By: Gwen Pacis
Photo Credit: Kendall Blunt
Let’s give Kendall Blunt a warm hello!
Kendall Blunt is a senior in the Media and Communication Studies (MCS) major also working on her certificate for the French language. Outside of all their work and academics, they crochet, produce art, relax with games like Stardew Valley, and binge TV.
However, pursuing MCS was not previously part of their path. Upon entering University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Kendall originally pursued a Global Studies major with a French minor. However, she felt that she could not connect with the major for a long time and swiftly realized that it was not for her. Amidst her need for change, Kendall was drawn to MCS because she was an avid media consumer. From her constant interaction with movies, shows, music, and social media, the major gave her a chance to broaden her view on many of these things. After much deliberation, she decided to change her major to MCS where it finally clicked with her love for media and allowed her to combine her creativity and logical thinking into one mode of communication.
Kendall’s pursuit within MCS so far has been fruitful. Currently for her MCS 499: Capstone Senior Seminar course, her capstone research paper focuses on YouTube facilitating digital grooming by its influencers while diving deep into the case study of Colleen Ballinger (Miranda Sings). When further reflecting on her time, Kendall noted that various parts of the major have aided her in her current endeavors as well.
For coursework, MCS 355: Social Media: Networking and Mobility and MCS 370: Internet Video Production were two classes fueled with enjoyment in their eyes. Both courses enabled Kendall to apply their skills to projects that directly relate to what they want to do in the future. Additionally, Kendall elaborates that MCS 355 has aided them in their current management in the UMBC Gameroom as a desk attendant and social media manager. More specifically, the class supplied them with skills and a deep understanding of how to appeal to certain demographics, do a social media audit, and make a successful social media campaign. This led to them effectively creating, curating, and organizing content and data for the UMBC Gameroom’s Instagram and webpage.
However, by far, Kendall’s favorite part of MCS is the professors. Two professors she notes that she holds in high regard are Dr. Loviglio and Professor Anchor. For Dr. Loviglio, she appreciates how he brings immense joy to the subjects he teaches and how much he deeply cares for his students. For Professor Anchor, Kendall voices how she is a huge reason why her current product and content creation skills have grown throughout her time at UMBC. Similarly, each professor had extended helping hands in substantial ways. A moment Kendall recalls from Dr. Loviglio was when he reached out to ask how she was doing while she was bearing through tough personal problems. Likewise with Professor Anchor – Kendall notes how quick she is to give a helping hand with encouragement or tips when struggling with a certain concept or tool.
For those who pursue MCS in the future, Kendall advises future students to choose electives that cater to what they want to do with their careers!
“The time I have spent in Public Relations class, Social Media class, and Internet Video Production are invaluable compared to the time I spent in other classes.”
After a long journey, Kendall plans to graduate in Spring 2025. Right now, their definite path after obtaining their MCS degree and French language certificate is uncertain. However, their sights are focused on the general field of marketing – whether it be social media management, brand management, or public relations (PR). As the time draws closer to departing from UMBC, Kendall conveys that what they will miss the most about the university is the sense of community and enthusiasm around all things media with the MCS department. This goes further to their peers – Kendall will miss the diversity and intelligence those within the major shared, especially their aid and friendship within shared courses.
By: Parker Vogel
Photo Credit: Lauren Moxley
Lauren Moxley is a junior in the Media and Communication Studies program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and pursuing a minor in Political Science
Lauren chose UMBC versus her other option, University of Maryland (UMD), primarily because of the campus size; she opted for the circular, tight-knit spacing that encompasses all of the UMBC buildings over the potential difficult commutes, 20-minute walks to classes, and bus rides around the campus’s college town at UMD. Following that choice, Lauren’s decision of a major and ultimately the MCS degree first began with English before a quick search online brought her to seeing public relations as a job on the rise. She saw herself in that role or some form of social media, marketing, or branding, and MCS was simply the best fit; after starting, she was surprised how enjoyable the varying aspects of the major were, and didn’t know how something like UMBC’s videography and podcasting classes would go (especially when considering how much different editing softwares would come into use), but found them to be a unique balance and outlet for creativity as opposed to core and GED courses. She remarks that UMBC provides so much under the umbrella of MCS, and that alone gives the learning opportunities about paths available to MCS students outside of marketing or public relations.
