My semester in COMM 465 has been a huge learning experience for me. I remember being terrified after the first week of class because of all of the new things I would have to learn for the various projects. I was initially very scared to use the camera by myself, because it has an overwhelming amount of knobs, buttons and settings to configure. Being in our groups for the projects absolutely helped me learn and adapt more quickly, and by the second or third project I was very comfortable with setting the camera up properly.
Another aspect of this course that scared me at first was being on-camera for stand ups and anchor readings. I wasn’t sure if I could learn how to look relaxed while on camera, but the packages we made in this class have taught me a lot about reporting in the field.
I have learned a lot about journalism while at Penn State, from reporting on the radio to writing news stories, but COMM 465 has helped prepare me for my future career in more ways than I anticipated. Dr. Zhong provided us with consistent insight on the journalistic procedure from his experience and knowledge about TV news.
Some aspects of this course that I will continue to use in my careers are include story telling with a beginning, middle and end, using body language and your tone of voice to report compelling news and using creativity within my stories to make them memorable and unique. I am eager to enter the work-force with all the skills I have learned throughout this semester. And I know that I will remember many things that Dr. Zhong told us during class as I start my life in the world of journalism.
This class has introduced me to exciting new topics, thought processes and people, and I will never forget the valuable skills and advice from COMM 465. Thanks to my classmates and Dr. Zhong for making COMM 465 an exciting semester!