Thursday, April 13, 2017

My Experience in CMIR

For the past two years of my undergraduate studies I have been a part of the Center of Innovation Media + Research . The CMIR is a part of the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Both the CMIR and the College of Journalism and Communications have had a lasting impact on my education and my future goals. Since the day I began my journey here at UF I have been impacted by the opportunities offered.

Early on in my undergraduate years I was required to do hourly newscast in the Innovation News Center. I started in radio before starting to learn TV. I really enjoyed radio and continued to improve my writing skills on air.

Becoming a part of the INC and getting involved with CMIR I gained so many priceless experiences. In my Sports Media and Society Class I had the opportunity to meet amazing guests speakers that provide great insight. I even got to meet former wide receiver OchoCinco



After learning the basics in the INC I decided to start working at ESPN Gainesville. I produced hourly sports updates and web content. The content that I wrote was posted to the WRUF website. Becoming a part of the ESPN Gainesville family I got to experience different sporting events that were very exciting. I attended SEC Nation in the Fall where I ran into Tim Tebow. 

Even with all of the outside work that the CMIR has provided me with I also learned a lot in the classroom. The classroom material formed a foundation for the skills I would enhance in the INC and at other on-campus sites. 

I will forever be indebted to the CMIR and CJC. The University of Florida has provided me with the steps to success. I am proud to be a CJC student and as always I am proud to be a Gator!

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

The Tipping Point Review


The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell discusses and explains how some ideas become trends and why others don’t. Gladwell, through the use of many comparisons and research compares how some ideas affect the society differently than others. In many instances he compares the characteristics of social change to a medical epidemic. The tipping point, as Gladwell proclaims, is when an idea or trend becomes a popular phenomenon at an extremely fast rate.
            Throughout the book Gladwell uses different situations to illustrate his point. He discusses why teenage smoking is still popular even though the negative effects are still known. Through different comparisons Gladwell describes the process of an idea gaining popularity and reaching it’s “tipping point.”
In a world where ideas are spreading like wildfire, some ideas gain popularity and some die off before they ever come to life. Gladwell makes the point that if you look at every successful trend they are more similar than you may think. Gladwell breaks down the “rules of epidemics” into three separate parts to determine if an idea will gain popularity and become a social trend. The three parts include the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.
The Law of the Few is the first rule in which only a few people are responsible for spreading a single idea. This is later compared to only a few people being held responsible for the spreading of STD’s to various others. These are the people who help the trends start and continue to spread. They are the people who start to gain popularity in small groups. If people continue to stand behind a product or idea it is more likely to be successful.
The idea behind The Stickiness Factor is that an idea continues to influence people’s behavior. Gladwell uses different children TV shows such as “Blue’s Clues” and “Sesame Street” to explain this phenomenon. Research that showed the logic, reasoning and literacy improvement helped the show to “stick.” It’s what gets people to continue to be attached to an idea or product.
The last idea, the Power of Context, is important to the future of an idea or product. Gladwell claims this is crucial to an idea gaining popularity and reaching the tipping point. He compares the Power of Context to the decrease in crime rates in 1990s New York City. The idea behind this factor is that various changes, big or small, can make change societies behavior. In his comparison to the crime rate, Gladwell believes that because city authorities made minor improvements to the city in turn led to a decline in the crime rates.
The main idea behind Gladwell’s research is figuring out how to get your ideas and products to influence change in society. In the book the process behind what makes ideas either succeed or fail is investigated extensively. Different factors and social patterns play a role in how successful an idea may be. The end goal of everyone’s idea should be to have his or her idea reach the tipping point.


Thursday, March 16, 2017

Learn From Others

Similar to the last post, I would like to highlight different colleagues at UF that I have learned from. I am continuously learning from my fellow peers and the people around me. 

Kayla's blog "Coffee at Kayla's" is great for people looking to get away from daily stresses. Her writing and perspective on various things is amazing. She really has passion behind her blog and it shows. Her blog includes lifestyle tips, college advice and focuses on the college experience as a whole. 

Caroline's blog is all about Gator Sports and the sports broadcasting world. She blogs about her different experiences and work at ESPN Gainesville. Caroline has gained a lot of experience in her field. If you are someone who has a passion for the Gator's or sports broadcasting definitely check out her blog!


Another person with a lot of experience in the Telecommuncations industry is Dani. She works at WUFT as an anchor, producer and reporter. She does it all! If you want an inside look at all the experience and work she has done in her time at UF check out her blog. 


