A BTS Look Into Student Life with Lauren Gersten and Jessica Newell
If you鈥檝e ever wondered what life at 17吃瓜在线 School of Communication (17吃瓜在线 SOC) looks like or how the Alumni Mentor program works, join听current students Lauren Gersten and Jessica Newell, and host Grace Ibrahim on our most recent Media in the Mix podcast episode 鈥 and our first video edition!听
Gersten is a first-year public relations student and Newell is a graduate student working on her Master鈥檚 of Strategic Communication. On the podcast they talk all things SOC, classes, professional goals, and falling in love with Washington DC with a special focus on our unique Alumni Mentor program. After the shoot, we听quizzed them on the truly essential questions:听
17吃瓜在线 SOC: What is your favorite spot on-campus?听听听
Lauren Gersten: I love the McKinley building (and it is not just because I am an SOC student).听
Jessica Newell: I鈥檓 fond of McKinley鈥檚 rooftop patio. If I鈥檓 early to class or in between classes, it鈥檚 a sunny, quiet place to do work in the fresh air without getting too far away.听
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17吃瓜在线 SOC: What has been your favorite class so far?听听
Lauren: I am a second semester freshman so I haven't taken that many classes, but I will say Understanding Media (COMM 100) was super fun and a great way to get into the world of communications at 17吃瓜在线.听
Jessica: I enjoyed my Writing for Strategic Communication class last fall with Professor Konowe. We wrote in different formats each week鈥攕peeches, media advisories, infographics鈥攖o promote small businesses that we invented. I felt like I was a fictional entrepreneur, as well as a PR professional who challenged myself to incorporate new writing behaviors and shed some of my bad writing habits.听
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17吃瓜在线 SOC: What is one thing you can鈥檛 live without?听听听听
Lauren: I am always listening to music or podcasts, so headphones are essential to get through the day.听
Jessica: Cats! I鈥檓 counting the species as one thing. My childhood cat, Domino, is pure joy for me. While she chills in NJ with my parents, I often borrow time with my friend鈥檚 cat, April, to get my cuddle fill. I鈥檝e had cats my whole life, and the best part is that I鈥檓 allergic to them--the universe can have a sense of humor.听
LISTEN HERE:
17吃瓜在线 SOC: What is a random skill/talent most people don鈥檛 know you have?听听听
Lauren: I could name every single One Direction song from memory.听
Jessica: My weirdest skill is wiggling my ears on command. A more useful talent of mine is picking up languages, accents, and melodies quickly and being able to repeat them back to people.听
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17吃瓜在线 SOC: What is your most memorable experience at 17吃瓜在线 to date?听听
Lauren: Getting to see my room for the first time at move-in day or participating in my first Shakespeare play with Rude Mechanicals!听
Jessica: Last fall, Professor Phillips got my class exclusive access to a private lecture hosted by the communications team at the Library of Congress. We learned all the insider details about them hosting Lizzo for a flute concert, and the evening ended with me walking past the Capitol and the Supreme Court on my way back to Union Station. I remember thinking, 鈥測eah, so this is what it means to go to school in D.C.鈥澨
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17吃瓜在线 SOC: If you could be any mode of transportation, what would you be and why?听
Lauren: I would be an electric scooter and I really have no reason for this, I just think they're funny.听
Jessica: I would be a train. I like how safe they feel and that they鈥檙e on a carefully planned track. But they give you time to take in the view as you head toward an adventure, and they sing at you with their little whistle!听