The University of Blog

I know the college-deciding process can be daunting. If you have made your decision already, congratulations. If you are still deciding what college to go to, don’t worry, you still have some time. If you have any questions at all, you can post them or email me. OR you have the option of chatting with me online at firegirl720. Whatever college you decide to go to, good luck and I’d love to meet you. I’m honest (look at picture below).
As I am finishing up my last two weeks, I am looking forward to the summer, but It has given me time to reflect about my freshman year. And what a whirlwind it has been! I’d love to talk to you about it online and through several reflective posts. I’ll be honest. I promise.

I was invited to the awards ceremony for the editor’s prizes of the The Missouri Review. The Missouri Review is a literary magazine that is edited by community members, students and professors. The magazine was founded in 1978 and publishes four issues annually. On Saturday night, I got to hear some up and coming authors from the area share their award-winning works chosen to be included in the Missouri Review.

My friend works for them this semester, and for me, it was great to be exposed to some creative writing, poetry, stories and essays. There is a program at Mizzou to take the Missouri Review course instead of an upper level English class. From what I’ve heard, it has been a good experience for the students who have chosen that path. If you’re interested, there is also EMU’s (English at Mizzou) literary Magazine: Epic.

I had the pleasure of attending the taping of NPR’s Whad’Ya Know? with Michael Feldmnan. It is great to live in a college town that brings in bigger venues such as this. I strolled over to Jessie Auditorium to listen to the two-hour trivia show. Feldman did not look like he does on the radio . It was fun to see the voice behind the program that I’ve listened to in our kitchen each Saturday growing up.

The stage was decked out with a Shakespeare’s parking sign and buggie. They had a “Liquor, Guns and Ammo” sign that usually hangs over Old 63 as well as random other goodies from the area. I had no idea that radio could be so visual.

Even though I was never chosen for a contestant, it was still a fun program. Feldman made jokes about Missouri and Kansas. Also, he brought on a Tribune reporter to discuss Missouri politics. The highlight of the show was the “noodlers,” or catfishers who use their hands. They explained the fishing process and even brought on a guest: a three-foot long catfish resembling a small shark. Why anyone would want to noodle is beyond me, but it was eye-opening to learn about it.

After the show, we got coupons for free tiger stripe ice cream. Delicious. In addition, they had cookies. Even though I did not get to answer any trivia, it was still a win-win situation. Good sweets and good fun!

One of the advantages of living in a community such as the Journalism and Communication Community is that it provides great opportunities to network and meet people. A group of about 20 students went to three journalism professors’ houses for different courses of the meal. It was great to be able to meet these important people in such a low-key setting. Plus, who can pass up free food?

We had salad at Katherine Reed’s house, who teaches a reporting class as well as is the adviser for Adelante!, the student-run bilingual publication. Reed mentioned that students can either chose Adelante! for their beat or can volunteer there. She spoke in our Cross Cultural class about this cross-cultural success story.

Next, we headed to the Associate Dean of Journalism Brian Brooks’s house for the entrée. We spoke about how to navigate the journalism system and the Walter William Scholars program. With a 33 ACT, journalism students receive faculty mentors and a scholarship

For our dessert, we ate at the director of mymissourian.com Clyde Bentley’s house. Mymissourian.com is a blog site for Columbia. He spoke about citizen journalism and the convergence program. I leaned a great deal about the direction journalism is going.

I think I may have fallen in love with Columbia today. Today I walked to the Earth Day festivities at Peace Park on the outskirts of campus. There was a complete celebration as vendors took over Elm street selling tie-dye, handmade jewelry, pottery and other treasures. If I had any money, I would be completely adorned in beads. However, I did pick up some information on sustainable energy, recycling and volunteering from groups such as Sustain Mizzou and Office of Volunteer Services”. I was highly impressed with the belly dancing lessons and performance.

It seemed as if the entire town came out to celebrate Earth Day. The smell of funnel cake filled the air as families and people of all ages hung out and listened to music in the park. The environment was so friendly; I could have sat down for hours just enjoying the atmosphere. There was also a fashion show from recycled clothes on the stage. I love local festivities, and this was the first time that I have been able to witness this in Columbia. The beautiful weather only added to the fun of the event. Just what I needed before my frantic studying for finals.

This weekend I went to the SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists) conference in St. Louis. I serve as programming chair for our chapter and our executive board got to stay at the Crowne Plaza where the conference was being held. Very fancy and very informative.

