Posted April 24, 2018
Alondra De La Rosa is a first-year student in the Master of Mass Communication program at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Learn more about Alondra and her experience in the J-school.
Where are you from?
Las Vegas, Nevada.
Undergrad major?
English major and music minor. I studied as a music major for three years before injuring
my wrist and switching to English.
Why did you choose the MMC program?
I finished my undergraduate degree here at the University of South Carolina. When
I first transferred, I had to change my major, but I was already three years in and
had never planned on switching. English was my minor, so making it my major seemed
natural. I quickly fell in love with writing and found The Daily Gamecock as an outlet
for my writing. That’s where I realized that I could not only listen to other people’s
stories, but I could tell them. In the final stretch of senior year, I was planning
on looking for a journalism job or taking a gap year and applying for graduate programs
for Fall 2018 enrollment. Then I found out about the MMC program and that you didn’t
need any experience in journalism to begin the program.
Tell me about your most interesting experience.
I found a vacant castle while in Italy on a mission trip doing demographic research
on refugees.
What are your career plans?
The goal at the moment is to get a job with a news organization in Columbia. Then,
eventually I’d like to become an independent journalist and begin traveling, finding people and
telling their stories.
What’s the most valuable concept or skill you’ve learned in the program so far?
Learning to work with various pieces of equipment is definitely useful. I’ve never
had access to the type of gear we have in the J-school, like the JVC camera, and it’s nice to know that when I start working, I’ll
have some general knowledge of what I’m working with.
What are you looking forward to learning as you work to complete your degree?
I’m looking forward to senior semester and turning over stories day in and day out.
We’re being taught how to write the stories in the form we need to now. But senior
semester is where we’re taught how to maintain pace with the world.
What would you say to someone considering doing the same program?
I would tell them to be prepared to work! As a graduate student in the MMC program,
you are constantly coming up with new content. You need to hit the ground running.
I would also tell them to talk to Dr. Laura Smith constantly. She holds you to high standards and constantly reminds you of what you
need to succeed in the field, and that is extremely beneficial.
Tell me a fun fact about you.
My first day in Columbia was the day that I moved here to start school.