On campus, Lauren has been and is involved in many organizations, including the Tennis Club as their social media manager for the fall of 2022 and the spring of 2023, The Retriever as their current social media manager, UMBC’s sports broadcasting for the fall and winter of 2023, the Political Science Council of Majors constructing some Instagram posts, and a book club! Not only that, but Lauren’s intern experience has also brought her on campus into the Department of Professional Programs, acting as a communications intern where she writes posts for their blog consisting of graduate student tips, encouraging applications to UMBC’s graduate program, and providing information on current events at UMBC. Lauren also transcribes podcasts, creates Instagram content that highlights students and staff through the university’s graduate program, and provides focus on outstanding industries that align with the presently available programs.
Lauren’s other working opportunities include iHeart Radio, where she was able to help with promotional work for a few events per month. One of the events was a contest promotion at a boat show, but the largest event Lauren worked was the Jingle Bell Ball in the winter of 2023, working the meet and greet with the iHeart Radio hosts before being allowed to see NCT Dream and Flo Rida right at the side of the stage. She also briefly met Kendall of Big Time Rush in passing!
Lauren describes her experience as supportive; it might seem overwhelming as a freshman coming into the university, but not knowing where to start is natural and UMBC has so many networking and experience opportunities available - many times right on its doorstep. She encourages prospective and new students to meet with professors and discover their background and ask who they have connections with. MCS 144’s course really sets a tone and understanding of what to do to find professional opportunities and manage yourself in a professional way, and encourages the exploration of any internship because it will ultimately teach you your likes and dislikes while giving you practical experience. For example, Lauren cites thoroughly enjoying her current role with the Department of Professional Programs, and realized that the broadcasting work she did wasn’t fully the correct fit.
Looking into the future, Lauren has an internship lined up for the summer of 2024 at Underwriters Laboratories, a national safety organization located in Washington, D.C. that helps to manage fire safety. Her role will consist of heavy public relations work, gathering pertinent information from scientists in the lab and relaying it to the public. She truly loves to write, and sees her work continuing in that way. Her realistic goal for a career is internal communications and public relations work at a company, but she finds her dream to be running social media for a touring musician.
By: Ajel Balan
Photo Credit: James Parris
Meet James Parris - a senior of UMBC graduating this semester, completing his Media and Communication Studies major along with his Entrepreneurship minor. With an active mind and interest for business and marketing, Parris has started his own business in the form of a podcast, “The Jimbo Parris Show” - where he sits down with guests and have long-form conversations about their lives, the goal being to have these conversations teach and empower anyone about these topics such as marketing, business, and event things like art and spirituality.
Prior to creating this podcast, Parris used to own a reggae radio station, where he would put his focus on making episodes around music, with interviewing people occasionally. Over time, he realized his passion with interviewing and its cost effectiveness of cutting the business down into purely interviewing.
He attributes some of his success to his wonderful experience with his internship with General Electric. They would craft plans to attract a younger and authentic audience to the company. They want to work with influencers like Parris to draw people in. After the interviews, he would create snippets, ads, and reels that would display the scientist not as “a bunch of white men in stuffy suits talking about numbers”, but as a diverse group of individuals with passion for their work.
When it comes to courses in UMBC, he finds MCS 355 - Social Media: Networking and Mobility, MCS 334 - Media, Communication and Globalization, and MCS 499 - Capstone Seminar to be the most influential when trying to decide his path. It was through MCS 355, however, that he would find his direction. Taught by Dr. Donald Snyder, Parris goes into detail on how this class changed his perspective on the use of social media in marketing. He notes, “it showed me that social media was both an art and a science. I needed to see social media, not just in a purely logical standpoint of SEO promotions, et cetera, but there's people involved, there's emotions involved. When I began to understand that emotional aspect, I started to move my business in a direction focused more on inbound marketing, like content creation. It was no longer this fake, inorganic way of hunting people down. So it changed the general strategies I used.” He adds that even now, he keeps the textbooks used for the marketing class.
