As my junior year at California Lutheran University begins, I find myself getting into classes that are more relevant to my communications major, as well as my job here at Mustang. While it is common knowledge to most of us that education can be a catalyst to jumpstart your career, we don’t often recognize that the opposite is true, as well. One of my first blog posts was about how my education at CLU was helping me at Mustang; now I’m anticipating the opposite. My experience here at Mustang and the knowledge I’ve gained from the skilled team around me will surely give me a head start on the classroom competition, and ignite a sense of “real world” relevancy that I haven’t always been able to see in school. One of the most difficult aspects of school is being able to see how homework translates to your career.
My first class of the semester will be “Writing for the Mass Media.” In school, it’s difficult to learn how to write a press release without having actually seen one. At Mustang, not only have I seen them, but I’ve also written them, distributed them and followed up with editors of national publications about them. I’m hoping that this will allow me to visualize exactly what the professor is teaching. I am excited to be able to put that visualization to the test at Mustang, and on my final exam.
According to my textbooks and my communications professors at CLU, a “small group” is between three and 20 individuals. Here at Mustang, I would say about 90% of my communication has been in a “small group” setting. My experience at Mustang has allowed me to grow by challenging me in situations where small group communication is necessary every single day. It just so happens that one of the classes I will be taking this semester is called “Small Group Communication.” Genuine interest in the subject is key during school, and what better way to garner interest than to experience it every day?
I’m more excited for this year of school than I have been in my entire life, because I finally feel like I’ll be able to see immediate progress. It’s difficult to understand exactly what you’re learning when you can’t actually use those tools in the real world. Learning a particular communications tool will be that much easier, and that much more interesting when I know exactly when and where I’ll be able to use it. Working at Mustang, along with my upcoming classes, has the potential to be a wonderful combination, and I look forward to seeing how my work experience will facilitate my education at CLU.
-Keith Sparks