When going on my college tours the summer before my senior year of high school I heard fact upon fact about the communication department.
“Comcast uses our studios once a month!”
“Our newspaper is nationally recognized!”
“Everything in our department is completely student run!”
To say the least, I was overwhelmed. How can I catch up to these people? I was a very shy and quiet kid before entering college, so naturally I doubted myself.
When I finally made my very last minute decision to attend Cabrini I told myself I wanted to step out of my comfort zone. I wanted to be able to do something extraordinary.
My first step in that journey was joining the communication learning community. When we all met at orientation on that hot summer day, awkward shy me tried to bond with another quiet girl in the group and complained about all the stairs we had to walk during the tour of the mansion.
As minuscule as that sounds, that took a lot of courage for me. I was not the type to speak to a total stranger in attempts to be friends.
I took that first step as a victory and went on my way to accomplish more.
Soon I got to know Cabrini’s communication professors very well as my classes began.
Being in the communication learning community, I took advantage of the comfort of having the same peers in all of my communication courses. We all raised each other up and pushed each other to accomplish excellence. With that I fell in love with my major.
As my freshmen year came to an end I had already experienced so much more within those two semesters than I had ever experienced in all of my 18 years of living in a small suburb of Philadelphia.
My confidence sky-rocketed.
My professors encouraged me to do what I love and they paved the pathway for me to achieve my dreams. My peers worked with me and shared their talents with me so that together we could produce quality work.
Sophomore year triumphed all, though. This year I became a staff writer and video package for our newspaper, graphic designer for our news show and granted assistant photo editor.
Being a staff writer has forced me to step outside my comfort zone by interviewing all types of people. Being the least athletic person ever, I never would have imagined going to a baseball game and interviewing the baseball coach.
But I did so and succeeded because my peers and professors believed in me. Most importantly, I believed in me.
With my sophomore year coming to an end I am so incredibly proud of how much I have grown because of this department. I get to meet new and interesting people daily through what I love.
I no longer feel nervous when talking with people I don’t know, I am confident in how I conduct myself and I am proud of the work I produce. I am proud to be taking the position of visual managing editor for our school’s newspaper next year.
So thank you Cabrini communication department for helping timid, nervous freshmen Hope turn in to a confident, progressing adult. I can’t wait to see what else it will do for me.
