Anjali DasSarma graduated from UMBC in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Media and Communication Studies with a minor in Journalism and is now pursuing her Master’s in American Studies at Brown University. She will be graduating from Brown University in May 2022 and will be attending the University of Pennsylvania to pursue her PhD at the Annenberg School for Communication in the Fall of 2022. She eventually wants to teach in higher education and has a passion for teaching and loves to talk with people. 

I had the opportunity to talk with her about her experience at UMBC and the MCS program. Her experience was a positive one, and she highlighted the course content and the professors especially. She says that one of the best parts of UMBC for her were the MCS professors. 

“They’re amazing. I think they were the best part of my time at UMBC as a whole.” 

She found the faculty to be extremely helpful as they taught her in classes as well as with finding internship opportunities. Anjali was able to find an on-campus internship with the help of Dr. Snyder. This internship was with the Division of Professional Studies where she was able to gain experience in digital marketing. She was the Editor-in-Chief for the Retriever and interned at the Baltimore Sun, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Newseum, UMBC Magazine, and Atwater's. She mentioned that she appreciated the flexibility of MCS and that she was able to earn credit through her internships. Additionally, the MCS coursework and material gave her a good foundation as she approached these different internships. Anjali says, 

“MCS helped me think critically about the work that I was doing which led me to want to do that on a professional level.” 

In addition to the hands-on experience and practice she obtained through her internship and media classes, she also learned a lot about the theory and history of communication. 

“MCS really helped me develop this really strong theoretical understanding of media, which helped me a lot especially given that I’m now doing academia, and having that theoretical basis is really fundamental. And also just learning good pedagogy from these professors; the way that they teach, the way they engage with students, it is really student focused, and I appreciated that a lot when I was there.” 

The research she is conducting now at Brown University is on the topic “examining self-emancipatory advertisements related to Indigenous peoples and colonial era newspapers.” According to Anjali, 

“I wanted to spend a lot of time understanding historic violences and historic silences and erasures and obstruction of journalism disturbing communities. I do that because I do believe that journalism is really valuable, but I think that historically and in contemporary America it’s really failing marginalized communities. It was really those internship experiences that made me want to research. So I did my capstone project with Professor Yang, and I did that on connecting slavery studies and self-emancipatory advertisements in newspapers to contemporary challenges. And then when I got to Brown, now I work with a history professor looking at indigenous enslavement and how the newspaper industry contributed to the brokering of the slave trade. So it’s really intense stuff, but I feel as though it’s really important for communication historians… to be understanding history in order to move forward in repertory spaces.” 

She feels that although institutional injustices were being recognized and acknowledged, there still wasn’t anymore that was being done and it “wasn’t really going anywhere, [and] that a lot of people were doing very surface level work, and I wanted to kind of dig deeper.” 

Since graduating, Anjali has had many opportunities to grow and deepen her knowledge and go deeper into her research. She’s been able to work on different research projects such as the one mentioned previously as well as another where she is exploring the topic of historical, institutional apologies in Baltimore specifically. She is also a teaching assistant and had the opportunity to teach a class for the first time which was a new and exciting experience that she was able to have recently. 

“I’ve grown a lot as a researcher and as a thinker and as an academic. I’ve struggled with the questions of being an ethical academic, like looking at relationships between an institution that I’m at and the community that surrounds it… I do think I’ve grown quite a lot… I keep thinking ‘how has it only been a year?’ But I feel very grateful to UMBC for giving me a platform to grow and to succeed, and again, that flexibility to have been able to have all those experiences.” 

By: Elena Kim

Photo credit: Jared Lyles

1. Can you share a little about yourself and a fun fact about you? 

1. Hi, my name is Alex! I’m 30 years old and originally from Miami, FL. Fun fact about me is I’ve traveled to over 20 something countries now.

1. What are your dreams and aspirations? 

1. Fortunately, I’ve gotten to accomplish a lot of my goals in life: Travel (which I plan to do more of) be financially stable, to find love (married for 8 years now) have a dog (her name is Teagan and she’s a red heeler) Now, I aspire to make a difference by giving my time and labor back to the Baltimore community, my adopted home.

1. Why did you choose MCS as your major? 

1. I come from a video/photo background and wanted to enhance my critical thinking skills and learn how to better engage with the people around me both professionally and personally.

1. Can you share a professional experience where a skill or lesson from MCS helped you?

1. MCS is so essential and can translate to all fields, so it has helped me improve my writing and interviewing skills, which has helped me produce better content for the videos I’ve created. 

