Becoming a Communications Major

Relevant KASB capacities:

• Attitude
• Confidence as a foundation for the involvement in leadership and the ability to persevere in the face of obstacles and failures
• Committed to the equity of all people and quest for social justice
• Interpersonal skills
• Able to make persuasive arguments for ideas

Reflection:

Choosing my major has been one of the greatest emotional rollercoasters I have ridden at my time here at the UW. Although it isn't a new story, the greatest reason why my experiences differentiate from others is that my choice to become a Communications major was the first step to breaking down the wall of self-doubt I built so high around myself. It was a cornerstone choice that helped build the bridge towards a new mindset that enabled me to achieve success without fear.

When I entered college, I thought I was ahead of the crowd because I already knew what I wanted to major in. My interest in business spawned from reading Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The ideas introduced in that read were concepts I never encountered in high school. With this very minute background in business knowledge, I armed myself to become a business major. I saw the appropriate advisers, attended the right seminars, took the required classes, and even went out of my way to join a business fraternity my freshman year. Little did I know the UW standard structured around grades. I thought if I did everything right - I would get in. Soon enough, I found that young innocence and eagerness would not cut it at such a prestigious university. I learned (not quickly enough) that doing everything well was the key to success. Regardless of all the steps I took, I did poorly in my classes. To demonstrate just has poorly I was performing, my lowest GPA was a 2.56 at the end of my sophomore year and my lowest individual class grade sat at a 0.8. With the competitive business GPA being a 3.5, I had slim chances of being accepted, regardless if other areas of my application were above average.

Needless to say, the next couple of quarters were rough. I didn't know what I wanted to study and frankly, I didn't want to try anymore because my spirits were crushed. After visiting with the business advisers, I was told that it would be a waste of my time and the business school's time to apply again. They suggested I transfer to Bothell or Tacoma if I really wanted to do business. Another adviser even expressed concern that I would get in any major at all. This isn't exactly the best setup for success. It was worse because this academic failure was something new to me. In high school, I graduated in the top 10% of the class - I wasn't used to doing so poorly in school. On top of that, my entire family thought I was just joking around and extended no understanding or support at all to help me out of my rut - just criticism and doubt. 

When people ask me how I chose to be a COM major, I tell them about one conversation. My best friend sat down with me in the Fall of 2011 after I was complaining about not liking Psychology. He was the first person to encourage me to take one quarter to experiment different classes. He asked me what I had considered before, and I told him Communications, International Studies, and Drama. Upon some research and a very nice sticky note he left on my laptop which I still keep, I took those classes to see if any of them would really be a good fit. I was initially scared of taking a "break" quarter to find out what I really wanted to do because I didn't think I would graduate on time, but looking back, taking a breather was one of the smartest things I could have done. Long story short, I fell in love with the COM department, the classes offered, the professors who taught them... everything. I actually went to class because I enjoyed it and my grades significantly improved.

Confidence as a foundation for the involvement in leadership and the ability to persevere in the face of obstacles and failures

Although I was finally utilizing my academic finesse, sitting at a 2.56 weighted under 86 credits was a heavy burden on my shoulders. Even if I achieved Dean's List for one quarter, it would only bump up .1 if I was lucky. Since my head was finally screwed right on my shoulders, I made it my personal goal to achieve a 3.0 cumulative GPA upon graduation. The simple distinction on a resume between a "2" grade and a "3" grade is huge and I knew it would take a lot of work to get there. Ever since Winter Quarter 2012, I worked my butt off to do well in school. I mapped out all the assignments in my planner, highlighted deadlines and midterms, wrote down the exact readings I needed to do in the weekly portion, allotted appropriate study hours, etc. I made it very easy for myself to know what I needed to do in order to be successful. Looking back since that decision, I achieved Dean's List four times and I currently have a 2.93 GPA. If I achieve a 3.6 GPA this quarter, I will bump my grade up to the 3.0 level... and I am unbelievably happy to say that I am on track.

Committed to the equity of all people and quest for social justice
Able to make persuasive arguments for ideas

One of the greatest reasons why I love the COM department is because of a select few classes that helped me see the world in a completely new perspective. After taking COM 289 - Communication and Difference, I realized that social inequality still exists in our world. Growing up as a Chinese female in a white and male privileged world has provided me with several lens to look out of. These assortment of lenses finally became apparent to me after this class.

I continued this quest for social justice by writing about it. The following quarter, I registered for COM 431 - Rhetorical Criticism. We were responsible for choosing an artifact and analyzing it using four different methods. I wanted to explore the concept of post-race in a pop culture setting so I used an SNL monologue featuring Jamie Foxx as the centerpiece of my analysis. Below you will find my favorite critiques of this piece - one using a narrative perspective, one with a conceptual perspective, and lastly, my final paper summing up a quarter's worth of analysis.

Monologue
Final Analysis
Narrative Critique
Conceptual Critique