Mikayla Nogueira

Prof. Kristen Berkos

Senior Seminar

15 November 2019

Senior Seminar: Reflection

In order to understand where I currently stand in my academic journey, it is important to

take a moment to reflect on what led me to where I am today. In elementary school, we were

asked what we wanted to be when we grew up. For many years, I had one answer: a teacher. I

had a love for school like no one else. However, as I continued to excel in school, I began to feel

uncertain about my desire to become a teacher, and eventually decided to follow a different path.

The main reason for changing my mind about teaching was due to the pay teachers receive and

my fear of being unable to support myself. My mom works in the school system and I see how

hard she works each and every day, yet for so little pay. In high school, we took a variety of

assessments that matched our skills with potential career paths. On the list of potential careers, it

stated that if I were to go into a career in business, then I would have a substantially higher

paycheck. Although I was passionate about teaching, I put my passion to the side and decided to

study business in college.

When I began looking at potential colleges, I focused on picking business-oriented

schools. Specifically, I toured University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Connecticut,

Bryant University, Roger Williams University, and Bentley University. I chose Bryant because I

appreciated the additional arts minor requirement that would be in conjunction with my business

major. As a creative individual, I was nervous about aiming for a business degree because I did
not want my creativity to be constricted, so having an arts minor was meaningful to me. When

deciding on my specific major and minor, I declared as a Marketing major because I felt I could

be creative within digital or social media marketing. When talking to other Bryant students and

my advisor, I decided to have a communication minor because I was told they paired well

together.

If I am honest, I had no knowledge of the communication discipline and I was entirely

unsure if I would enjoy it. I remember watching a movie one evening when I was in high school

called Endless Love. There was a scene in the movie where a father and son were talking, and the

father expressed his disappointment in his son for choosing to major in communication, rather

than become a lawyer or doctor. This movie scene was the first time I had ever heard of

“communication.” I remember thinking to myself, “You can earn a degree in how to talk to

people?" When I think about this moment, I cannot help but laugh. I never thought that years

later after seeing that movie scene I would be studying communication.

As my first semester at Bryant began, I started off in my introduction to communication

course. It is safe to say that taking this introductory course had me hooked. I had the opportunity

to take the course with professor Alyce Viens, who only taught at Bryant for a short time. Unlike

most business courses, this communication course allowed me to think critically and engage in

valuable discussion. We examined introductory theories and applied them to real world

scenarios, allowing me to see the world differently. I do not mean to sound dramatic, but I fell in

love with communication very quickly through this initial course, and I knew it was right for me.

However, making the decision to officially switch my major to communication was not

an easy choice. So many doubts flowed through my mind because I had to accept the reality that

I could not bear to have a desk job where I make a substantial salary doing something I have
absolutely no passion for. It is no secret that liberal arts majors simply have to work a little

harder to be successful. This is especially the case at Bryant, where career support is heavily

leaning towards the college of business and does not always take the arts students into

consideration. Although I was nervous about this, I took the leap. I have always been a

hardworking individual and I determined that I did not mind working a little harder to find a job

and execute my passion for communication.

Once I declared myself as a communication major, I was absolutely thrilled to select the

communication courses that I felt were exciting. I have taken many communication courses and

each one has been impactful and changed the way I think about and view the world. This

connects with one of the main reasons I love communication: I find it very complex. There are so

many layers to communication, which can be seen when looking at communication theories.

Theories start at the individual level with theories such as constructivism, action assembly

theory, or attribution theory, and then become more complex. Communication theory can be

analyzed from a dyadic or group perspective by looking at relational dialectics, uncertainty

reduction theory, face theory, or groupthink. From there, communication theories move to an

organizational perspective and look at power or communication flow within an organization. It

does not stop there though. Communication theorists also analyze mass communication and look

at media effects through theories such as cultivation theory, agenda setting theory, spiral of

silence theory, and many more. There are also global theories looking at information flow, world

systems theory, and cultural imperialism. So, it is easy to see how one could become incredibly

fascinated with all that the communication discipline has to offer.

As I have progressed through my journey as a communication major, there are many

moments that stick out to me as meaningful. The first that comes to mind is my communication
research methods course. I have never been more nervous for a course until this one. I knew it

would require a tremendous amount of work and dedication. For me, it was critical that I took

this class very seriously and truly learned the material. I knew someday that I may use the

material taught in this course, and looking back, I was right. This course challenged me

intellectually and allowed me to better understand the significance of research in the

communication discipline. I learned a lot throughout this course, but two specific takeaways

come to mind. First, I learned my true potential. I went into the course with many doubts about if

I would be successful, but as it turns out, I came out on top. Research methods taught me how to

push myself and not give up when I am frustrated or confused. I successfully executed a research

study and wrote a research report. It made me realize that I had potential as a scholar and could

continue to grow in that direction. Second, I learned the importance of ethics in communication.

