It's Bittersweet Saying Goodbye

I couldn’t be more grateful for my experience as a telecommunications student at the University of Florida. Being apart of one of the best colleges of journalism and communications in the country is an honor and I’ve gained invaluable skills during my four years. With graduation in a week, I’m a mix of emotions – happy, sad, excited, anxious, and the list goes on. It’s bittersweet knowing what I’m leaving behind, but because of the education and experience I’ve had as a journalism student at UF, I feel confident in my skills as I head out into the real world. The Center for Media Innovation and Research is just one example of how wonderful UF is and how dedicated they are to facilitating their students in the best way possible. UF is clearly a leader when it comes to teaching this generation of students about journalism and communications.

We receive so much real world experience, especially with the new Integrated News Facility. You actually feel like you’re in a real newsroom and I mean, essentially you are. It’s a fast paced environment with the integration of TV, radio and web all in one, using each other as resources to stay up to date on the most breaking stories. Nothing could beat the time I spent in the INF, nor the feeling I get knowing that I had the best college learning experience. Anchoring the live newscast at five o’clock for WUFT-TV was one of the highlights of my time as a telecom student at UF and I will cherish that for a very long time.
The amazing education and opportunities I’ve had at UF are not lost on me and I can’t wait to come back and visit in a couple years and see how much more advanced they are and how much greater the learning experience has become. It doesn’t seem possible considering how fantastic it already is, but if there’s one thing I know about the University of Florida, it’s that anything is possible.

Will the Trend "Tip"?

The Tipping Point was an interesting and easy-to-read book. Malcolm Gladwell did a lot of research to come up with this analysis of how trends are sparked and how they do, or don’t, take hold. He explains how some trends receive wide-scale popularity and others fade away. I thought the three key factors he identified as playing a role in whether or not trends gain this popularity were really interesting and also spot-on. The Law of the Few contends that before widespread popularity can be attained, a few key types of people must champion an idea, concept, or product before it can reach the tipping point. He breaks this concept down further, describing the three types of influential people as Connectors, Mavens, and Salesman and describes the role of each of them and how they influence people to reach the tipping point of a product or concept. The Stickiness Factor is the quality that compels people to play close attention to that idea, concept, or product. The Power of Context is pretty broad but it helps determine whether a particular trend will tip into widespread popularity. Every little thing and every little second matters. The situation can change before, during or after the tipping point has been reached. Gladwell demonstrates his point by using the example of Hush Puppies, which I thought was funny but definitely gets the point across. Hush Puppies went from being an unfashionable look to a hugely popular one. Gaining exponential popularity, the company’s sales skyrocketed. All it took was a few people to start wearing the shoes and it slowly became a trend as other people started wearing them too. Once fashion designers gained interest and made a big fuss over them, they reached what Gladwell refers to as the “tipping point.” This is the point of the book exactly; sometimes all it takes is for a trend to reach a few of the “right” people for it to get to that tipping point.

While this probably isn’t a book I would have chose to just read on my own for fun, I did find it insightful especially as an individual wanting to pursue a career in the media. Trends begin and end with the media. Hey, you never know, my blog for this class could start trending. It would just need enough attention and someone to believe that it had a compelling idea or concept. Ideas and messages can spread just like viruses. Sounds weird buts it’s the truth isn’t it? In today’s society, where social media allows news, ideas, and trends to spread like wildfire, anything is possible. Twitter even has a “trending” section where you can see what people are talking about most on any given day. All of the information in this book is clear, concise and to the point so that you can understand the main idea. I would definitely recommend it to others. It opens up your mind to an idea that we all might have already known but never really thought about or explored as deeply as Gladwell.

Introducing A Few More of My Classmates

When I was looking through some more of my classmates websites I found a few that really stuck out to me. I really loved Kaitlyn McGrath's blog all about the University of Florida Dazzlers. I've always had a passion for dance and while I'm not on any of the dance teams at UF, I appreciate Kaitlyn's dedication to her team. I also love looking at all the pictures shes posted of the girls at different community and sporting events. Speaking of sporting events, I've discovered that Robert Lopez and I are both New York Yankee fans. His blog is totally sports related and its nice to have a classmate to keep me up-to-date on any sports news I might have missed out on. Finally, I really enjoyed reading through Lauren Lettelier's blog. She, like me, chose a fitness topic which is cool because its fun to see what tips other people have about exercising and keeping a healthy diet. I've actually learned a lot about crossfit lately and would love to try it out. She goes into great detail about the program and shes recently become a crossfit athlete which I think is awesome!

Meet My Classmates!

So enough about me, let me introduce you to some of my awesome and talented peers who are also blogging about really fun things. My blog is all about staying fit and these three girls happened to be blogging about great foods...I'd say those two things go hand in hand, right? ;)

Cassandra Liening has some delicious posts on her blog ranging from hearty meals to tantalizing desserts. What I love is that she includes some great recipes so if I want to try out any of her meal ideas I have easy access to just what I need. The banana bread muffins and brownies are definitely my favorite.

Katie Gillen also shares some awesome recipes on her blog. What's different about hers, and what I really love, is that she combines food and sports. Really, you can't have one without the other. She shares some great stories about where she's visited and the foods she has had in those cities which I think is a really neat way to incorporate the two together.

But if cooking isn't your thing, another classmate of mine, Juliana Valencia, has a blog dedicated to great dining options in Gainesville. In each blog post she talks about a different restaurant in Gainesville where you can get delicious food and/or desserts. She even gives some suggestions of yummy options/foods shes tried at each place.

I'm glad some of my classmates enjoy a good meal every once in a while just as much as I do. And I'm excited I now have some new recipes to try out!