 

Amazing Colleagues

During my studies at The University of Florida I have had the opportunity to work with very talented people. Daniela is a senior studying telecommunications at UF just like I am. She spends a lot of time in the newsroom working to find cutting edge stories. I rarely go to the WUFT Newsroom without seeing her there. Her blog gives you an inside look at all of her work. 

If you are interested in everything fitness than you should definitely check out Andrea's blog. She consistently blog's about anything and everything in the world of fitness. From accomplishing distance races to improving her PR time. Definitely worth checking out!

Love Gator sports? Check out Savanna's blog all about sports and the Gators. She works for various entities in the Journalism and Communications college at UF. Similar to me, she has dreams of a career in sports broadcasting. 

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Who Am I?

I would like to expand on the introduction of myself I posted a few months ago when I started this blog. I am currently a 22 year old Telecommunication Senior at the University of Florida. I am originally from Northern Virginia but have since relocated because of school. My family has also relocated to Tampa, FL to make travel visits easier. Attending high school in Virginia was an awesome experience. I was very involved in extracurricular activities and sports. I played on my football, basketball and baseball teams.

 I am currently in my 4th year of Air Force ROTC and will commission as a 2nd Lt. at the beginning of May. Throughout my undergraduate years I worked in various positions in and outside of my college and gained practical working experience. I am currently a part-time Lifeguard for the City of Gainesville. The experience I have gained from the WUFT Newsroom and ROTC have put me a  great position to succeed post college. I will be relocating to Robins, AFB after graduation to start my career as an Acquisitions Officer. During my time in college I got involved in different clubs and organizations.

 I have been a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity for almost three years now. I am also a part of Big Heart Gators an organization that helps raise awareness for Organ Donation. Over the past few years I have gotten really involved in philanthropy. I continuously raise money for Dance Marathon which benefits the Children's Miracle Network.

As I moved forward I look to continue improving myself and the world around me. In college I learned that I can push myself to extreme measures to achieve success. I realized that I am a very hardworking individual with a lot of ambition. I know this will carry me forward into my career and beyond. I can't wait to take on the challenges that await.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

NASA Announcement Today

Throughout my college experience I have always had a distant desire to study more about space. I did not really have the opportunity to as I chose a different path with Telecommunications and AFROTC. Being involved in so many extracurricular activities  pulled me away from learning different more about space. In a few hours NASA is going to make a statement about new findings. They have been in search of Earth-like planets that contain water. I really appreciate the things that NASA does. Their research and findings are going to dramatically change the near future.

The fact that there may be planets beyond our Solar System intrigues me. Looking back I wonder if I could have squeezed into an astronomy class or taken more time to learn about Space. When selecting what I wanted to be in the Air Force, Space Operations was one of my choices. While I won't be starting off working as a Space Operations Officer there is always a chance in the future.

Monday, February 20, 2017

UF Women's Basketball #SaluteToThoseWhoServe

Photo Galleries

As a University, UF does a great job of recognizing those who serve. They understand the sacrifice and commitment that men and women give on a day to day basis. Last week I had the opportunity to participate in #SaluteToThoseWhoServe. During the UF Women's Basketball game I held the flag for the national anthem prior to the start of the game. At halftime AFROTC took on NROTC in a 5 on 5 basketball scrimmage. I really enjoyed the opportunity to show my competiveness in the new O'Connell center and block a few shots. The UF Women's basketball team played an excellent game against Arkansas.

I am really honored to go to a school where they have so much respect for those serving and those who will serve. Earlier this year the UF Football team did something similar that really stood out to me. The fact that multiple sports are showing respect for those defending our freedom is amazing. I really respect all the athletes and staff that put events like this on. 

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Air Force Acquisition

Later this year I will be taking off for Robins, AFB to take on my first assignment. I have the opportunity to move to a new state (Warner Robins, Georgia) and learn my new career field. Many people aren't very familiar with what exactly an Acquisition's Officer does in the Air Force. As soon as I received notification that I was going to be an Acquisition's Officer I started my research to find out what an Acquisition's Officer actually does. I was amazed at the various things that I will be learning and taking on as a newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant. I found out my first assignment back in late November. I was happy to learn that there are a lot of civilian careers in acquisitions and that it will really help me transition at a later date to the civilian workforce. I have been dedicating my time to make sure I am on track to graduate and commission. These next few months are going to fly by and before I know it I will be there. I am extremely excited and opportunistic for what is yet to come!

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

UF AFROTC - Adventure Run





THROWBACK! Every year of semester in my time in ROTC we put together an event called Adventure Run. This video is my first ever Adventure Run that we did at Lake Waulberg. The event consists of different flights that each participate in different athletic and mental competitions. It is a great way for us at the Detachment to relieve some stress and get out and compete. It's one of my favorite events that we do throughout the year. Since I am now Public Affairs Officer for the semester I am working to put together a video similar to this for this years Adventure Run!