1. Do you currently have an internship or have done any? If so, can you list it/them and your position(s)? 

1. I am currently a Video Production Intern with the UMBC Alumni house. I assist the Staff producer in creating video content by documenting student events on campus where I compile footage, mix audio, use special effects and graphics to create a final product. 

1. Are you a part of any Campus Orgs? If so, how can students get involved and be a part of it?  

1.  I am a member of the Student Veteran Organization (Retrievets) which are focused on addressing the needs of our student veterans at UMBC. I am also part of the Filmmakers Anonymous And Chew-MBC. The latter clubs are easy for anyone to join. You can start by following their discord, which is available under the myUMBC groups page.

1. What are you most excited about after graduation? 

1. After graduation, I am traveling to Spain to hike the Camino De Santiago pilgrimage trail. It takes about 30 or so days, and covers nearly 500 miles. Afterwards, I plan to stay in the Baltimore area and continue producing video content. Knowing myself, I will find more reasons to keep learning more skills, so I am keeping my options open to returning to UMBC. 

1. Any advice that you learned from college that you would like to share with other students?

1. My biggest advice is to network network network! Meet and follow up with everyone and attend every student event you can. College is the absolute best time to make connections and possible lifelong friends! Don’t be afraid to try new things as that can lead you to your future. Next, prioritize your mental health! College can take a toll on you and you can easily burn out quickly. I manage my mental health by regular exercise and reaching out to the important people in my life. Lastly, get an internship as early as possible! 

By: Elisabeth Chen

Have you ever wanted to be more connected with those within the Media & Communication Studies major? There is a bit more to MCS than what you see in the classroom. The MCS Department has provided many opportunities for students in and out of the classroom to develop your skills and give you beneficial experiences in the realm of media and communication. One of these great opportunities MCS students have is The Media and Communication Studies Council of Majors, or MCSCOM for short. 

As you may have seen from the recent MCS email newsletter and department emails (if you are not on the MCS listserv, you can contact Ms. Hassan at shassan1@umbc.edu to be added), MCSCOM has recently been revived after a short hiatus. Dr. Tracy Tinga, who is the MCS faculty advisor helping to organize this club, has worked to bring on new members and leaders since Fall 2021. This semester, with the newly elected officers, MCSCOM is back and getting ready to plan some new events and activities!

But what is MCSCOM, you may ask? 

MCSCOM is a student-led club that “was established for the purpose of creating a better experience for those students majoring in MCS. Participants’ experiences will be enhanced through the organization of meetings and relevant events both on the UMBC campus and in the surrounding community.” It is an opportunity that is open to all MCS students to participate in, whether that is as members or officers who “work together to plan for activities and events that they are interested in as MCS students”, according to Dr. Tinga. For us college students, getting involved on campus in different clubs and organizations can help you expand your network, make and develop friendships, and learn new things. It is a great aspect of school to take advantage of during your relatively short time in college! With MCSCOM, you can expand your knowledge of areas within media and communication and talk about topics you care about, not to mention simply having a community of people who share the same major as you. If you are an MCS student and want to learn more about the major, get some inside scoops on all things MCS related, and interact with fellow MCSers, then MCSCOM is a club for you! 

What do you do in MCSCOM? 

As Dr. Tinga noted, student leaders and members organize events and activities, particularly events that pertain to those who are seeking a degree in Media & Communication Studies. This may include discussions of particular media content, internships, or other topics relating to media and communication. One of the events that MCSCOM joined in the past was the American Son Netflix streaming party along with the discussion on structural racism which was led by Dr. Yang and organized by the MCS faculty. Another activity that was held was during midterms season where members created motivational collages together to help them through the stressful time. These different activities and events are simply a few examples of what happens in MCSCOM.

All MCS students are highly encouraged to join and be involved in this club. Dr. Tinga says that “The current leadership team is still planning for an event this semester so stay tuned.” Keep an eye out for that event which will be coming soon! 

Why should you consider joining MCSCOM?