You would think that managing a business alongside doing university would put a strain on him, but Parris disagrees - as he notes the importance of passion when it comes to school and his business. Parris explains, “When you do something that's along what your purpose is, what you need to do, you're going to be able to perform well. And I think, maybe this is just me, but I think more people really need to focus in on the things that they're passionate about. This way, it's no longer a strain. Every Friday when I go down, sit down in my chair to do a show, or every Wednesday, I have a meeting with my team, it doesn't feel like work”.
If you’re interested, check out The Jimbo Paris Show at https://jimboparis.com/ and follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also watch it now on RokuTV.
By: Sophia Blackwell
Photo Credit: Louna Temsah edited by Sophia Blackwell
“Oohh, good question! Being Middle Eastern with this major has been beneficial for me because I contributed a lot by sharing my past experiences that resonated with the topics being taught and shared ideas as I believe I have come across a lot in my life so far from living in so many different places. Especially in MCS 334, learning about globalization has helped me view my culture and other cultures in a more objective way. In that class, I felt like I gave a lot of input because of my background knowledge and living the experience. As media and communications is such a broad major, and there is so much you can do with it, I feel like wherever I end up for my career it will be extremely useful and I hope to use my MCS skills to continue growing in my field.”
I’m currently taking MCS 388, a public relations class and this has made me want to focus more on PR. The skills that this class has taught me so far such as writing news releases and branding for companies are topics that I feel would be very useful when starting my career. I would love to work in a humanitarian agency like Professor Eagle. His guest speakers that work in that sector have inspired me a lot.
“To be honest, the way Lebanon is represented in the media really upsets me. It’s been portrayed as unsafe which is truly not the case, I feel safer there if anything. Lebanon is a very westernized country with so much life in it, and I always look forward to going back and visiting my family friends. In fact I’m planning on moving back there after graduation. Media sources need to focus more on the artistic scene in Beirut and how different ethnicities are reflected in the city's architecture and food. It is such a diverse country and we never let politics or religion divide our people.”
“I’m so anxious to graduate already. I came into college not knowing what I wanted to do and what career path to take. I would advise anyone going into college and feeling conflicted to not be so hard on themselves. After all, we are still young and I always tell myself that what’s meant to be for me will come for me. We have a whole life ahead of us. When it comes to international students I would tell them to never change who they are to fit in or feel ashamed of their cultures. UMBC is so diverse and I have found many friends who share a similar culture to mine and it has brought us closer. It’s always comforting to have a piece of home within yourself and always take pride in it.”
By: Spencer Derrenberger
Photo Credit: Ajel Balan
Senior MCS major Ajel Balan has been at UMBC since 2019 and is expecting to graduate in Spring 2023. Initially, Ajel started out with a different major, but later switched to Media and Communication Studies.
Recently, we sat down and talked with him about his MCS experience at UMBC, as well as his internship with the National STEM Honor Society (NSTEM).
The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: So, why did you switch majors and choose MCS?
Surprisingly, I think I have an interesting story to tell. When I started at UMBC, I was actually a computer science major. I thought, oh man, coding stuff would be so cool, it’d be great. But then, after a while, I realized that this isn’t what I want to do for the rest of my life. And I remember looking back at some of my old hobbies, when I would make YouTube videos, edit them, and just fiddle around with digital media stuff. And so, I decided to choose MCS in order to try to learn some skills, get some understanding about it, and, hopefully, maybe, do something with social media.
Q: Looking back, as you’re a senior now, do you have any sort of pivotal moments that made you think, “Oh, this is why I do MCS” or just any favorite moments in your student career?
Actually, I would say taking MCS 370 (Making a Media Campaign). Working on a media campaign has definitely made me realize that this is something I probably want to do for the rest of my life. It’s very interesting. I’ve come to really enjoy video editing and I want to focus more on it. I have a passion for it, really. Using Adobe Premiere Pro has been exciting, too.
