COM Ambassador Blog

Tiffany: AdLab

Hi everyone and happy new year!

It’s good to be back from winter break and I’m excited to start this semester and year off with a bang – even if that meant having to say goodbye to the 75-degree California “winter.”

I always look forward to the beginning of the new semester because I love the first day of classes where I get to meet new professors, see old classmates, and learn about the exciting work that the semester holds for me. But the class I’m looking forward to most this semester is AdLab.

AdLab is COM’s very own full-service, student-run advertising agency and the best part is that it’s a class! While getting course credit, students also get to experience what life is like working in an advertising agency and get the privilege to do so within the comfort of our very own school walls. Each student first interviews for the position of their choice whether that is an account executive, account planner, art director, copywriter, or interactive director. After receiving their position, students are then assigned to their teams and their client. The teams work closely with the client throughout the semester to create work that fulfills the client’s needs that may include, but certainly are not limited to, logos, taglines, print advertisements, commercials, website design and programming, and social media planning.

I took AdLab last semester and loved it so much that I decided to take the class again this semester. Last semester, I was an Account Executive and my client was Positive Living Magazine, a startup online magazine that sought to promote a positive, healthy, and balanced lifestyle. This semester, I have been promoted to an Account Supervisor and will join the Executive Board in monitoring the status of my assigned accounts while helping out my Account Executives with any problems that may arise throughout the semester.

AdLab is such a great opportunity and employers even consider it as real-world experience. Under the direction of our professors, Professor Tobe Berkovitz, Professor John Verret (on sabbatical this semester), and Professor Judith Austin, students have the opportunity to create work for real clients while having these amazing professors as a resource for guidance.

For anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in advertising, I highly recommend taking AdLab. It was my favorite class last semester and I’m really looking forward to taking on a new position and seeing a different side of agency life.

Stay warm, everyone!

Jason: New Semester

Hey guys,

Well, here’s my first blog entry of the semester. Classes just started so I figured it’d be appropriate to talk about how my first couple went. I’ve only had my liberal arts classes so far, my film classes are tomorrow (although by the time you read this I will have had them) but for now I’ll just talk about my first day back.

First of all, I was skiing in Park City, Utah the week before I got back to Boston and it’s warmer there than it is at school; so that was a bit of a shock. Anyway, if you end up living in West Campus make sure you get to the bus pretty early through out the winter because EVERYONE will be waiting for the bus and they can’t all fit. I ended up taking the T took my first class because the bus was too crowded.

My first class was sociology of law and society. I’m taking this class because A) it’s applicable to the topic areas I want to cover in my documentaries and B) it fills a requirement. The professor is hilarious and we’re going to have the opportunity to sit on a criminal court case. After watching religiously watching every episode of SVU, that’s been a dream of mine for some time now.

The class immediately after is Spanish. Last year I switched from French so I can participate in the Madrid Film Studies and Documentary Video Production Program in the fall. Right I’m now at the 5^th semester level so I’ll be all set to go next year. I can’t really say much because apparently the professor who taught the entire class yesterday was subbing for our real professor. Should be good though.

That’s about it on that front. It’s good to be back and I’m pumped for a great semester.

“TomKat”: Welcome Back!

Tom

Hey everyone! This is Tom and Kate - blogging together as "TomKat" - to bring you the launch of our blog site for 2012! This is the official Boston University College of Communication (BU COM) Ambassador Blog. This blog is written by our student COM Ambassadors for both new and prospective students to get a grasp about life at COM. If you are looking for a bit more on student life, you've come to the right place.

The CA program at COM features a select group of students who come from a variety of backgrounds and majors within the COM. We hope that no matter what your interests are, there is an ambassador that can help you out or at least point you in the right direction.

For more information on each student, check out our website: http://www.bu.edu/com/admissions/com-ambassadors/

All ambassadors are accessible directly through email, so if you're wondering about anything at all BU-related, don't be afraid to reach out. That's what we're here for!

Stay tuned for regular blog posts, videos, and BU updates. Welcome to COM!

Brittany: Summer Internship

Hey Terriers! I can’t believe how fast the summer is flying by! Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying the time off, but I’m definitely counting down the days until Scarlet Squad begins (you can find me running around Warren Towers during both move-in days!)

This summer I’ve been interning at the local ABC station, WCVB (that’s channel 5 for all of you locals) working on a show called Chronicle, a nightly news-magazine program. Before I started, I thought having an internship would mean making copies, getting mail and running for coffee. Boy, was I wrong… on my third day at the station, I went out on two different shoots with one of the producers! From staying late to sit in-studio for live broadcasts of the show, to helping brainstorm ideas for show content, my internship has been hands-on from the get-go.

