COM 101: Human Communication Serving as the foundational course for Communication majors, this class was where I was first introduced to common COM theories and thinkers. For example, this class introduced me to the depth of Aristotle’s Rhetoric, as well as other theorists such as Plato, Marshall McLuhan, and George Herbert Mead.
COM 111: Fundamentals of Oral Communication Another foundational course was designed around public speaking practices. I transferred this class in from Delta College, but there I was introduced to four different types of speeches in which I had to write and present. This class required an introduction speech, commemorative speech, instructive speech, and a persuasive speech. Additionally, we were taught best practices as well as popular Communication vocabulary.
COM 180: Technical Communication This course was taken at Delta College as I am pursuing a Technical Writing Certificate from their institution. It was career-focused with a much of the time redrafting documents such as my resume and cover letters. We also had to complete a technical report on a topic of our choosing.
COM 192: Intro to Public Relations With a COM and NMS background, I chose to take an introductory class to Public Relations. This class in particular dealt with real-world application as it required me to use common PR methods to examine companies’ crisis response or campaign tactics and ultimately create a mock campaign of my own.
COM 201: Interpersonal Communication I originally took this class to transfer from Delta to fulfill a distributive requirement at Alma. However, this course ultimately inspired me to pursue a Communication major. This class introduced me to the communication process as well as helped me better understand my personal relationships with the people around me. What really sparked my interest was learning about how people have different communication styles and patterns, and how these can impact relationships. Additionally, my assignments required me to create scenarios portraying the concepts learned, and this unique style of learning greatly influenced my passion.
ENG 202: Digital Rhetoric Considering my pursuit of a career in technical writing, a field that now handles the portrayal of messages online, this seemed like the perfect class to take. This course, through the English department, represented a culmination of both of my majors and helped me understand both the digital message of the medium, as well as the content itself.
COM 280: Advanced Technical Communication As part of my Certificate in Technical Writing, this course was also taken through Delta College. This class was my first experience working in true Cohorts, which I believe will help me in graduate school. This course seemed to have a bit of Public Relations crossover, as we had to design documents for organizations, respond to employee mistakes or crises, and we individually had to write a formal report. Being interested in technical writing as well as higher education, I wrote a recommendation report for Northwood University.
COM 320: Gender and Communication This class in particular greatly impacted the way I see the world. Not only did it help me understand my own differences in gender and communication, but it helped me understand societal norms and expectations influence and maintain these patterns and differences. Additionally, we read a book titled Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, that inspired me to advocate for women's issues. Also from this course, you can find my Gender in Film Analysis here.
COM 350: Seminar in Communication Inquiry Serving as another foundational COM course, this class introduced me to methods of Communication research. Although we were introduced to experimental, survey, ethnography, and two types of textual analysis, I chose to propose survey research that led to my honors thesis.
COM 385: Technical Writing Internship Being a Communication major, I was required to have an internship that allowed me to apply my knowledge in the field. More specifically, I hoped to apply my understanding of technical writing. I was given the opportunity for such an internship in partnership with the Alma College Registrar, read more about it here.
COM 450: Communication Theory The final foundational course of the COM major focuses on professionalization and preparation for life post-graduate. Additionally, this course presented a reflection on my undergraduate studies as well as the connections between communication and identity, culture, technology, and community. You can read my in-depth reflection here.
COM 500: Senior Honors Thesis As a continuation of my COM 350 proposal, I conducted survey research of the Alma College student body. This experience required Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, and the help of professors within other departments to ensure accuracy. The desired outcome of my thesis would be to better understand the way Computer-Mediated Communication (CMCs) affect young-adult romantic relationships, read about it here.
New Media Studies Courses
NMS 101: Intro to Digital Media The singular foundational course for NMS majors is NMS 101. This class introduced me to the basics of audio, graphic, video, and video game design in order to prepare me for choosing a path throughout the major.
CSC 120: Object-Oriented Programming I The traditional NMS programming course couldn't fit in my schedule, so I opted to take the Computer Science course. With my desired web path in mind, I felt it would be very beneficial to have some experience in Java programming, the sole focus for this class. I found it extremely challenging, but this class along with my experience in HTML, will help me in my pursuit of technical writing.
NMS 130: Interactive Media Although this course is meant to prepare studies in video game design, I chose to take it with website interactivity in mind. It ended up being one of my favorite classes as my group designed an app, and I found it very enjoyable. This course also was heavy in the reading of media scholars, and ended up helping me find my path in NMS as interactivity and theory.
ENG 202: Digital Rhetoric Considering my pursuit of a career in technical writing, a field that now handles the portrayal of messages online, this seemed like the perfect class to take. This course, through the English department, represented a culmination of both of my majors and helped me understand both the digital message of the medium, as well as the content itself.
NMS 220: Programming Intro In preparation for Object-Oriented Programming, I took a brief course at Delta College to better understand the logic and design aspect of programming. My favorite part of this course were the exercises in which I got to seek out and fix the flaws in other people's logic, which is a component of technical writing.
NMS 300: Media Theory & Culture To prepare myself for graduate school studies, I chose to take this course. It required an in-depth reading of numerous popular scholars, as well as a close analysis of their impact on today's media and the connection between them and other concepts such as life and differences.
NMS 310: Social Media This course was my favorite NMS course during my time at Alma. It was a Service-Learning Course designed to help the Gratiot County Community's Community Action Program to reach their audiences. Through the reading of media scholars, I was given the opportunity to apply this knowledge to help the community in real-time.
NMS 380: EcoMedia To better understand the environmental implications and impact of media, this class was broken into sections focusing on the different types of media. One of the most interesting concepts to me was Greenwashing, and the way advertisements shape products as environmentally friendly to convince consumers to buy the product, despite its true harm to the environment.
NMS 385: Digital Marketing Internship As part of my NMS Major requirements, I was required to have an internship that utilized my media skills. I ultimately didn't take this course for credit, but you can read more about my digital marketing experience at the Mid-Michigan Children's Museum here.
NMS 450: Senior Studio The final course in the NMS series is the Senior Studio. The entire semester is spent on professionalization and a capstone project. This project represents the culmination of all of the skills learned throughout the major. I chose to focus on digital storytelling and created an interactive documentary you can seehere.
NMS 480: Senior Seminar New to my graduating class, I participated in a course that was designed to conclude my theoretical studies. I chose to focus on the concept of social media "addiction" and crafted a research paper exploring this concept that you can find here.