Ochocinco

#LEGENDARY pic.twitter.com/WQN9GULUci

— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) December 1, 2016

Early last week Ochocinco surprised my Sports Media and Society class. It was an awesome opportunity to hear from a professional who deals with media on an everyday basis. I have always been a fan of him as an NFL player and a person on social media. His wit and entertainment style tweets/Instagram posts make him a unique person to follow. I learned a lot from his Q&A and then he took the class to lunch. It was a great opportunity and I am glad that I had the chance to take this class.

Senior Year Outlook

Making the Most of Your Senior Year in College


With the fall semester of my senior year coming to a close I have been taking time to reflect. I have been looking at what I have accomplished up until this point and what I am still trying to get out of college. I found the article above very interesting and insightful while aimlessly searching the internet. The section about personal growth and becoming the person you want to be stood out to me. I really have used college as a platform for both of these things. Heading into my senior spring I don't want to get away from my personal development and achievement just because the end is rapidly approaching.

U.S. Air Force Acquisitons Officer

U.S. Air Force - Career Detail - Acquisition Manager


After nearly a 3 1/2 year wait, I found out this week that I am going to be an Air Acquisitions Officer in the U.S. Air Force. The process of finding out my job took a very long time and I have patiently waited. While I have always been interested in being a Public Affairs Officer upon graduation I am excited for what this career field will entail. It was one of my top choices and I am happy that I got chosen for such an interesting position. It is going to be another journey that I am going to make the most of. The U.S. Air Force website above explains what an Acquisitions officer position is.

Alachua County Organizations Help Students Outside Classroom

Over the past few weeks I have been working on a feature story for my Radio 2 class. I have been collecting interviews, going out in the field doing research and I am finally finished. Over the past year I have been doing a lot of reporting. Below you will see the web story that compliments my radio story. I did my project on children in the county seeking help outside of the classroom. Not every child can be successful just by the instruction they receive in the classroom. Take a read and see learn about the organizations that are helping students in the county! 

Alachua County Organizations Help Students Outside Classroom

Taylor Hagan

More than a dozen non-profit organizations throughout Alachua County are assisting children outside of the classroom. The organizations are providing after school programs where students receive tutoring and mentorship.

Kids Count, a non-profit organization in East Gainesville serves 60 elementary students each week. Kids Count provides students with an opportunity for extra support in the community to succeed in and outside of the classroom.

Executive Director of Kids Count Bill Hutchinson says that 94% of the students and 100% of third graders have seen an improvement in school.

Hutchinson says “character, social skills, behavior in classrooms have all been improved and that’s from reports from report cards, conferences with teachers and with parents telling us that it has made a big improvement in their lives.”

Many children throughout the county are not able to receive this type of tutoring outside of school. President of Kids Count Dorene Ross says the program can’t serve every kid because of the expenses.

Ross says “It’s very motivational for the students that we serve but high quality afterschool care is not inexpensive.”

Ross went on to add that the schools that Kid’s Count serves have very high populations of children coming from low income homes.

Aces in Motion is another program in East Gainesville that serves elementary and middle school students in need of help.  Aces in Motion is a youth program that uses tennis and afterschool tutoring to promote character development and academic achievement.

AIM After-School Director Naseeka Dennis says that the program is beneficial because the students get the attention they need.

Dennis says “Not only do they get that one on one but they are able to go to their separate room and go at their own pace.”

The program strives to teach the children character development through playing tennis. Dariana Williams a student at Williams Elementary school attends the program every day and receives tutoring twice a week.

“It did help me improve at my school because they help me with my homework, they explain it more clearly and help me with. I’m getting good grades.”

Kids Count and Aces in Motion are just two of the many non-profit organizations in Alachua County. Schools, churches, organizations and businesses in the community are working together to help the children find success.  

#SaluteToService

WATCH: Needless to say, Saturday was a very special day in #TheSwamp thanks to @GatorsFB and @TAPSorg! #SaluteToService #GoGators pic.twitter.com/fEpJUxHrZ7

— GatorVision (@GatorVisionTV) November 15, 2016

On Saturday the Florida Gators Football Team participated in the #SaluteToService. The salute to service is not only happening for the Florida Gators. Throughout all of college football and the national football league this is the way they are giving back. On Saturday I attended my last Florida Gator football game. It happened to be the Gators #SaluteToService game.

As you may know by now, I am in the Air Force ROTC program at UF and I plan to commission in May of 2017. I am sharing this video/tweet because it meant a lot to me reading about this. In my time at UF I have always worked as hard as I can to leave a mark. The men and women in this video have sons, brothers, sisters, etc. that worked hard and ultimately made the ultimate sacrifice.

I look at this video as I head into a career to defend this country. I hope that one day I can return to the Swamp and be recognized for something great. Something that I gave my all at, just like the men and women honored in this video.

360 Degree View of Innovation News Center

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Today I took a 360 degree picture of the Innovation News Center. The INC has been a big part of my academic career here at UF. I have spent most of my junior and senior year working here. Recently I have been doing a lot of radio producing and reporting for my Radio 2 class. I go out in the field and find news stories and report on them. I come back to the INC and cut up the sound, record audio and put all the pieces together on air. I enjoy working here and I am so grateful that I can attend a school that has a news center for me to get practical experience.

Senior Year Vacation

Every year my family from all over the country (mainly Virginia) all meet up for a family vacation. This year we rented a house in Destin, FL. This was an extremely fun trip and it was awesome that I have had the opportunity to go on trips like these throughout my college years. Below is a picture of the house we rented. I am fortunate to have the family I do and I never take for granted the times I spend with them. It's amazing to know that we can all come together year after year even with a lot of stuff going on. While this did set me back in school and I had a lot of make up work to do, it was worth every minute.