The last two weeks have been particularly exciting for me. I had gone out on a shoot a while back for a show about Food Trucks in Boston, and while on set the producer had me take a bite of a sandwich on camera. Turns out, they used that shot in the final show! So there I was, in my on-camera debut for a major network, taking a huge bite of a pita. Even though I was just an extra, it was so cool to see myself on TV! (You can follow this link to see my shining moment—It’s at about 3:00 in: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/28480458/detail.html )

The highlight of my internship came one morning last week, as I was watching the show from the night before. As the credits rolled, I noticed that my name was on the screen! They ran a longer form of credits than they normally do, and all three Chronicle interns had our names included. Even though it was only a few seconds, Chronicle is an Emmy-award winning show—seeing my name broadcast as a part of that was surreal.

Internships are about exploring the field you’re interested in and getting some real-life experience in a professional job setting. Although I’m not looking forward to my days at Chronicle being over, I’m looking ahead to future internships, where I know other doors are waiting to be opened. Next up, I’m looking for a sports journalism-related internship to try something new! But who knows, maybe someday my name will reappear in Chronicle’s credits as a more permanent fixture.

Jason: Best Late-Night Food (As Promised)

So I’m back with another entry to give you guys my opinion on everything BU. Like I promised, this post will be about Late Night Cafe. For those of you who don’t know, Late Night is an afterhours dining option separate from your regular meal plan; instead, you’ll be paying with dining or convenience points. Most students take advantage of this on nights when an essay or studying for an exam leaves you awake until the wee hours of the morning. For this reason, some late night cafes are open as late as 2am! For the most part, each facility will have a similar menu, although there are some differences between the options. The standard choices include pizza, various kinds of sandwiches and wraps, quesadillas, salads, etc. Any who, here is my break down of the different locations that offers Late Night Café.*

Warren Towers: As my home base last year, Warren Towers was my M.O. for Late Night. Being one of the largest dining halls on campus, it’s only fitting that they have a large array of options on the menu. Their most popular items are the quesadilla and the grilled chicken wrap. There’s a fresh fruit smoothie bar where you can order a custom made drink, a huge selection of Pepperidge Farm cookies, and a cooler filled with every energy or caffeine drink you’ll need to battle those late nights.

West Campus: West has their own version of late night. While they used to offer a similar experience to Warren, this late night option is now brought to you by Extreme Pita. Although this is a real establishment (as in not completely affiliated with BU dining) you can still pay for the food with your dining and convenience points. Personally, I prefer Extreme Pita over the other locations because they offer much healthier options.

Towers: I’ve only been to Towers a few times for Late Night but I would say that they have a pretty similar selection as Warren, the standard late night menu that I mentioned above. In addition, the times that I’ve been, the chefs have prepared other selections such as enchiladas and empanadas. They also have a smoothie bar.

The other dining halls that offer Late Night include Myles Standish Hall and Shelton Hall, both of which have the standard late night menu. HoJo (575 Commonwealth) also has a Late Nigh option called Café 575. I have never been there but according to Tom, “they offer muffins and stuff; maybe coffee too.”

*These are in no particular rank as Late Night Café is similar across most locations

Tom: First Summer in Boston

Hey all! Hopefully your summers are turning out for the best and you are getting excited for your first semester at Boston University in the fall. I remember last summer I was both excited and a little bit scared for my first college semester. But now, looking back, I can’t understand why I was ever nervous as my first year exceeded all of my expectations.

Now for the summer after my first year of college, I made the decision to spend most of it in the city of Boston, working in the COM Student Services office. I went back to Long Island for a month and a half to meet up with my friends from back home, but after that time I was ready to come back to Boston. However, summer on Long Island turned out to be better than I expected. I made an eight day trip with my three best friends to the sunny state of Florida and got to relive my childhood in Disney World. In addition to that, I spent much of my time (maybe a little too much of my time) on the Long Island beaches. Now after a month and a half, I’ve been told I look like Snooki’s cousin. Not sure if I should take that as an insult, but hey, at least my tan is natural… and thankfully not orange.

Now that I’m back in Boston, I’m excited to try out some of Boston’s summer events that you can’t normally experience during the fall and spring semester here. I spend a lot of my time taking walks exploring Boston, although sometimes the heat makes this a little overbearing. Students also have FitRec access during the summer, so I’ve been going to the gym throughout the summer as well. Boston is also in the vicinity of Revere Beach, so I can even get my beachtime while here in Boston. Most of the time, I’ve spent checking out some of Boston’s restaurants, especially in Coolidge Corner, which is right near my apartment. Some of my personal favorites are U-Grill (located right on campus), Angora Café (great frozen yogurt and wraps), Zaftigs (for the best omelets), and Fugakyu (for some authentic Japanese cuisine).

Summer in Boston is definitely new for me, but I would definitely recommend trying it out over the next few years you’ll be spending in Boston. Take some classes, get an internship or a job, or just come by the city for a weekend if you can’t manage to stay. Boston is a great city and most students miss out on the opportunities located outside the classroom.