Those who are interested in leadership and gaining experience in organization can be elected for certain roles such as president, vice president, secretary, and publicity officers. Being a member in MCSCOM can allow MCS students to connect and engage more with one another outside of the classroom while also learning more about the field of communication. Theo Reinert, the vice president, says, “I joined MCSCOM for the same reason I want others to join MCSCOM: to make connections and build a community. MCS is unique compared to other majors in that where we go into Media and Communications is so broad. Some of us go into sports, marketing, data analytics, production, etc., others of us into fields we can't yet foresee. What we all have in common is that our field requires collaboration. In MCSCOM we hope to strengthen those relations and expand the connections majors can make with each other, as well as represent the needs of students as a whole to the faculty.” These are just a few of the things you can expect if you join MCSCOM! 

To obtain a leadership role, you must be elected by your fellow members. As members, you can vote for your new officers. This year’s election occurred recently in which candidates contacted Dr. Tinga to indicate their interest and provided their bios so members could learn more about them and vote. Recently, the votes were cast, and MCSCOM has finalized their officers. This year’s MCSCOM Board Members are:

President: Shareyne Repaje

Vice President: Theo Reinert

Secretary: Marisa Haas

Publicity Officer: Rose Crame

Want to learn more about how YOU can get involved in this club? Contact Dr. Tracy Tinga (tinga@umbc.edu) if you have questions and want to join! 

Also check out their Facebook page as well as their Instagram page!

By: Elena Kim

Photo Credit: Kathryn Crummitt

Did you know that there is a student organization on campus that advocates for justice and raises awareness of modern-day slavery, human trafficking, and police abuse of power? International Justice Mission at UMBC is a student-run club that commits to these goals. As a whole, International Justice Mission is a global, non-profit organization and one of the largest anti-trafficking organizations worldwide. They partnes with local authorities in 20 program offices in 13 countries to rescue and restore victims of violence and human trafficking, hold perpetrators accountable, and help strengthen public justice systems. 

I had the opportunity to interview IJM President and MCSer, Kathryn Crummitt, about the UMBC IJM Chapter. Kathryn is a UMBC junior double majoring in MCS and Global Studies as well as pursuing a minor in International Politics and a certificate in Security Studies. Her passion for advocating against human trafficking began her senior year of high school when she wrote a twenty-two-page thesis on the effects of human trafficking, “Stopping modern-day slavery became a personal passion of mine. I believe slavery is not a horror confined to the past; it is a cancer of violence, continuing to spread globally today. The cries of the African slave may no longer be heard in the United States, but the sounds of rape, forced labor, coerced sexual servitude, and trafficked victims cry out in desperation. I believe we all have an obligation to those who are not given their basic human right to life and liberty.” Not only is she President for IJM, but she currently interns for the Congressional and Public Affairs in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation for the department of State. She also has experience in public policy and service through her internship as a legislative intern for the Maryland General Assembly, and will continue to learn through her recent acceptance to Carnegie Mellon University's Junior Summer Institute (JSI) in Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA). 

Last semester, IJM at UMBC participated in IJM’s national fundraising event known as, Threads, a pop-up thrift shop of donated clothes from UMBC students themselves. Their initial goal was to raise $700, however by the end it doubled to $1,500. Kathryn claims that the fundraiser was a big success because they were able to join hands with another UMBC club, Cru, who volunteered to help out during the time of the event. Through this event, they were able to raise awareness about human trafficking on both local and national levels, and donate their proceeds to the IJM field offices planted around the globe. IJM's official website released a blog post about the national Threads event and even featured photos from the UMBC students, click here to check it out: https://www.ijm.org/news/thrift-shop-finds-threads-rallies-communities-around-freedom 

This semester, IJM at UMBC is holding an advocacy campaign that will concentrate on empowering student voices on ending modern-day slavery to Congress. Kathryn quotes “The strength of the movement to end trafficking and violence is directly tied to the power of individual advocates like us… UMBC students. Congress won’t act unless we do. We will be hosting a letter-writing party (https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/ijmatumbc/events/104873) to encourage our legislators to support funding for key anti-trafficking initiatives. As students, we especially have proven there is power when we use our voices. I believe Congress wants to know what our generation cares about – and they respond with action that truly makes a difference.” 

Reaching out  to Congress and advocating for social justice can be daunting tasks to take on, so I asked her whether MCS has equipped her for these leadership roles, and she responded with yes. Last year, MCS prepared her as IJM Secretary through classes such as MCS 101 (Media Literacy), 144 (Professional Communication & Development), and 222 (Intro to MCS). She expressed that “Being well versed in the history of communications and learning about how to edit videos and reach an audience really aided me in formulating ideas on how to make IJM known on campus through social media, emails, and GroupMe.” The UMBC IJM Chapter began at the peak of the pandemic, therefore, one major goal for them was to grow their following on their online platforms since it was the only way to engage with students and introduce them to IJM at UMBC. Kathryn was able to see the results of her social media works as Secretary when people showed up at the meetings, for instance, their first meeting in the fall garnered nearly 25 people. If you’re interested in joining hands with IJM at UMBC, Kathryn advised about ways you can get involved! 

