Tag Archives: BU

From a banana slug to a Boston terrier

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By Gina Kim
MS Journalism ’16
BU College of Communication

“Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell, brand new shoes, walking blues, climb the fence, books and pens, I can tell that we are gonna be friends.”

I couldn’t help but think this White Stripes’ song was the perfect soundtrack to play on my iPod for the first day of school, while scrambling and hustling to get onto the Green Line.

Ah, yes, the anxiously awaited, first week of classes is finally done. After making a cross-country move from California to Boston, feverishly looking up reputation ratings on RateMyProfessor (sorry, it’s been a longtime tradition of mine since freshman year of college soon as I register for courses), worrying about whether or not my books would be delivered on time (thanks, Amazon!) and almost getting killed on the T, I have to say, it’s been quite an eventful week. I’ve definitely learned a lot about Boston in the three short weeks since I’ve arrived.

For example, I’ve learned there’s no shortage of students in Boston– at least 3/4 of the city’s population is made up of students. It makes sense…you’ve got your major institutions such as Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Northeastern, Boston College, UMass, Berklee, Emerson and then the smaller colleges that I, (as a Californian), have never heard of. You get the picture…Boston is the Disneyland of all things education.

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After living in the suburbs my entire life, being in a large city is definitely a paradigm shift,  but I like it. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives. Even my condo isn’t bad, for a building that looks so old on the outside. At least it’s by three different T stations, convenience stores, restaurants and bars… ah yes, bars. There’s nothing quite like laying in your bed trying to get some shut eye when the sounds of city traffic and party goers trying to find their way home in a drunken stupor fill the night. It hits the sentimentality button so hard that you finally have to reach over to your nightstand and grab your earplugs. Ah, the memories of being 21. It truly is a nostalgic feeling.

I’ve already received quite a few looks and questions from people wondering why on earth would I leave California to endure the desolate winters of Boston. “Ooh, you’re going to be in for a TREAT this winter,” they’d cackle at me. I know, I know. You don’t need to rub it in. I probably purchased enough North Face/Patagonia products for people to think I’m moving to the Arctic.

But hey, extreme weather aside, living in a brand new city across the country in a brand new graduate program in a brand new field where you don’t know a soul is something we all need to experience in our 20s. It’s a chance of a lifetime, especially when you’re still so young and there’s still so much room to grow as an individual.

Not to mention, the reputation and prestige of Boston University’s COM program definitely helped make my decision to come to this chaotic city much easier.

And so far, I have not been disappointed.

It’s been a year since I’ve been out of school, so it’s been tough transitioning back into the student mindset and schedule. But as we all know, everything takes some time getting used to. I remember a year ago when I got hired at my first office job as a writer for an Orange County-based business magazine, I started to actually long for the days when I was a student. Starting at COM this week reminded me of what I enjoy most about school. It starts with the people you meet in your classes. Meeting people from all over the world with different educational backgrounds has always been my favorite part of beginning a new semester. It is a helpful reminder that as stressed out, worried, or homesick you might get at times, we are all in this together. We’re all worried about the same issues, have the same anxieties and stress over the same things. This helps ease my apprehensions, maybe not all, but just enough.

During my first week at COM, I was introduced to the courses and professors I know will help re-ignite that spark in my desire to learn. I won’t lie, I have found some of the course materials in my classes a bit daunting. Taking a bunch of classes in a field I have no academic background in, is definitely a challenge, but it isn’t something I can’t and won’t overcome.

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Since I opened this post with a quote, I think it makes sense that I end with a quote from this cheaply painted cork-board wall poster thingy that I bought for dirt cheap at Walmart. Although it’s stamped with cheesy clichés, I can’t help but notice how the message behind the commercialism is relevant to my life right now:

“Life is not worth anything unless you find something to live for. Let your heart be your guide. Discover your passion and pursue it. Be true to who you are. Make every moment count. Your life is now, seize it and MAKE IT AMAZING.”

