Tag: Journalism

A Great Year Ahead

A Great Year Ahead

I am excited to be back at Loyola University Chicago and blogging my experiences once again! I cannot believe that I am a junior. The past two year have flown by so fast!

My summer was definitely a busy one. I had the opportunity to intern at a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. called Words Beats & Life. This organization was unique because it bases its purpose in the positive values of hip-hop, professional development, youth development and the arts. My main project consisted of marketing their bi-annual peer-reviewed journal on hip-hop culture. I was able to work closely with three other marketing and communications interns by writing and editing press releases, facilitate a social media based fundraising campaign and be a set of helping hands at their annual teach-in.

Along with working retail to save up before school, I value the experience I had at Words Beats & Life greatly. I felt prepared with the courses I have taken so far at Loyola and I also felt the time and energy I put into projects given were worth while.

Now that I am in my third year, I have an inkling that it will be a busy, yet fulfilling one. I will continue to be involved with the Black Cultural Center as vice president, the African Student Alliance as president and co-choreographer of AfroDescent. I also look forward to working with the department of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs with the Empowerment Pipeline program for a second year. Being in my position and reflecting on the experiences I have had by being a leader, I am eager to pass on my knowledge and advice to those who have the potential to be future student leaders on Loyola’s campus as well!

My blog will again be my gateway to reflecting on my experiences this year. I do recognize that I am a student first, but I will try to squeeze in some me time and fun times!

I cannot wait to see what junior year has in store for me!

What’s Up World?!

What’s Up World?!

Hello! My name is Alex Benson and I’m an undergraduate admission counselor here at Loyola. I’ll be blogging through out the year, so I thought I’d take some time to tell a little about myself.

I’m originally come from the great state of California. Specifically, Sacramento. I came to Loyola a couple years ago to attend the university. I came in my Sophomore year, as a transfer student, after spending a year at a community college back home.

While attending Loyola I studied Journalism with a minor in Visual Communication (our major for graphic design). So, I split my time between our two campuses while I was a student. I had a fantastic time as a student. I loved how well many of my classes integrated all the great resources available in Chicago. I think Chicago is a wonderful place to live and learn.

When I wasn’t chipping away at school work, I stayed active outside the classroom working for both the student newspaper (The Phoenix) and radio station (WLUW 88.7). I also stayed active physically, by playing intramural soccer in the fall and spring.

My job as an admission counselor is basically talking to incoming students about Loyola. A big part of my job is reviewing applications from prospective freshman. All the admission counselor have different areas of the country we’re responsible for when it comes to applicants. I have the greater Cincinnati, Columbus area and some of the more western suburbs of Chicago.

My blog posts will cover a variety of topics through out the year. I’ll share some different admission tips and tricks. I’ll also talk about the different events around campus. And from time to time, I’ll post updates from my travels.

Hope you enjoy what I have to say!

Interviewing Journalist Carol Marin

Interviewing Journalist Carol Marin

For my internship this week I was asked to profile the commencement speaker for the SoC graduation, Carol Marin. Marin is a local print and broadcast journalist.

Marin is a political columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times, a political editor at NBC5 and a contributor at WTTW’s  “Chicago Tonight.” Yeah, she is pretty legit.

She invited me to NBC studios right off Michigan Ave. for the interview and I got to sit in on a political meeting, met a number of important people,and saw some of the background operations.

The interview went well, and despite being a little nervous, she complimented me on my preparedness!  Though my internship has allowed me to meet some really great people around campus, this was my “big story,” and I’m very excited to add it to my portfolio!

I’ll be sure to share the article once it is up on the SoC website.

About Me

About Me

My name is Antoinette Isama and I am a sophomore at Loyola University Chicago. I am seeking a degree in journalism with a minor in International Studies. I was born and raised in Silver Spring, Md., and my family is originally from Nigeria. I am also the youngest of three in my immediate family, but I have always grown up to know my many members of my extended family as well.

I have always loved reading, writing and telling stories. Growing up the news was always on tv in my house, so I think that is a huge contribution for my interest in journalism. I have also taken an interest in learning about other people’s lives, different cultures other than my own and becoming aware of national and international issues.

Coming to Loyola all the way from the east coast comes with a lot of independence and opportunities. Even though I miss my family at times, my endeavors that I am involved in on campus help me reflect on my journey here and that my distance from home will be worth while.

These endeavors include participating in the many cultural and social justice based groups that Loyola has to offer. I am social chair of the Black Cultural Center, event coordinator of the African Student Alliance, and a social justice advocate in the Empowerment Pipeline program through the department of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.

These extracurriculars have enhanced my leadership skills and my ability to work as a team with fellow students, as well as sharing the importance of preserving and learning about black culture and African culture with the Loyola community. I have really enjoyed collaborating with other cultural organizations to reach this goal together too.

When I am not in class or in my extracurricular activities I enjoy exploring Chicago. My favorite things to do so far at my time at Loyola have been going to festivals, checking out different restaurants, visiting museums and attending concerts. Being a student also has its perks with these activities too with the discounts!

With the time I have left at Loyola, I hope to have a better sense of where I would like to be in terms of my career as a journalist. I am also very grateful for the resources Loyola offers its students to guide that aspect of the college journey. I also hope to be more involved with the social media and student run publications, such as The Phoenix.

With this blog I hope to share what I do and how I see Loyola. I also hope to put a lot in perspective through my experiences that I go through on a day to day basis.

Enjoy!