When looking at past studies that have been completed without ethical boundaries, I discovered

how truly devastating this can be. Now, I have an understanding of what constitutes as ethical

and how to create an ethical research study where participants are properly informed and taken

care of. Overall, my research methods course was one of the many successes I have had in my

discipline.

The second profound success I have had in my major is being inducted into the National

Communication Honor Society, Lambda Pi Eta. Academically, I work very hard to ensure I do

well in my classes and take away as much knowledge as I am able to. I also aim to be involved

with communication events on campus and support my fellow classmates and communication

faculty. Being inducted into this society meant a lot to me because it showed that my efforts were

seen. I was so excited to attend this induction with my fellow communication students and share

our achievement together. This evening was one I will always remember and appreciate.
 I feel very strongly about my third accomplishment within my major. Throughout my

four years at Bryant, I have become increasingly media literate. Through my mass

communication and media effects course I have truly begun to understand what effects media has

had on me, my family, my friends, and society. From the teachings of Stanley and Susan Baran, I

have been able to overcome some of the hardest trials of my life, facing an eating disorder for

several years. By increasing my media literacy skills, I have been able to improve my self-

esteem and gain a sense of self. Also, by better understanding media effects, I can understand

how media may be affecting my loved ones, which allows me to help them.

A fourth accomplishment relates to my public speaking abilities. I have never had anxiety

about public speaking and have always felt I would excel in it. I took public speaking my

sophomore year at Bryant and developed greatly as a public speaker. I successfully gave

informational, analytical, persuasive, and special occasion speeches. Taking this course then

inspired me to partake in Bryant University’s public speaking colloquium where I spoke about

my history with eating disorders and how they relate to media effects. Although I did not move

on to the next round in the competition, I was congratulated for a job well done. I am hoping to

participate in the public speaking colloquium again in the upcoming semester.

My last and final achievement that I wanted to mention involves my internship where I

was able to employ my major and minors. Summer of 2019, I earned an internship at FUN107

Radio. This had been my dream internship since I was a young child. I worked tirelessly to earn

the internship and after a year of showing interest, I was hired as a Digital Media intern. I was

able to learn the ins and outs of radio, as well as become familiar with journalism, social media

marketing, audio visual technologies, and production. The most memorable moment at my

internship was when I was able to be a guest on air discussing my opinions on drag-queens. At
the time, this was a newsworthy topic and I felt extremely confident giving my input. After the

show aired, the director of the radio station told me I had a guaranteed future in radio if that was

the career path I wanted to take. This is a moment I will never forget.

Those accomplishments are just to name a few, but they are all very meaningful and I

will most likely always remember them. I have had a truly enjoyable and impactful time at

Bryant University and in the College of Arts. So much so, that after years of putting my

ambitions of teaching off to the side, my mindset has begun to shift. As a junior, I decided I was

truly passionate about communication and wanted to further my knowledge on the subject. For

several months I thought about my potential and whether or not to pursue a master’s degree.

Having formed close relationships with the communication professors at Bryant, I determined it

was the right fit for me through discussion with them. I applied in the fall semester of my junior

year and was accepted into the Bryant University Master of Arts in Communication program in

the spring of 2019. I have begun my journey in my master’s program, and while it is as

challenging as anticipated, I am already certain that I made the right choice.

Now that I am nearing graduation, I am thinking ahead and looking at my future.

Recently, I have been tossing around the idea that I would like to pursue a doctorate degree in

communication. This would allow me the opportunity to teach, which is what I have always

desired to do. It would be an amazing opportunity to attend a school in an area I am not familiar

with so that I can experience the US more. If I do not take that path, I hope to continue working

at Ulta and moving internally up the ladder. I absolutely love working at Ulta because my world

revolves around makeup. I find myself employing communication theories everyday at my job,

and I would love to become a district or regional manager for the corporate office.
 Four years later, I reflect on how happy I am about my decision to switch to a

communication major. As a creative individual who is always seeking to expand my knowledge

and engage in public discourse, I truly appreciate everything I have learned in my undergraduate

career. I feel prepared for the future and excited about all the wonderful opportunities I will have.

I am very grateful for the faculty who have mentored me, educated me, and inspired me. The

communication department at Bryant has allowed me to reach heights I was never sure I could.

Now, the sky is the limit.