There was also Professor Anchor’s Making Visual Culture (MCS 377) and Dr. Snyder’s Social Media: Networking and Mobility (MCS 355). Those were really cool classes. I really just enjoy editing.
Q: Do you have any plans of what you want to do career wise after graduation?
Probably somewhere along the lines of like, something to do with social media. I would say maybe being editor, social media specialist, communication specialist– any of those roles. Again, since I only switched majors recently– I could have graduated as a comp sci major– I have had a lot spinning in my head. With MCS, you can go down a broad range of different careers and paths, which makes trying to focus on just one really hard. There are a lot of options.
Q: What about your internship? What’s that like?
I’m currently doing a remote internship with the National STEM Honor Society. Basically, they try to encourage students from K to 12 to pursue STEM and STEM careers. And they have all sorts of special little, I believe, exciting programs that will help them get into practicing it, you know, with rewarding them as well.
Q: What’s your role as an intern?
I work for the social media marketing department. I also work in another department about chapter development, where it’s basically doing research on schools and which schools would benefit the most from STEM opportunities.
Q: What skills have you learned from this position?
For the social media marketing department, I would definitely say getting a good understanding about making the posts and crafting them using stuff like Canva and, slowly, I want to try to upgrade and start using Premiere Pro as well.
In addition to that, I would say working with Excel for chapter development and working with a team. While I am still an intern and just doing basic stuff, it’s been really interesting to research. My role is to research the percentages of schools that are doing well in STEM. With this, hopefully we can give students, as well as teachers, recognition for their work.
Q: How has your experience at UMBC as an MCS student helped you during your internship?
I would say that, for starters, overall, when it comes to presenting my ideas and stuff, I believe it has definitely helped me a lot. In the past, presentations have been nightmarish, but it’s helped me. It’s helped me understand how media works, as well. I remember, as a kid, I actually didn’t really care about social media, but as I grew older, I’ve come to really enjoy it. It was kind of bizarre.
Also, it’s helped me with some skills, like editing and all that.
Q: Do you think you’d recommend this internship to other people? If so, what kind of person would you recommend this for?
When it comes to this internship, I'd recommend it. My experience personally has been a bit interesting, given that there's been a lot of changes going on. And I know that NSTEM is definitely looking for more and more interns. They’re looking for people into video editing and HR, too.
But yeah, if you want to do an internship, where you're overall free to make your own path alongside what else you want to do, or maybe even be a director and help lead a project, then I certainly recommend them for all of that. They ask you what three departments you’re interested in. Then, you can pick and choose which one you want to focus on. And from then on, you can just go crazy.
By: Jadyn Spradlin
Photo Credit: Lewis Hollander
Though Lewis Hollander is only a freshman at UMBC, his videography is on scale with work produced by professionals. His instagram account “LewsFlicks” showcases his videos dating back four years, but it doesn’t even begin to truly cover this student’s expertise.
Hollander got his start in the world of videography during his sophomore year of high school. A student at local Mt. Hebron, he regularly produced fun videos with his friends and eventually built up a rather successful YouTube channel. Realizing his abilities and enjoyment of video production, he began producing content for his school’s varsity lacrosse team. Beginning with a mix of sports photography and videography, he quickly learned how to capture both emotion and action in his shoots. He developed editing skills with programs like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premiere Pro, and eventually settled into a niche of sports videography.
While his skills and knowledge would have allowed him to pursue a career in sports media right out of high school, he elected to attend college in order to develop his academic background and professional portfolio even further. He knew that the Media and Communication Studies program at UMBC would be perfect for this, as it offered to teach him various fields of academics while still emphasizing experience-based learning.
An additional draw of UMBC was our New Media Studio. Describing themselves as “UMBC’s central hub for video production on campus,” the studio is responsible for fulfilling a variety of institutional production needs, with projects ranging from graduation and sports coverage to digital storytelling and research highlights. Though not officially associated with the MCS department, the studio’s website states that they are “actively involved in supporting UMBC’s Media and Communication program through teaching and internships.”