The first presentation that I attended was Navigating the New Media given by Mike Anderson, creator of STLmedia.net. An interesting tidbit is that there are 71 million blogs out there. How to make your blog unique is the key. He spoke about how to create a blog including tips like “Cover what you know, link to the rest.”

I learned about freelancing and the importance of writing what you know: life, work/education and passions. Networking is particularly important in this job to search out markets and build relationships with editors. We did several writing exercises to get the ideas flowing.

During the afternoon, I learned about New Reporting for a New Age to avoid having holes in our stories. The first element when composing a story, according to Mizzou journalism professor Martha Steffens, is to come up with a News Hypothesis based on what the story means. Then the next pieces are data (facts, observable details), context (background), and perspective (journalist’s lens). The important thing is to do the research first, then get the interviews (or else the interviews lead the story).

The SPJ Conference “The Changing Face of Journalism” allowed me to meet both professionals and students and learn about the new direction that journalism is going. And it’s definitely changing.

The Career Center offers many references to the student looking for a job or working on improving their resume, cover letter or interviewing skills. A representative visited Mark Twain about how to visit the perfect resume. This is the perfect time since people are looking for internships and summer jobs.

• A resume has to stand out. Therefore, using templates online should be used as guides because otherwise, it is unoriginal. A resume should be one page unless you can fill it out to be two complete pages. References should be on a separate page.
• Use bullet points with strong action words and adverbs in the form of “ly.” Leave out information such as hobbies, photos, personal interests or age. Spell out everything and use formal language.
• Keep your resume professional. Avoid fancy fonts and colors. It should stand out, but not in an obnoxious way.

The Career Center offers free advice and workshops. However you can walk in anytime to get your resume reviewed. They also hold interviewing presentations and other useful tools.

My roommate and I have been on the housing hunt for several months now. It is more difficult than I originally thought. There are various decisions that need to be made. One was the location that we wanted. Kristin and I decided that being near campus would be beneficial. Therefore, we looked for places within walking distance to campus. However, these plays are generally more expensive and contain less (from furniture to amenities).

The location was important because we wanted to still feel a part of the campus. There are many options that include all furniture, cable/internet, washer/dryer, dishwasher and are new, but many of these places are not close to campus at all. Driving is fine (because we will probably have to anyway), but I like the option of riding a bike or walking to campus on a nice day. East campus has a lot of houses converted into apartments, and so far we have been driving around looking, writing down numbers and viewing various locations. Some property management companies charge an application fee to be turned in before a showing of the particular location. This is unfortunate, but many of those houses are owned through property management such as REMI, Callaghan and Galloway or 443 Stop and it is a necessary step if you want to go through a company.

Disappointment is part of the process. We fell in love with two different properties that fell through for one reason or another. I advise to like a place, but not to put so much energy and thought into living there until you sign the lease. We are still searching and may end up living on campus again next year. To avoid the hassle of searching, living on campus is easier. Food is provided and everything is within walking distance. This is especially valuable for first year students considering how many people you meet throughout the year. I know I have been very fortunate to live in the dorms this year.

Back from Spring Break with site difficulties, but now we are back up. Also, I feel refreshed to tackle the last few projects and tests of the semester. Five weeks left! I know that I am counting down.

I traveled to Seattle to visit my brother. The first day while he was working, I navigated the bus system to go to Pike’s Place public market. Here, you can buy flowers, fresh fish, vegetables and fruit, and baked goods. I picked up an art print and a poster. Then, I saw some live fish at the Seattle Aquarium. After lunch, I ventured to the Experience Music Project, which is an interactive music museum. Definitely a must see for the music buffs. It was so much fun, although it was hard for me to learn the drums or the guitar. Becoming a musician is not my calling.


The next day my brother and I drove to Vancouver, B.C., and took a ferry to Victoria. How beautiful! The trip to get there took awhile (around 7.5 hours), but it was so worth it. We went out to eat at an Irish pub and stayed at a hostel (Ocean Island Backpackers Inn). For $22 a night, you sleep on a dorm bed with others from all over the world. I met a guy that went to Oxford, one from Belgium and another from France. That night we went out to a dance club (legal age is 19 in Canada), and we met some really nice people.

Canada would not be my first thought for a Spring Break destination, but it was so worth it. Even though it was a very short trip, I was able to see the Parliament Building and the Breakwater in Victoria and explore a new part of the country. And the weather was beautiful! Seattle decided to be warm and sunny for my visit making me very happy. And the break will certainly help me get through the last few weeks here.