Kate: Boston Summer Bucket List

It’s summertime, and while most of my friends from BU and high school have returned home, I am still in Boston enjoying this amazing city in warm weather (when you actually want to get out and see it)! I am still working at COM (stop in and say hello when you get here for orientation!) and am also a New Media intern for TalentCulture, a company that focuses on the world of work through blogging and social media. It has been a fantastic experience so far and I am learning a ton! But I live by the motto “Work hard, play hard” so I made myself a Bucket List of Boston activities to do this summer! Here we go:

1. Go to the beach. If you’re from a landlocked state, you will understand how excited I was to finally live closer than 10 hours from the ocean. Castle Island, the Harbor Islands, and the North Shore have all been recommended to me and I am determined to hit the beach as many times as possible this summer.

2. Buy fresh fruit and vegetables from a Farmer’s Market. There are a TON of markets all around Boston with fresh fruit, veggies, fish, cheese, bread, and all the noms you could want. There is a HUGE one down near the North End that I could shop at all day and the SoWa market in the South End every Sunday. Yumm….

3. Watch a free show in the Common. Free Movie Fridays and Shakespeare in the Park are all highlights of summer. I’ll see you all at Toy Story 3 at the end of July! J

4. Pet sharks at the New England Aquarium. Boston has a fantastic aquarium, home to penguins, sting rays, seals, and thousands of fish. It’s a little expensive but this is a must-see for me this summer.

5. See the Chihuly Exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. In case you didn’t know, we go to the best school in Boston- BU pays for its students to go to the MFA for free (that’s a $22 savings)! Chihuly glass is gorgeous so it should be a fabulous exhibit in addition to all the other awesome art in the MFA.

6. Hang out on the Greenway. Boston is definitely a busy and crowded city, but there is a great green space downtown called the Rose Kennedy Greenway. It’s a mile long set of parks with fountains, a carousel, and tons of events every weekend to enjoy! Oh and did I mention free Wi-Fi? At some point, I will be grabbing a big blanket and heading down there to enjoy the gorgeous weather!

7. Attend a festival. Boston is home to tons of different ethnic festivals and parades. While St. Patrick’s Day may have fallen during spring break keeping me from experiencing the Irish heritage, I refuse to miss the Italian celebration in the North End on August 6. Your fellow COM Ambassador Tom Schrank will be joining me for this one!

8. See a movie at the Coolidge Corner movie theater. Open since 1933, the Coolidge Corner Theater is a Boston landmark that shows everything from great old black and whites to intriguing indies, even that newly released romantic comedy you’re embarrassed to admit looks good. Coolidge Corner is only a 15 minute walk from campus so this may be happening more than once this summer.

9. Walk the Esplanade. The Esplanade is a great area along the Charles River. It goes right by campus and into downtown. There are boat houses, river landings to hang out on, and the Hatch Shell where they put on summer concerts. It should be much nicer now that it is not negative ten degrees outside.

10. Enjoy a Fenway Frank at a Red Sox game. A Boston classic, I couldn’t go the summer without entering Red Sox nation at least once. I’ll be decked in my Cardinals gear but hey, at least the colors are the same.

Let me know if there is anything I left off this list, I am looking for tons of fun things to do this summer! Can’t wait to see you guys this fall- BU is a blast!!

Richie: Internships through the Emma Bowen Foundation

Hey guys! I hope everyone is super excited to come to Boston this fall! You should all be proud and psyched to have gotten into the the best school at BU: COM.

I remember a huge reason I decided on COM last year was because of the security I felt I would have in finding a job after school. I’m sure many of you can relate to the fear of not finding a good job after college and as an aspiring film maker I can say that fear was ten times greater for me. I used to not be sure if I should chase my passion or just settle for a field with more jobs and better income. Yet, as I’m sure a lot of you will agree with, both COM’s film program and BU in LA program finally had me feeling comfortable with my choice in film.

Now, for all you interested in film, television, broadcast journalism, or any other media related job (which is basically anyone in COM), I highly, highly recommend applying to the Emma Bowen Foundation. If you’re looking ahead and thinking about getting a job in whatever communication related industry, then this program is definitely for you. EBF is a program dedicated to helping minorities break into the media business by setting them up with a four year internship. Students have an 8 week commitment to work for their corporate sponsor every summer that they’re in college. Some corporate sponsors even allow their interns to work throughout the year as well.

Each summer your department is changed so you can get a taste of different jobs in the industry. The benefit of having a secure internship every summer for the next few years is incredible, anyone will tell you. Also, you’ll be building a strong relationship with your company where many students earn a job afterward or, through their connections, find a job at a different company.