With that in mind, Hollander sought out an internship with the studio and began working with them shortly after. Starting first as a camera operator for live broadcasts of soccer games, he has worked in various roles and positions with the studio. He still prefers his sports videography though, and has created numerous highlight films for UMBC sports including soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. These videos are most commonly featured on social media platforms, posted by either specific teams or UMBC's own accounts. Hollander enjoys being able to see his own content put to use to grow these accounts and promote UMBC athletics, and says these first-hand experiences have made him interested in managing social media accounts in the future. So far, his internship has already allowed him many unique opportunities to do this, as he has been able to suggest, plan, and execute some of his own ideas for strategies and content to boost these accounts.
In addition to these first-hand experiences, Hollander says he has benefitted from UMBC by meeting people and making connections that he otherwise would not have had access to.
After graduation, Hollander plans to continue his work doing freelance videography and specifically hopes to join the media team at Premiere Lacrosse League (PLL). His recent internship experience at UMBC is already proving to be useful in fulfilling these career goals, as he just secured an internship with PLL for this upcoming summer.
When asked what advice he has for anyone wishing to get started in this field, Hollander kept it simple: "Shoot everything you can. Even if it's not exactly what you want to be doing or focusing on - any shooting - any time you spend behind the camera, you are becoming a better shooter."
By: Louna Temsah
Photo Credit: Sophia Blackwell
Sophia will be graduating this spring and looking forward to working close to her home and family for the government. Coming back to school after a few years out, she discusses her ways of managing her personal and academic life.
Q: Hi! Would you like to introduce yourself for those who don’t know you?
Hi, my name is Sophia Blackwell, I’m a senior here at UMBC and a transfer student from College of Southern Maryland (CSM).
Q: What made you come back to school? And why did you pick UMBC?
After I finished my two year degree at CSM, I decided I wanted to use my opportunity to finish my BA degree. As an adult learner, it was hard assimilating back into school, but I stayed strong because I wanted a better life for my children and I. I chose UMBC because initially I wanted to go to dental school at UMD, so getting my undergraduate degree at UMBC would help me get there.
Q: Outside of UMBC, who are you?
Hmmm, I would say I am a fun loving person. I enjoy nature and doing fun activities with my kids such as crafts, bike riding, going to events, and just getting out of the house. My kids are my world so everything revolves around their lives. Joseph is 9 and he’s in 4th grade, and my daughter Hannah is 7 and in 2nd grade. We also have a dog named Ivy, she’s a golden retriever. Go retrievers!
Q: You say that you are a mother of 2, what are your tips and tricks on balancing your academic and personal life? Do you catch a break?
This might sound weird, but coming to school is my break haha! I feel more focused and relaxed when I’m at school. Being at home is hard because of the many distractions, house work etc. My tips for any parent returning to school is to keep a tight schedule and know that the sacrifice is temporary. For me, my google calendar is my best friend. Between kids appointments, due dates for class work, and work schedules my calendar keeps me on track. Everything is in one place and that works best for me.
Q: If you could go back in time and change your major, would you?
Nope! I love this degree. It is so versatile and it also allows me to use my creativity.
Q: What did you choose to focus your capstone project on?
For my capstone, I chose how the media portrays immigration and its implications. A lot of our views and perceptions are based on what we see in the media and this is an important subject to explore in how it is framed and interpreted in our society.
Q: Were you always interested in that subject?
Not really, but I did always have an empathetic view on how migrants are viewed because of misinformation.
Q: Have you completed your internship requirements? Tell me about it?
Yes I have! I did two really cool internships so far. The first was last summer and I got to work at the Baltimore City Hall for the Inspector General, Isabel Cummings. I got to design and summarize the annual report which was so much fun! Also, currently, I am working for Senator Charles Sydnor as a Legislative Aide.
Q: What was the process of applying for your internship like?
Both processes were pretty easy. The only hard part was the interview process.
Q: Did any MCS classes come in handy throughout your internship ?