• Follow their Instagram or Facebook @ijmnullatumbc 

• Join our GroupMe https://groupme.com/join_group/63562335/7rR5zi3z

• Most importantly, join them in their letter-writing campaign and invite your friends! It will be on April 13th at COMMS 331 at 7:15 pm. They will have food, music, and tons of supplies like stickers and letters! 

• Email Kathryn at k181@umbc.edu, she would love to grab coffee or lunch and chat more with students about IJM. 

By: Melissa Pham

Photo Credit: Brian Nguyen

I recently had the opportunity to interview one of our MCS recent graduates, Jacquelyn (Jackie) Nguyen. Jackie is currently a Communication and Events Intern at Baltimore Homecoming which is a non-profit nonprofit initiative building and mobilizing a network of Baltimore’s most accomplished alumni from around the U.S. and connecting them to leaders and doers in Baltimore City to foster new investments, partnerships, collaborations, and philanthropy. She is also the Digital Marketing and Outreach Intern at Nestl Space, a health-centered furniture brand that is focused on creating healthy and supportive spaces. On the side she also volunteers for NAAAP Baltimore as the Presence Committee Chair and manage their internal and external communications.

In our interview, we touched upon how MCS prepared her for her current positions. While working with social media and other such communications it is important to understand how framing can influence the message that a person receives from the content that you are publishing. Jackie states that the MCS courses have really helped her develop a critical eye in her work and allowed her to evaluate from different angles. She has come to learn that people have different life experiences and come from different backgrounds which can influence how they perceive content. By using these skills she has been able to better connect with the audience and create content that resonates with them and the wider community. Another thing that she always thinks about and is a lesson that was reiterated throughout her time in MCS was to always do your research. “There are times where I will make content about certain topics or figures that need to be approached in a very specific way or is controversial to the audience. Doing the research is important whether that be for your personal life or career” Jackie states. As someone who is immersed in social media daily, checking the facts before making any assumptions or rash decisions has helped her to grow immensely in her career. 

We later discussed how MCS has shaped her for her career path. Jackie explains, “I never really knew what career I wanted to pursue in high school, but I knew I wanted a space where I could be creative and still find a job. Through MCS I was able to get a taste of and experience different career options. I liked that the major was so open ended and that I had so many different career choices and that I didn’t have to feel limited. I actually never imagined myself to be in the career path I am today, but because of MCS I was able to learn more about social media and eventually came to love the work.” Going off of her answer we went on to discuss her career goals for the future. Jackie is currently looking to intern abroad because it has been a dream of hers to do so for a while. She mentions how covid played a part in preventing her from pursuing this as a student, but she did not want that to stop her and is hoping to find an internship in London by the end of spring. Moving forward, she would like to find a full time position with a company as a social media manager or marketing coordinator and go from there. Ideally in ten years or so, Jackie expressed her desire to work remotely and travel with her work so that she can advance in her career but also live her life to the fullest.

Wrapping up the interview, I asked Jackie if she had any advice for current MCS students. She replied saying, “be open minded and take opportunities when you have them because you might never get them again. You are more capable and ready than you think you are. Don’t let fear and uncertainty keep you from achieving your goals.”

By Jordan Lomax 

Photo Credit: Payton Steele

Sahiba Babra ‘21, economics and Media and Communication Studies, did not originally have MCS in her academic plans. She started at UMBC in the fall of 2017 as an economics major, and chose to become a Retriever because of the university’s reputation and locality to her home.

“I changed my major a lot in college, as well as my career path. Entering college I was on the path to become an accountant, then I was pre-law,” Babra said.

Through her pre-law track, she enrolled in a cross-listed MCS and Political Science class focusing on political communications. It was there that she realized that her academic interest shifted from political science to communications. 

“It intrigued me more”

UMBC’s general education requirements allow students to enroll in classes outside of their major department, to provide a richer, more well rounded academic experience. Because of this, Babra enrolled in two MCS electives during her time as an underclassman, on top of her MCS class within the pre-law track.

