal, while I explored potential career paths and networked with experts in the industry. After completing my first internship, where I picked up the nickname, “Meg the Intern,” I was offered a second internship in a different department, where I stayed for two semesters. The company ultimately offered a full-time job to begin upon graduation in the historic NBCUniversal Page Program, which I happily accepted under a new nickname, “Meg the Page.”

Communication Internships:

Past jobs: 

My favorite course as a Communications major was Argument & Advocacy with Dr. Wills. I took the course as a freshman and it set the foundation for success both at Fairfield and in the workplace through learning an array of presentation techniques. Not only did I learn how to engage and capture an audience with confidence, I learned how to organize and explain my thoughts to others, which made me a better writer and communicator.  

I still prepare for every presentation I give at work with techniques Dr. Wills taught me: practicing the full speech in advance in the mirror, writing reminders to pause and breathe on my notecards and understanding who is in the audience and tailoring the content to them. Throughout Fairfield, graduate school and jobs in both marketing and sales I have consistently received positive feedback about my public speaking skills and I have Argument & Advocacy to thank for that praise. 

How did Fairfield's Jesuit mission and identity influence your academic and personal experience while at Fairfield?

Prior internships:

Growing up in a suburb of Boston, there was certainly no shortage of local options available for me to apply for college. Despite the astounding number of prestigious colleges and universities available nearby, I had my heart set on going away to school to gain some independence. After visiting a number of schools up and down the East coast, I decided to visit Fairfield because of the proximity to New York City and the Major I was interested in was offered there. I still remember my very first tour of this school ten years ago and I remember the distinct feeling I had walking through the campus. I turned to my father and said, “This is it. I want to go here.” Fairfield University simply felt like my home away from home from the moment my tour started to Commencement Day. Fairfield is a school where you are seen, heard, noticed and accepted. If you want a school where you can be an anonymous number in a giant lecture hall, then Fairfield is not the school for you. The beautiful campus and beach-side off-campus housing privileges are of course alluring to any prospective college student, but Fairfield is so much more than that: it’s a community. The support & encouragement I received and the opportunities that were afforded to me were unique compared to those of my friends at other schools. The friendships and bonds that I formed at Fairfield have lived on well beyond the four years I spent there (I can say this with confidence, being five years out!)

When I first started at Fairfield, I was an English Major with a Concentration in Journalism because I had aspirations to be a glossy magazine editor. After approximately two Fairfield Mirror article assignments and two Journalism courses, I decided that I didn’t want a career that would stifle my creative input and opinions. Journalism is, after all, reporting the facts. I contemplated a degree in marketing, but ultimately felt that such a specific concentration of study would limit my option. I wanted to learn about marketing, communications, and media in a much broader sense so I could have a solid base for whichever career path I chose to take after graduation. After speaking with some friends who were comm. majors, I ultimately decided that this was the right choice for me. I quickly discovered that not having any idea what I wanted to do for a living wasn’t a problem for a communication major; in fact, that was the beauty of the major. I was free to study every facet there was to the area of communication through the multitude of interesting courses offered and through internships in various fields I wanted to explore.  At a time when it seemed everyone around me had decided on a field of study that would set them on a specific career trajectory (I had many accounting and nursing major friends), I felt that I had found my true niche at Fairfield by choosing a major that didn’t force me to choose and instead encouraged me to explore the possibilities. 

Every single Communication professor I had was unabashedly challenging and encouraged us to truly think for ourselves. I found the faculty to be extremely knowledgeable, approachable, flexible, and most importantly, they all made it a priority to get to know each of their students down to their individual strengths and weaknesses. In this field of study, I think it’s also especially helpful to have professors who aren’t just full-time professors. The entire faculty in the Communication Department had real-world experience out in the field that they could share with us in real-time. Learning a subject and passing a course is important, but the most valuable lesson a professor can teach their students is how to be adequately prepared for the outside world post-graduation. As a student at Fairfield, I gained invaluable insights and wisdom from these professors who I had built relationships with and looked up to as mentors. To this day, I often find myself wishing I could go back to Fairfield just to take a course with my favorite professor, Dr. Gudelunas!  

• CBS Radio: WBCN (Boston, MA); Promotions Intern, Summer 2007 
• Greenough Communications (Boston, MA); Public Relations Intern, Summer 2008 
• Greenwich Magazine (Greenwich, CT); Editorial Assistant Intern, Spring 2009 

• CBS Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub (Formerly WBCN); Promotions, Street Team, May 2009- November 2010 
• Boston Magazine; Marketing Intern (post-grad), May- November 2009; Office Coordinator, November 2009- February 2010; Online Sales & Marketing Coordinator, February 2010- April 2011 
• One to One Interactive (Digital Advertising Agency, no longer in business); Online Media Coordinator, April 2011- January 2012 
• Boston Ski & Sports Club; Events & E-Marketing Manager, March 2012- August 2013

I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of the first-ever Fairfield University Diversity Grant in 2006/2007. Under the guidance of Dr. Gudelunas, my team and I examined the campus’ climate toward LGBT students, faculty and community members and its implications on the LGBT community. It set a precedent for this University’s dialogue about an invisible minority on campus. This project was the perfect marriage with my final thesis about an individual’s reaction to LGBT people in correlation with their exposure to LGBT characters in the media. The Communications department pushed me to dig deeper with this study and break boundaries. I am still proud to have been part of this project. 

Honestly, you just can’t pick one course when it comes to academic growth. Every course prepares you for your future. My career in public relations would not have advanced without the cornerstone classes of interpersonal communications, media communications, communications theory and more. My career, including working at Viacom, Discovery Communications and Scholastic, require me to use the vital skills everyday – and trust me, employers notice the difference with those with a strong Communications background. 

The Jesuit mission and identity encourages you to be an authentic person. This was crucial for me as an undergraduate and it’s even more important now. It keeps you humble, honest and self-aware of what you project into the world – especially where a tweet can make or break you. Here’s my tip to undergrads: look at the bigger picture and understand the Communications’ professors are an asset – you will thank tenfold after graduation.