Only in grad school do you have class on the weekends

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By Keiko Talley
MS Journalism '16
BU College of Communication

My first week of grad school is officially done. I am the third one in my family to even go to grad school, so my mother was bombarding me with texts saying how happy she was and proud of me; she has always been my biggest fan. My best friends from home were all wishing me an amazing first day. It felt like everyone was excited for me, except for myself. I was nervous. I barely knew my way around this huge city, and I was going to have to get back into the mindset of school after being in pure work mode for two years. I didn’t know anyone besides my roommates and few people from a chat group that we created on Facebook (but lets be real how often do you actually meet any of those people and become friends with them). Making friends isn’t my number one priority at BU, but it is something that I know I am going to need to do in order to keep my sanity...and that scares me a lot.

For my first week, I only had three classes. During my first, the T.A. told us that our professor was tough and made him sound like it was going to be next to impossible to get a good grade. Twenty minutes later, the professor came in and immediately started poking fun at everyone, myself included for my tattoos. However, this helped me start to feel a little better about things because I soon realized that someone who I thought was going to be “so scary”, actually was comical.

I chose not to go to the first graduate event at the Hyatt (a cocktail meet and greet for students and professors); however, when I picked up my roommate from the event, I quickly regretted it. But while everyone else was recovering the next morning, my roommate included, I went to a new journalism “boot camp” class all day Saturday and Sunday.

I had already had such anxiety about the class because it was about photojournalism and how to take pictures on a fancy camera, which I knew nothing about. After the professor took attendance I realized that everyone knew each other, which I found odd. It’s a small program, so most of us are in a lot of the same classes, but we hadn’t even had class yet. As I quietly sat at my seat, one of the kids behind me started talking about the Hyatt event and how I wasn’t at there. At this point, I thought I had missed my opportunity to make any friends.

I was wrong because that changed quickly. As annoying as it was having class all day my first weekend at school, it forced us all to get to know each other and become friends. I never thought I would actually enjoy learning how to focus a camera and set the aperture and shutter speed. But by Sunday, it felt like I was hanging out with my friends just taking silly photos of each other. Meeting the people in my boot camp class, and hanging out with them all weekend long made walking into other classes or even around campus a million times easier.

I had fully expected the worst when I was entering my first week at BU, not because the school work seemed so daunting, but because I was five hours away from anything and everything I knew. It’s a scary thought to embark upon a new journey where I could potentially fail. But, that ended up being the best part of entering my first week here at BU. You expect for the worst but hope for the best, and that’s just what happened.

Thankfully, the faculty has been nothing but helpful and understanding of a few unfortunate situations; such as, coming to class late because you went to the wrong building, not having the right book for class because you weren’t sure if you actually needed it (FYI: you do in fact need every book that a professor asks you to get prior to class), and even messing up your first assignment because you were completely clueless. The students here at BU are just as nice as the faculty, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from this week, it’s that we’re all in this together. We all want to make friends and succeed. So don’t forget, even though everyone in your classes is your competition, they are also your support group.

Back to my new, old school

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By Ali Parisi
MS Public Relations '16
BU College of Communication

If you were in a 30-mile radius of Boston during Labor Day weekend, you knew: it was move-in time.  Home to numerous colleges and universities, the Boston move-in process is a beast in itself.  Everything from midday bumper to bumper traffic to countless discarded furniture pieces left on the curb screams, “Get out of this city while you still can.” And yet, hundreds of thousands of college students continue to make their way into the city.

Fortunately for me, this wasn’t my first time around the block, and I was smart enough to move in well before then.  This will be my fourth year at Boston University.  After three years of studying Mass Communication, I’m incredibly excited to dive straight into BU’s Public Relations graduate program.

If moving in and adjusting to graduate level classes wasn’t enough already, it’s also the middle of soccer season. I’ve been on campus since August 3rd for preseason training. Before classes even started, I had been through three weeks of training, two home games and a weekend trip for two games in South Carolina. I think it’s safe to say I’ve been pretty busy.  But hey, that’s life, right?