After completing the class she took with Dr. Ian Anson, she realized that MCS intrigued her more than law. She soon after met with her advisor to discuss what her steps should be moving forward.

“I was a junior trying to figure out what I wanted to do after I graduated,” she said. “After talking to my advisor, we saw that I was able to add the major onto my 4-year plan so that I was able to graduate on time.” 

Before declaring the major, she cited that the faculty within the department was what drew her to continue enrolling in MCS classes. 

“I saw how caring they were to their students and genuinely wanted them to succeed in and outside of their classes,” said Babra. “I loved how they remembered who I was, actually listened to what I had to say, and were there for me every step of the way until I got into grad school and graduated.”

In the fall of 2019, she officially declared the MCS major as a supplement to her primary economics degree. 

MCS in Action

Babra was very active on campus, taking leadership roles within on-campus organizations like her sorority, Phi Mu, and had multiple on-campus internships. Within these positions and commitments, she was able to solidify her post-graduation goals, and see how her MCS coursework helped her in those environments.

“During college I completed numerous internships and was involved in student organizations in which I would have positions that helped me shape my career goals,” she said. “I saw firsthand how I could apply the groundwork of what I was learning in my MCS classes to what I was doing outside of the classroom.” 

One internship that shaped her professional interest in marketing was her internship with UMBC’s Division of Professionals Studies. There she was a marketing intern and dealt with creating and posting content for the department’s social media accounts, writing blog posts for the department website, and collaborating with other departments to create content for their social media accounts. 

“My marketing internship with the Division of Professional Studies (DPS) on campus taught me how to analyze insights on Facebook and Instagram,” said Babra. “In doing so, I was able to identify what was and wasn’t working on our social media pages. This helped me in the long-term by helping me create effective social media graphics and captions in order to maximize reach and engagement.”

Graduate school and future plans

Currently, Babra is enrolled in Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, and is working towards her Master’s of Science (MS) in Marketing Intelligence. She said the coursework was “hard, but rewarding.”

On top of learning new skills in the program, she uses skills and practices she learned in MCS in her new coursework, mostly in her Consumer Behavior and Consumer-Driven Marketing classes. “These classes are theory based, where I’ve been able to explain what drives consumers to buy products as well as how marketing influences that using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (this is just one example), which I learned at UMBC,“ she said.

Babra also expressed how happy she is to have the opportunity to experience life away from Maryland, in the hustle and bustle of New York City. She encourages other young professionals to push the boundaries and get out of their comfort zone because they never know who they might meet or what they might learn.

“Going to graduate school in New York City has been an incredible experience- I’ve met so many amazing people and have learned skills that are tailored for the career I am aiming for,” she said. “When I first moved here, I felt completely out of my comfort zone, even though I’ve been wanting to move here for years. I would recommend pushing your personal boundaries to anyone, especially in your 20s, because you don’t know what you will find out about yourself.”

By Joy Au

Photo Credit: Joanna Chen

As an MCS student, hands-on experience is often emphasized in the curriculum as an essential step in career development. For Elisabeth Chen — and many other college students, the pandemic threw a clear wrench in any plans for in-person internships or jobs over the course of her academic career. 

Chen had first started at UMBC as an English major before switching to Media and Communication Studies in her sophomore year, “I really liked the flexibility that MCS offered in terms of career choices. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after college, so I liked having multiple options to choose from.” 

While internships and jobs can provide effective practice in professional settings and help navigate the confusion of choosing a career, the pandemic made these a luxury hard to come by. 

“Unfortunately with COVID, my internship experiences haven’t been what I’d anticipated, but I have still been able to have a few other opportunities. I had an online internship with an organization called CRU where I worked on a team, gathered/collected information, and wrote reports to donors to let them know where their donations were going.” 

Currently, Chen works as a social media intern for the Career Center. In addition to posting and scheduling content to go out, she designs and creates content across their different social media platforms. Learning to collaborate with others and expanding her experience in social media marketing are significant skills she highlights from her time with the Career Center. 

Despite spending the past two years at UMBC under less than ideal conditions of online classes or lockdown measures, Chen has still found her MCS experience to be both fun and fulfilling. 

“A lot of my classes have helped me apply a lot of skills that I will need for my career in the future. MCS 144, for instance, helped me to start creating my documents and thinking more seriously about what I wanted to pursue after college. I enjoy being able to be creative and communicate through different mediums, and I’ve been able to try out new things that I otherwise would not have considered doing before. 