Oh yeah, and if you guys are curious about what companies participate in the program you can check them out here http://www.emmabowenfoundation.com/main.html. To give you and idea though, I work for Fox Television Stations, and have friends that work for HBO, NBC Universal, the YES Network, ABC, and many many more.

Some of you might be hesitant to give up eight weeks of your summer. Maybe you want to enjoy your summer, but just to remind you all, summer vacations in college are around three months so you’ll still have plenty of time to hang with friends. Plus, we all know the wisdom of working hard early in life to enjoy a comfortable, fun job, later in life. And if that doesn’t win you over, did I mention the internship is not only paid but also a scholarship program?! Now most people will tell you how insanely difficult it is to find a paid internship (even if it is only minimum wage), yet EBF has all its partnership companies give out matching funds at the end of every summer. So that basically means, if you dedicate yourself to working those 40 hour weeks for two months, not only will you have all the money you were getting paid, but the company will match your hard work! You do the math, 40 hours a week for eight weeks (getting paid $7.25) is over two grand!

Tiffany: Updates from the London Study Abroad Program

Happy summer everyone! Hope everyone is soaking up the sun and getting a nice tan.

Unfortunately, London isn’t too warm right now and the sun loves to play hide-and-seek with the clouds, while surprising everyone with a little rain here and there. But other than that, if studying abroad is of interest to you, I would definitely recommend it!

You will be surprised how much you will learn about other cultures, while also learning a lot about yourself. On one of the first days of class, my International Brand Management professor stated, “It is only after you’ve spent time abroad and are forced to not be American, will you truly understand what it means to be American because you will, again, be forced to realize and reflect on your values, customs, speech, media, and everything that used to seem so ordinary.”

I’ve only been here for 6 weeks and have already seen, learned, and experienced so much! For the past 6 weeks I took two courses, International Brand Management and European Marketing Strategies, and am just about to start the second half of the program where I will be interning at a fashion PR agency called Bryan Morel PR.

Other than coursework, I’ve been exploring London quite a bit and even traveled to Paris for a weekend (travelling within Europe is so cheap in comparison to what you would ever pay to travel from the States).

BU London is located in a really convenient area with lots to do right in our own borough of Kensington. It is in the most posh part of town, right down the street (literally a 2 minute walk) from Kensington Palace, past residence to Princess Diana, and where Prince William and Kate Duchess of Cambridge have chosen as their London home. Right next to Kensington Palace is the gorgeous Hyde Park where you can paddle boat, ride bikes, go for a run, or just sit by the pond and watch the swans. We are also located right next to all the big museums like the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum that are all free admission!

There is seriously and endless amount of activities to do and places to visit throughout London. Some of my favorite places so far are Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, and Regent Street (really good shopping). Also for my fellow foodies out there, there are Portobello, Camden, Borough, and Greenwich Markets that are a foodies dream come true.

I really recommend looking into study abroad and if anybody has any questions about London in particular, I’d be happy to answer them or, pardon my shameless self-promotion, you can select me as your COM Ambassador!

Cheers from across the Atlantic!

Joe: Meeting Stephen Colbert…for Class

Joe Kain

Hey Everyone!

I hope you’re all having an awesome end to your school year, I know I did. And congratulations to those of you that have already graduated.

A few weeks ago, I had the amazing opportunity to see a live taping of The Colbert Report in New York City. As some of you may know, when you’re here at BU you will probably be taking a WR 150 class. These writing classes all test the same skills, but just have different topics. Some topics include The Devil, Environmentalism, Documentary Films, and even Stephen Colbert!

I was lucky enough to get into the class entitled “The Colbert Report: American Satire.” The class, with Professor Michael Rodriguez, studies Colbert’s unique brand of satire and how he is not only revolutionizing previously utilized styles of satire, but also creating his own unique style. It is a super fun class and I urge anyone interested in this type of thing to try and take this class, because it is NOT going to be easy to get in.

Anyways, we all got to skip out on class to take a trip to NYC. The Colbert Report interestingly films in a really random part of New York, so we didn’t have a lot of time to wander around the city before the filming. But, it didn’t really matter because we were all so amazed that we were about to see Stephen Colbert in person! For school!

The taping was everything I thought it was going to be. It was absolutely hysterical to see him in person. But, as a film and TV student, it was even more impressive to see how much goes into just one episode of the show. His team of writers comes up to him to give him a pep-talk between every commercial break, and the show’s runner is all over the place, queuing Colbert as to which camera he should be looking at.

After the taping, as a special treat for our class, Colbert stayed back and answered questions out of character. Not many people get to see Colbert out of his character, so to hear him speak so eloquently and with such intelligence as a satirist was amazing. I also felt like I had a greater understanding of the show after taking the WR 150 class.

So the lesson is take classes that you’re interested in! Never settle for any “boring” classes or classes that your friends are taking. Branch out and explore all your options here at BU. You won’t regret it.