Yes they have! Especially for my internship at the City Hall creating the annual report.
Q: What advice would you give to freshmen coming into UMBC about to begin their MCS journey?
I would advise them to always feel brave enough to speak up in class, many will learn from you and you'll learn alot about yourself. Also the teachers will help you, never feel afraid to ask them.
Q: What are your plans after graduation?
My plans after graduation are to work close to home for the government. I live very close to the Pax River Navy base so there are plenty of opportunities for me to make a great income and put my communications degree to good use.
Q: If you could, what advice would you give your younger self?
An advice I would give my younger self would be that “It’s going to be hard, but it’s so worth it.”, “Be very careful who you chose to be close to you”, and “You ARE good enough, you ARE smart enough and you ARE worth it”.
By: Zerubbabel Abiy
Photo Credit: Javier Villanueva-Diaz
Recently we got the chance to sit down and speak with Junior Javier Villanueva-Diaz about his experiences within the Media and Communication Studies department, the things he's learned and incorporating his passions within his studies.
For those of us who don't know who you are, could you tell us just a little bit about yourself?
My name is Javier. I am a junior here at UMBC, I am a media and communications major with a minor in music. I'm a dual citizen with Mexican and American citizenship and I have a fascination with pop culture in both countries and I love music.
Oh really? So you were born in Mexico and you came to America?
No, I was born here, my parents moved to a ranch in Jalisco when I was a kid to help my granddad get residency in the United States to live with my family in California.
Why did you choose MCS?
I was attracted to the media and communication department after reading Edward Bernays Propaganda book, and realized I had a liking for how things are portrayed in the media. My favorite course I’ve taken is Modern Public Relations. Public relations was one of my favorite classes because it’s a field that I am interested in after graduating. I also like the way Prof. Eagle taught the class. He made it simple and went straight to the point, teaching us to write press releases and pitch emails, and also how to execute a public relation class. My main takeaway was to write as little as possible and also as clearly as possible. I also do data collection with Dr. Talbert-Goldstein
What are some of the projects that you've worked on here at UMBC
Well it is my involvement with Catholic retrievers and the religious council and helping out any way I can and my internship with the Athletic department… I work in broadcasting but I still don't know what I'm doing outside of showing up and being ready to do anything. My personal projects are also stressing me out, no one said that the media and public relations work was super hard.
What about it is stressful? And could you explain what you do for those that don't know?
Well I am a music minor like I said before but I'm also a musician and I've been struggling to hunt down my target audience, what event venues promote indie artists, which radios I should reach out to. I can self-publish but if i don't have an audience to throw it out too it's just pointless. A lot of advice I have been getting about self-promotion has primarily focused around social media and tik tok and that's a little annoying, especially with people in the music industry giving me that advice because it seems as if they care more about following in number when actually what should matter is music. But I'm still new to making music, with only a year and a half of experience, so I still have a long way to go.
Obviously music is very important to you.
Yeah goes back to when I was a kid and my parents came back to America. My dad used to take me to karaoke bars and I entered a contest and I won and that got me a contract with a local radio station and throughout the DC area I would perform at latin festivals as a mariachi at a very young age. Now my music is influenced by Rancheros, Latin rock, Rock with RnB and Reggaeton.
Oh so your Mariachi?
Yeah I used to play Rancheras which is music from the ranch. It's technically country music for Mexicans but we played with an orchestra because we're a little bit more refined. Fun fact and official Mariachi is no less than 11 players so if you see a Mariachi with 5 players they’re cheating you because they know that Americans don't know any better.
Wow so it seems like your culture means a lot to you... Is there any Mexican media that you've been consuming lately?
Yeah there's a lot of podcasts I've been listening to but recently there's a Mexican TV show I've been watching called Belascoarán. It's this detective series set in 1970s Mexico City and this detective is basically trying to find stranglers and at the same time dealing with the corruption of the Mexican police, it's very interesting.
If you left campus today and never came back again what would be the one lesson you take away from your experience here at UMBC.
Finding out how to market myself. But no matter the promotion a good song will prevail no matter what.
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