My favorite classes have been the production classes (such as Podcasting, Desktop Publishing and the Web, etc.) where we got to create and design different types of media projects. I’ve also enjoyed discussions in classes about how impactful the media is in our culture, and I have learned a lot of really insightful things that are useful not only within an academic setting, but also for myself as I consume and analyze media.” 

Specifically, Chen mentions how she’s still been able to gain relevant insight and professional experience regarding her prospective career, “I also had the opportunity to help develop and create one of the MCS semesterly newsletters and take MCS 370: Producing a Media Campaign, which have helped me learn more about what it’s like to work with a team to develop strategies and content for a brand. Additionally, all of the MCS professors I’ve had have been extremely accommodating and helpful, making themselves available whenever I’ve needed assistance. I’m really grateful for that, and they have helped make my experience with MCS even better.”

Following graduation, Chen plans to take a gap year to continue to explore her options through potential internships and challenge herself to venture outside her comfort zone before going into full-time work. As for career plans, she emphasized impacting community as one of her priorities regardless of where she works, “Eventually, I would like to work for a non-profit, although I am open to other options as well! But it is important to me that a company I work for is helping the community and is making a difference because I want my work to be benefiting others and furthering a mission I believe in. “

By Shesh Batni

When you first declare Media and Communication Studies as your major, you may notice at the end of the road sits a little course titled MCS 499: Capstone Senior Seminar. But beyond the big course number and daunting name, you may want to know more. 

What is MCS 499?

MCS 499 is simply a seminar-style class, intended to be taken in your final semester here at UMBC, which acts as the culmination of a student’s MCS experience with the completion of an original research paper and presentation focusing on a topic within media and communication studies. While word of mouth may boil down the class to just completing a big paper, Dr. Adelman – MCS Department Chair and frequent MCS 499 Professor – wants students to know there’s more to it.

Dr. Adelman describes MCS 499 as providing a final undergraduate opportunity to reinforce the certain kinds of foundational knowledge, shared histories, vocabulary, etc. relevant to media and communication studies that students can take with them into their future endeavors. She also notes the class acts as a unique transition point in many ways. In addition to a student’s overall transition from an undergraduate student moving onto things like graduate education or joining the workforce, she notes that the class “marks the transition from students operating as consumers of knowledge to now producers.”

She’s proud of the fact that the department gives professors the opportunity to craft their sections of MCS 499 thematically around their areas of strength and interest. For Dr. Adelman, that means thematically involving many topics and readings on visual culture, one of her areas of specialization which she believes students should know more about. 

Dr. Yang chose to base her Fall 2021 section of MCS 499 on the intersection of race and technology, which she describes as “a timely study about the social production of technologies like facial recognition software and the ways in which they perpetuate or intensify racial (among other) inequalities.” 

Though no matter the professor, students can be sure they’ll be adequately primed and prepared for not only their research project, but an entire future of critical thinking, consuming, and producing.

Am I ready for MCS 499?

The idea of entering your final MCS course and completing a “big honking” paper can definitely feel intimidating; Dr. Adelman has noticed this trend herself in advising students and polling MCS 499 students on the first day of class. However she assures that when a student makes their way through the major and finally enrolls in MCS 499, it means they’re ready for the challenge.

She adds that benchmark courses like MCS 333 engage students in the many theoretical discourses, while the direct lead-up course MCS 399 presents students with all the research methods and tools they’ll need for their paper. MCS 399 also gives students the opportunity to pursue research ideas and topics they can either carry onto MCS 499 or use as learning experience to select a new topic.

Besides just making your way through the major, Dr. Adelman says there is one thing students can do to prepare for MCS 499: “Relax.” She continues “trust the process, come in with an open mind, with the expectation that it's going to be hard but that’s ok.”

But wait! What am I going to write about?

Remember: trust the process. Even if you’re unsure of what topic to write about, MCS 499 is scheduled and designed to get students through the process. With plenty of time, students will get the chance to draft research topics and questions, and workshop them with feedback from both the professor and their peers.

Both Dr. Adelman and Dr. Yang note that certain themes and topics pop up every semester, with common areas including social media, influencers, pop culture, and more. “Almost always I’ll get a few projects on video games and the gaming industry” Dr. Adelman adds. 