Big Heart Gators that advocates for organ donation. The UF Club will be holding there second meeting of the semester tonight. James Schnitzer, Vice President of Big Heart Gators, has all the infomration needed to attend the meeting.

 Throughout my time at UF I have been involved in this organization. I relate a lot to this organization because my Aunt received a heart donation just over a year ago. I saw the immediate impact of what organ donation can have.

Interesting Article: Senior Year Advice

11 Things I Wish I Knew Senior Year of College

While I was scrolling through twitter and clicking on different articles I came across this article. This article provided me with a few tips that I am going to carry with me through my senior year. I got a lot out of this article. I found that many of the tips have to do with employment after college. It really drives home the importance of networking and building a resume for work opportunities outside college. Keeping in touch with people at internships can only be beneficial. Luckily I have my career path lined up with the U.S. Air Force post college but this reminds me to keep building relationships, working hard and doing whatever it takes to gain more opportunities.

UF Intramural Football

Throughout my time at UF I have been extremely involved in intramural sports. I have played softball, football and basketball through UF Intramurals. I went to the final co-rec intramural game of the season at Southwest Recreation Center. Although I was not playing I wanted to give my readers/followers a look at what intramurals consist of. As seen in the video students gather together and create teams. Co-Rec leagues allow for both men and women to play together. One of the things I am going to miss after my senior year is the ability to play intramural sports with all of my friends. As student Trajan Rodriguez says in the video, it allows us to get away from our classes and get some exercise while being competitive. Intramural sporting events of all types are a great experience and I encourage everyone to attend or get some friends and create a team!

University of Florida President Fuchs Facebook Live Today

 Earlier today I was working in the Innovation News Center on campus when I spotted President Kent Fuchs. President Fuchs was in the INC doing Facebook live with the College of Journalism and Communications Diane McFarlin. I thought this was awesome because they were talking about all the awesome things that the students are doing within the college. I also was in the back of the Facebook Live feed shown above. I am fascinated by Facebook Live and the way technology has advanced as well as applied to my learning. This feature on social media is extremely powerful in reaching a large audience at any given time. This will certainly be an important part in the rest of my studies here at UF as well in my future career.

It's Great UF

It's Great UF! As I was scrolling through my twitter feed I found this tweet with these great statistics. It makes me reflect on my time here at UF and the decision I made a little more than 3 years ago. As someone who attended high school in Northern Virginia I am so glad I made the decision to go to UF. It has been nothing but rewarding. It's opened up so many opportunities as well as given me experience needed for my future career. Not only attending a University that is in the top 10 of public schools but almost being #1 most valuable is just amazing. I can't thank the University of Florida enough for what it has given me and where it is going to take me.

It's great to be a Florida Gator! pic.twitter.com/i9s87alrbq

— FLORIDA (@UF) October 11, 2016

UF Homecoming & Gator Growl

http://gatorgrowl.org/

With UF Homecoming & Gator Growl coming up I thought I would give my readers a look at my past homecomings here at UF. Homecoming at UF is one of my favorite weeks of the entire year. It is filled with various events and things to do. It brings together the Gator Nation and reminds me why I love attending UF some much. My freshman year I had the opportunity to attend the first Gator Growl inside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It was filled by thousands of students listening to great talent. The following year I attended Gator Growl at Flavet Field. Earlier in the day I had the opportunity to participate in the Homecoming parade. It was awesome to see all the Gator fans out there supporting the Gator Nation. This year I will not be able to participate in the parade but will be helping some friends create a float. I am very excited to attend this years Gator Growl and Homecoming game and honestly believe it will be the best one yet!

My Senior Year Home

Take a look inside my home for my senior year of college. I enjoy living with some of the best people on campus and getting to enjoy the luxury of living across from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

These are the new renovations that were put in the kitchen prior to my senior year

A photo posted by Taylor Hagan (@hagan.taylor) on Oct 5, 2016 at 4:16pm PDT

Proud to have spent the last 4 years in this great fraternity

A photo posted by Taylor Hagan (@hagan.taylor) on Oct 5, 2016 at 4:15pm PDT

My buddies taking a break from studying for midterms

A photo posted by Taylor Hagan (@hagan.taylor) on Oct 5, 2016 at 4:14pm PDT

Nothing better than playing basketball in the courtyard

A photo posted by Taylor Hagan (@hagan.taylor) on Oct 5, 2016 at 4:14pm PDT

My beautiful home for my senior year!

A photo posted by Taylor Hagan (@hagan.taylor) on Oct 5, 2016 at 4:13pm PDT

Senior Perspective: Presidential Debate

Interesting Perspective on Graduation

I found this article from the Huffington Post very interesting. It provides a lot of insight into how I am feeling as a Senior about to end another journey in my life. It gave me a lot of excitement towards reaching graduation and then setting out new goals for the next chapter of my life. I would definitely take a look at this article if you are closing in on graduation and want an interesting perspective.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mackenzie-long/graduation-not-goodbye_b_7566330.html?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004

Introduction

Hello there! My name is Taylor Hagan (left) and I am a senior here at the University of Florida. I am a senior Telecommunications News Major at UF. I recently started my 4th year of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. Upon graduation in May of next year I will commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force. This blog will provide insight into my life as a senior and cadet at UF.

I spent most of my life growing up in Northern, Virginia. I always had dreams of attending the University of Florida as now I am about to graduate! My family is huge Gator fans as my mother attended school here back in the 80's. I have loved every part of being a Gator and have taken advantage of everything this great University has to offer!
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I am embracing senior year with open arms and determination to complete my studies here at UF. I am involved in various clubs and organizations on campus. Follow my blog to gain an inside perspective of what it's like to be a senior at the University of Florida!