I have to admit, it’s so nice already knowing my way around campus and the city of Boston.  But even though I’ve been here for a few years already, I still feel the excitement of a new start: meeting new classmates and professors, taking new courses, and even playing new teams in soccer.  The comfort of the location, along with the thrill of a new beginning truly gives me the best of both worlds.

We’ll see how happy I am to be this busy when the papers start piling up…But for now, bring it on BU.

BU Ranked Among Top 10 Journalism Schools

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Earlier this week, USA Today published results from a study that analyzed the best journalism schools in the country. We are so proud to have landed the number two spot on this coveted list. The study, conducted with College Factual, analyzed universities based on factors like the quality of the school, starting & mid-career salaries of graduates, and other factors.

Here at COM, we think there are even more reasons why we have such a successful journalism program. But don't just take our word for it. Listen to the reasons straight from some of our journalism students:

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I came to BU with an undergraduate degree in English Education. My experience with a camera went about as far as taking video and pictures on my iPhone and then 'editing' them on Instagram. In less than two semesters, BU taught me how to shoot, edit, and produce quality video packages that were of professional newsroom quality. Their instruction and guidance is unparalleled to any other institution.
- Iris Moore

"How encouraging and selfless the professors can be-- especially Professor Mehren. Gives me hope."
-Katie

"I like that the professors are interested in getting us real-world experience." - Justine Hofherr

To be honest, I expected to learn a lot and apply a lot of what I learned to the real world which I know I will...but I wasn't expecting the camaraderie between my classmates."- Andre Katchaturian

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"From day one we are out reporting like real journalists in one of the world's best cities with endless incredible stories!"- Megan Turchi

What do you love about your COM program? Let us know and you might be featured on the blog!

Waiting is the Hardest Part

BU Comgrad,

The primary application deadline has passed. And to those of you who submitted your application, congratulations! That in itself is an achievement. So take a second to give yourself a pat on the back.

But don’t let that pat last too long. There is still work to be done in the coming months.

The first part doesn’t require anything from you. As you read this, your applications are with the faculty committees being reviewed. The committees will look over all of the applicants and come to a decision on who will be admitted – we are excited to have so many terrific applicants, but unfortunately, we have to narrow it done to a chosen few.

Once those decisions are made, you will receive an email from us with you admission decision. Of course, if you submitted your application before our December 15 priority notification deadline, you will be among the first to get your email. This email will contain not only your decision, but will also notify you of any scholarship opportunities you will have from us. Remember, if you aren’t notified of any scholarship opportunities, there are many other options to help you with the financial side of grad school. These include Stafford Loans, graduate assistantships, teaching assistantships, just to name a few (more info can be found here).

Getting your decision is only a step in the process. If you’re accepted, you’ll have to decide if COM is the right fit for you (and we certainly think it is). We know now that making the decision of if/where to attend grad school means that you will have many new questions, and we want to do our best to answer them. Remember, you can always reach us via email (comgrad@bu.edu) or phone (617-353-3481). And don’t forget about our COM podcast, which will continue through the coming months to answer any and all questions you may have. But above all, we want to try to make this process as easy as possible in person.

That’s why we will be doing a spring tour, stopping in various cities to meet with accepted students who want to learn more about COM. The stops on our tour this spring will include:

Los Angeles-Tuesday, March 25
San Francisco-Thursday, March 27
Seattle- Sunday, March 30
Denver-Sunday, March 30
Chicago-Monday, March 31
Washington, DC-Monday, April 7
Charlotte-Monday, April 7
New York-Tuesday, April 8
Austin-Tuesday, April 8

All of these visits will culminate with our accepted students visiting day on the afternoon of Friday, April 11. This will allow prospective students to meet with current students, faculty, and graduate services representatives, as well as get to check out Boston and COM.

So congrats once again. Completing the application is a big step in your process, but it is just one. So take some time to recover and get ready for the rest of the journey. We will see you along the way.