3 Thoughts As I Prepare To Transfer
Low-key still don't know what I want to do.... but at the same time I do...
Welp, this is the big oof mood hahah! I am exactly halfway through college and yet I still don't know exactly what I want to do with my life at this point. I know I want to go into a journalism field, but there are way too many things that I enjoy doing in life both in and out of college. So narrowing down everything into what I can see myself doing for the next 20 to 30 years really makes it hard. I have quite a few things that I am passionate about, being a firefighter, sports broadcasting, and public relations.
So reading others, and even talking with my academic advisor before I transfer schools, it really makes me sit down and think saying, hey. It is ok to be at this point in your life and know what you want to do in generally, but these next two years are really going to catch up on you fast.
It is also at this point that I decided I will be transferring, because this town is not fit for a city slicker like myself, ahaha. But really being about an hour from a smaller market city that has a bad reputation and little to no internships, does not help my case into going into journalism. I cannot wait to get back home to outside of Philadelphia and have more opportunities to actually show my colors and have the best opportunities that I can get.
Sitting here thinking about it, my passion is going to be hard to determine, but I do know one thing, these are 3 things that I am not going to miss about being at my old school.
Townies
In Shippensburg, the local population in the town are very much Dixieland people. They are the full "yee-yee", have jacked up trucks and the local hangout is definitely the auto parts store because their 90's crapbox keeps having problems with its struts. But many of the local people give us college students a bad reputation and you feel the judging any time you go into town wearing Shippensburg or another college sweatshirt or name.
Drama
Literally, everyone just shares each others drama and it's not even worth it. The stress and aggravation that comes with it, is just awful. Then again when you decide to put a state-funded school in the middle of an area that is completely in the middle of no-where and the local population has completely opposite views to what the majority of the student population is, expect conflict.
The Odor
If you go to Shippensburg or another rural school within Pennsylvania, you definitely know what I am talking about. When the wind blows a certain way, IT BLOWS. The worst thing in the world is when it just rains and now the whole town smells like the rear end of moo-moos. Or at the end of the spring semester when the local farmers begin to get their crops ready and that process involves fertilizing the fields. YUCK.
"Hugh mann (a.k.a. Dr. Smog)"- Melanie Ryannpersonal photo
"Dancers in the Forrest"- Emilyn LaBontepersonal photo
Top left corner " Lipstick Lounge", Bottom left Corner " Hollywood" ,Top right corner "Posh", bottom right corner "Venice" all by Rebecca Ratcliff personal photo
"Catharsis III" - Amanda Cruickshanks personal photo
"Yuki (Snow)" - Melanie Ryanpersonal photo
A Letter To SUTV: Thanks For The Memories
Working at Shippensburg's campus television station has taught me a lot through the years and has prepared me for my future career.
Ever since I was a kid, I had dreams of working in television. Specifically, I had a dream of working as a sports broadcaster. In order to forge a career in the industry, I knew I had to start by going to a school that would provide me with the best tools to prepare me to work in broadcasting.
I had several options to choose from when I was a senior in high school. I looked at attending Penn State University, Lock Haven University, and of course, Shippensburg University. Right away, Shippensburg was my number one choice because I knew I could get involved with student broadcast immediately as a freshman.
On August 25th, 2015, I showed up to my first SUTV production meeting. I remember sitting in the back of the room and feeling overwhelmed. I was barely at Shippensburg for a week, I hardly knew anybody at the meeting, and I had no clue how to properly work a camera.
By watching what the upper classmen were doing around the studio, I quickly started learning how write, shoot, and edit a story. Before I knew it, I was regularly providing content for SUTV News. I then turned my attention towards working SUTV live-productions of Shippensburg sports.
I spent my first SUTV broadcast of Ship football operating a camera, but I took notes on how I could become a commentator for the games. By my second semester at Ship, I had moved from behind the camera to in front of it as a sideline reporter.
My first interview as a sideline reporter was with Shippensburg's men's basketball coach, who stood at 6'10" (compared to my modest 5'7"). And to much of my friends' amusement, the students working graphics in the truck butchered my last name. After a rough first night as the sideline reporter, I continued to improve my on-air presence, going from stumbling over my words to having a more confident delivery. As the years rolled by, I moved my way up being the play-by-play commentator by my senior year.
As I come down to my final few weeks of working with SUTV, I look back knowing I made the right decision to get involved when I came to campus four years ago. The skills I learned at SUTV helped me land and succeed in three internships. I even worked at my dream internship covering high school football games with ABC 27 in Harrisburg.
Because of SUTV, I was able to work with really talented and hardworking people. Many of whom will be my lifelong friends. Together we put out a lot of quality content for shows over the years, including a basketball broadcast that brought a Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy home to Shippensburg.
As I go through the job searching process in the upcoming weeks and months, I'll gladly sing the praises of Shippensburg University and SUTV. I wouldn't be able to accomplish what I've done so far without it.
Thank you to all the university staff and students who helped make SUTV great and for giving me an outlet to pursue my career aspirations. It's going to be difficult for me walk away from it all, but I'll always carry the memories of working with SUTV forever.