Dr. Yang also mentioned the timeliness of some projects which are relevant to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “Some things quite exciting this semester are several projects looking at the role of technologies in shaping social processes/interactions particularly in the pandemic moment.” These include projects talking about work-from-home technologies and even my own project about streaming and the pandemic’s effects on the decline of movie theaters. My personal advice for students entering MCS 499 is to look for a topic and research question that matter to you. Be curious and inquisitive about your interests and the ways you can explore them. That way you might stumble upon a question that begs further investigation.

What can I expect from MCS 499?

As Dr. Adelman notes, MCS 499 is meant to be a seminar-style experience, something that emulates smaller sized graduate school courses, with plenty of interactions with other students that facilitate productive conversations. Peer collaboration is not only encouraged but an integral part of the entire process.

Dr. Yang furthers peer collaboration and conversation in her sections of 499 by having students group up and present their projects in panels, emulating the experience of presentations given at academic conferences. Panels allow students to engage deeper with the common topics and theories that bridge their projects. It’s interesting to see what connections students make, and what fun names they give their panels.

MCS 499 can look intimidating, but students should know they’re being set up for success. As an MCS 499 student myself nearing the end of the semester, I’m seeing my own project, and peers’ projects, fully come to life. The theories and perspectives I’ve encountered throughout the major, especially in MCS 333, are coming back around and appearing in the topic I’m researching. And the various research and analysis methods learned in MCS 399 are giving me the exact tools I need.

Dr. Yang ultimately adds, “Please don't be afraid to go on this adventure, to discover something new by researching a topic that you are passionate about!” 

You got this!

By Shesh Batni

Recently, I sat down with MCS alum Masongo Ogora 21’ to hear his experience of finishing the MCS program, graduating, and moving onto new adventures using all the skills he’s gained along the way.

Graduating just this past spring semester, Ogora had only good things to say about the MCS department and degree program. “The MCS department really goes above and beyond for students and deserves to get more recognition.” In addition, he’s especially grateful for the faculty and staff who have helped him craft a path for the future. Thanks to their guidance, Ogora found the confidence to move to California and enroll in a master’s program at University of Southern California: Annenberg School of Communication with a concentration in public relations starting this fall. While he finds his graduate coursework challenging, he’s confident that his time in MCS has prepared him to take it on.

He also credits some of his personal success to the MCS coursework and balance of core theory and research classes and production classes which have helped him be a better producer of media. Alongside his academic studies, Ogora is a musician who has been recording and producing original music under his own independent label named God’s Science Project.

Ogora is always hands-on with the production of his music thanks to both skills he’s cultivated by himself and learned from coursework. While he’s been writing his own music for many years now, he’s only acquired his own recording equipment as of last year. He finds the autonomy of self-made music, and the freedom to conceive an idea and immediately put it to work, powerful. “I wanted to put out something I believed in personally that’s a reflection of me, and not just a gimmick.” Especially in the case of his music, Ogora is confident in his self-expression and subsequently the production sound he’s cultivated thanks to what he learned both on his own, and in the classroom.

While at UMBC, Ogora took MCS 366: Podcasting, a class which introduces students to the world of podcasting and equips them with the production skills needed to make their own. Students both write about and analyze successful podcasts, and even their own favorite podcasts, while also learning to record and edit audio using industry standard software. MCS 366 has in the past been taught by both Professor Krempel and Professor Wiltenburg, two award winning journalists with years of experience in the field of podcasting and audio storytelling.

Ogora thanks MCS 366, specifically Professor Wiltenburg, for helping him further cultivate his audio production skills into something he is proud of. “Professor Wiltenburg really helped me develop an ear for how I want my production to sound. Everything about mixing, adding and taking out effects, figuring out how my voice should fit into the production” he said. Ogora further thanks other MCS classes, namely the research courses which helped him understand and broaden the scope and aim of his productions. “Doing all my research classes helped me understand things from the consumer perspective. It helped me elevate how I go about my writing process, how I go about figuring out what I think people need to hear” he added.

Now primed with both the production skills and theoretical and academic perspectives, Ogora looks to the future of his media and audio production with the development of a new podcast. He was eager to share plans for the new podcast he is developing titled Being. He, alongside three other co-hosts, aim to put out the podcast which he describes as “a space to mentally relax, but to also figure out who we are. A rest stop from reality."

You can expect to hear more about this project next semester by following Ogora on Instagram and twitter @MasongoOgora. In the end of our conversation, Ogora’s final remarks were a heartfelt shout out to the MCS department, faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have all been a part of his journey, “because without them I wouldn’t be here today.”