Google Me

Google Me

Ok, when you Google me, you’ll probably see these blog entries. But, you’ll also see other articles from various news sites and blogs.  Being a journalism major can be pretty awesome, especially once you see your work published.  Of course,  being published can simply mean writing on a blog.  Nonetheless, I have had my work in a print publication, Adentro de Pilsen, and on several news blogs for Loyola, like the Loyola Student Dispatch and The Streets of Chicago. I’ve also had a couple of packages (broadcast news), featured on Loyola News Chicago.  For my internship, my articles are being published on the School of Communication website, the latest of which you can view here!  Loyola provides many opportunities for journalism students to gain real world, hands-on experience. And I’m always excited to see my work, as well as the work of fellow students, featured.

Back in Baumhart

Back in Baumhart

As I start this post, I must first note that it is seriously FREEZING outside!  While walking from class to class today, I had to concentrate very hard on finding the motivation and willpower to leave from one building to the next.  But alas, I am now in the safe and warm confines of my Baumhart Hall and now that my fingers are sufficiently warm, I will now proceed to share my tales from winter break and other current affairs.

Winter break seemed like a promising time to catch on some much needed rest and relaxation, but in all honesty, I have never seen four weeks go by so quickly.  I definitely let myself slip into some bad habits.  These habits include, but are not limited to… nocturnal sleep patterns (resulting in sleeping in to very unreasonable hours of the day), eating unjustified amounts of junk food and watching TLC.

Let me explain that last one.  Normally I watch very little, in fact, almost no TV.  As there isn’t much to do in my hometown, I began to explore the array of channels offered by our DISH and I stumbled upon TLC.  This channel has some of the most terrifying shows I have ever seen. Examples include  “Hoarding: Buried Alive, Toddlers & Tiaras,”Dance Moms and many more!  I would prefer not to go into much detail about each shows,  as they are not all that pertinent, but I will say that they are very disturbing. And yet I could not change the channel.

Now that I am back at school, I can concentrate on the more practical aspects of life, studying!  I also have started my spring internship as the School of Communication reporter.  In fact, I have already finished my first article about an exhibit soon to be shown at the School of Communication.  The exhibit, Too Young to Die, is a photography documentary series by a Chicago photographer, Carlos Javier Ortiz.  Other than writing stories, one of my favorite aspects of being a journalism major is the opportunity to meet and interview so many interesting people.

As far as classes go, I am eager to begin some of my projects for my color theory course (I’m a studio art minor).  The best part of taking an art class?  The fun school supplies, of course!  For color theory, I had to purchase a seriously large stack of colored papers (314 sheets of beautiful color, to be exact). But for now, my first assignment is to make a color wheel (It’s a little more serious than it sounds). Other than that, my other classes seem enjoyable enough.   For now, however, I’m ready for the weekend!

Internship Hunting

Internship Hunting

As part of the journalism curriculum, students must obtain an internship to practice the various reporting skills obtained in the classroom.  As procrastination and I are very good friends, I am now well into my senior year and scrambling to find a sweet internship for the upcoming semester so that I can graduate on time!

The process seemed a bit daunting at first as it requires resume writing, cover letters and writing samples.  Writing samples I had on hand from my coursework, but my resume was very much out of date and I had no cover letter.  I cannot excuse my behavior as Loyola consistently offers resume and cover letter workshops, and often times, professors are more than happy to edit these sorts of documents.  The Career Development Center is a great resource if you need help with writing or revision.  (Word to the wise—Start your resume now!  Add experiences as you gain them, and by the time you graduate, you won’t be hard pressed to remember dates and details of your experiences!)

As I began the quest in search of the perfect internship, I first checked the School of Communication’s internship database, which has postings from most all news organizations in Chicago.  Next, I went to Loyola’s RamblerLink, a very nifty site that has job and internship postings, AND lets you load your resume, cover letters, and writing samples so that you can just pick what organization you want to apply for and send in all your documents, without the hassle of loading them over and over again for each separate application.  RamblerLink is also a great resource to find part-time jobs, work-study jobs and full-time jobs after you graduate.

So now that I’ve settled on a few places, it’s just a matter of hearing back!

A Bit About Myself

A Bit About Myself

Hello Everyone!  My name is Raven Icaza and I’m a senior at Loyola. I’m a Journalism major, with a minor in Studio Art and English. A native to Illinois, I am surprisingly not from Chicago or the suburbs!  In fact, my hometown, Galesburg, is an approximate 4 hour drive away.  Very small. Very boring. Fun fact: The poet Carl Sandburg, who wrote “City of Big Shoulders,” (famous poem about Chicago), was born and raised there.

I came to Loyola a little more than 3 years ago, and I LOVE it here! I spend a lot of time working on stories for my reporting courses, but they get me out into the city, where I’ve met some really fantastic and exciting people.  They also force me to trek into parts of the Chi I would otherwise have no reason to go to. These treks often turn out to be totally awesome and really adventuresome.  Some of my favorites parts of the city, include Pilsen, Andersonville and Boystown, just to name a few.

If I’m not doing homework, I might be found roaming around the Lake Shore Campus with my friends in search of campus events, which usually mean free food, or scoping out the Quidditch practices or games.  YES, there is Quidditch! And YES, it is awesome!  And if I’m not doing those things, then you may very well run into me downtown getting my shop on.  Which I do.  Quite often.  In fact, I think by Loyola standards, I would have a minor in “shopping” by now, if not a major.  All in all, I would say my experiences thus far have been pretty amazing!