Monday, February 6, 2017

360ยบ Video Tour - UF College of Journalism and Communications





Technology is so amazing. This 360 degree video tour gives a great perspective and tour of the UF College of Journalism and Communications. At one point in the video I am in the lecture hall that they are using footage from. This video really does a good job of encompassing everything that the J-School consists of and has to offer. I am honored and privileged to have picked a school with such wonderful facilities, people and opportunities. I will forever be indebted to the University College of Florida Journalism and Communications.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Don't Make Me Think - Review


Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug dives into what makes a successful website. The book discusses different ways to keep the user from having to stop and think about what they are accessing the site for. Making the user think only creates problems and is very ineffective. Similar to many forms of technology, the book discusses the importance of having a website that is user friendly. The second chapter discusses the way people interact with the web and how they are drawn to different characteristics and keywords. Web design is a tricky task for a lot of people especially because most of the content will rarely be interacted with.

I found that one of the strongest points Krug made was in Chapter 4. He summarized the fact that when designing a website people need to get straight to the point. As a user of the internet on a daily basis I connect with this point a lot. Too many times I get to a website and there is a lot of stuff that either wastes my time or that I completely ignore.

Steve Krug’s use of comparing websites to traffic signs and billboards helps the reader compare his webs ideas with something more relatable. He walks you through different aspects of a website and the common things that can be found on different parts of the site, like the welcome page. He creates the point that most successful websites are reactionary. Reactionary in the sense that you won’t be able to please every user but the best way to do it is to see how users react to different things. This made me conclude that websites require a lot of resilience to be successful. When creating a website some things may be more successful than others.

Don’t Make Me Think brings up a lot of common sense ideas that people never really think about on websites. I can’t remember the last time that I was on Amazon.com and looked around at the website itself. Instead, similar to Krug’s points, I did what I normally do and search for what I was trying to purchase. 

Bottom line is that websites need to be convenient, straight to the point and not a lot of “fluff.” All of these things fall back on making sure the website is user-friendly and easy to interact with. Creating a successful website can be a difficult task. If working with a web development team it can sometimes be difficult to come to a successful conclusion.

If I were to create a website today I would really pay attention to a couple of the points that Krug made. I would brainstorm and brainstorm until I really had the concept that I wanted my website to contain. I would eliminate “fluff” from my site and really focus on making it user friendly. As the title suggests, I would try to make the user think as little as possible. I would then accept feedback from user’s and make adjustments as needed. Find out what users like and what they don’t.  Being able to respond to feedback, accept the failures and fix them will lead to success.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Home Sweet Home

This is where I'm from. In the picture above I am standing at Bears Den, a park located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This past week I had the opportunity to go home after attending the Inauguration in D.C. Throughout high school I would go to Bears Den almost weekly. It's a place where I could see for miles but hear no one. Only a few times I actually went camping at the top of the mountain. This place is a wonderful space to see Virginia and I am blessed to have grown up in such a wonderful place.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Inauguration


I had the opportunity this past week to attend the 45th Presidential Inauguration. The experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so grateful that I was able to go. I flew up on Thursday afternoon and attended the Welcome Celebration starring Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down and various other performers. On Friday I woke up early and used the metro to get into the city where I saw Donald Trump be sworn in as president. It has always been a goal of mine to attend something so historic and I finally was able to. On Saturday I woke up and walked around the city to see the women's march and the large crowds of people that showed up. It was a very long and exhausting weekend but so worth it!

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Public Affairs Officer


This semester I was selected to be the Public Affairs Officer for Air Force ROTC. Above are a few of the things I have been working on throughout the first few weeks of the semester. The top picture is our Wing Commander and Vice Wing Commander along with their missions and goals for the Detachment this semester. On the right is a list of the commissioning seniors this year (thankfully my name is on that list). The picture below is the cadet wing organizational chart. It consists of every cadet and their respective position and where they are in the chain of command. I am really excited about this position and it has been one I have always had interest in.

Monday, January 16, 2017

Last Gator Football Game


About two weeks ago I attended my last Gator Football game as a student. I was fortunate enough to get box seats to the Outback Bowl in Tampa, FL. Throughout my time here at UF I have always sat in the student section or anywhere I could find seats at away games. It was an amazing experience to be able to sit in such great seats for my final game as an undergrad. During the game I reflected on how far I have come since I have started here back in 2013 and how much more I still want to achieve. It was also extra special because the Gators got the win against Iowa. I look forward to my last semester here and ending it on a high note.