Author: Chantae Hendrix

Earning an education means so much more than mastering a subject matter. Earning an education taught me the importance of thinking independently, reasoning intellectually, and deciding intelligently. This began during adolescence. 

And for this, I am forever grateful to both my parents and the education that I was able to obtain throughout my lifetime. I learned how to carefully make decisions on my own. I don’t need anyone deciding for me, or swaying my opinion that I should do this or do that.

Most often students question “why do I have to take this course?” Or “what is this teaching me?” It’s all about, analytical thinking, strategic planning and decision making.

Thank You Mom and Dad, Hubbard School Teachers, Robert Morris College Professors-and Full Sail University Course Directors for teaching me the importance of; being an independent and multi dimensional thinker, gathering the facts, exercising intellectual reasoning, not conforming to the mass hysteria, thereby making the right decisions for my better judgments. Especially now given the adversities that transpired during the year 2020.

Be yourself, think it through and don’t allow anyone else to do the thinking for you.

youtu.be/SHfbzW730R8

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

Mahatma Gandhi

It feels amazing to be completing my Master of Arts degree in New Media Journalism. A year ago, I set an intention, and made a commitment, therefore knew I had to see it through to completion. I am not a quitter and never would forgiven myself, had I given up.

I met my goals that I established for this course. My goals were to publish a blog that includes multimedia components, write a thesis paper on the exploration of the capstone project, and display a comprehensive study of New Media Journalism.  

I have successfully displayed a comprehensive study of New Media Journalism by creating a multimedia, user friendly, newsworthy content blog and by completing my thesis statement on the exploration of my capstone project. 

Due to my “get to the point,” and “avoid redundancy” nature, along with my continuous practice of condensing information, I struggled with writing the thesis paper. It was challenging to grasp the concept of writing about a project that I produced with specific guidelines. I wish I had the autonomy to write freely about what it took to produce the outcome rather than follow a set of instructions for a specific structure. Because I had already captured video and wrote a thousand-word article, it really threw me off guard that I would need to write more about it. I just felt as though I was repeating what I had already produced. When I set the goals for this class, I didn’t have a clear understanding of what would be required for writing a thesis. 

Given the autonomy to be creative and write freely, I would not have felt as though I was repeating myself.  My initial thoughts were that the thesis would have been about our journey towards mastery.   

Because we were required to write about our project that we completed in month eleven, I didn’t learn anything new in this course, rather it challenged my writing skills.  All in all, I’ve learned that I prefer to produce quality videos rather than write narratives. Outside of the required coursework, I produced a video with audio on  Team Purple Crank during the COVID-19 enforcements and a slide show for Admin Professional Day with my current employer.  

I am grateful for the skills I’ve acquired throughout the program.  Pursuing this degree program has diversified my lifetime portfolio of skills and taught me that I am a quality writer, producer, photographer, and visual media creator.