In Class: My Four-Year Highlights at Merrill
Zainab Mudallal is a senior in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. She will be writing columns throughout the school year from a student’s perspective.
As a senior about to graduate in a little over a month, a lot of emotions constantly run through my head. When I’m not job-hunting, I’m taking a trip down memory lane, and reminiscing about my four years at the University of Maryland and the Philip Merrill College of Journalism
I primarily choose to attend the University of Maryland in 2010 because of the top-notch journalism program, so it is no surprise my four-year highlights (and grievances) have mostly occurred within the big glass windows of Knight Hall.
The Good
1. The proximity to Washington, D.C.
As aspiring journalists, living near the nation’s capital is a huge benefit. It gives us easy access to internships, networking, and exploring places like the Newseum or national monuments. And it’s all just a short Metro ride away.
2. The faculty
We are taught how to be journalists by Pulitzer Prize winners and ESPN panelists. Need I say more? The faculty is not only extremely talented, they’re eager to help students by teaching them vital skills, and putting them in touch with some of their colleagues for internship and work opportunities.
3. Knight Hall
We love to brag about our brand new, LEED building to other majors, and rightfully so! Whether we’re lounging by the couches in the Great Hall sipping on a latte and taking in the natural light, or editing on deadline in the news bubble, Knight Hall definitely creates a modern, comfortable atmosphere for learning. More importantly, it’s technology-equipped for the modern day journalist.
4. Capital News Service
I might be biased here, but working at CNS to fulfill my Capstone requirement was one of the most enriching experiences I’ve had at the j-school. Outside of my internships, CNS was one of few experiences that really put me in the shoes of a beat reporter constantly on deadline. It’s the closest thing to a real journalism job, and I saw my writing and multimedia skills improve tremendously throughout.
5. Career Fair
I don’t know about anyone else, but I know I’ve made meaningful contacts and even got internships because of the career fair. The j-school does a good job of making this the main networking event of the year and always has a great turnout. And hey, the free food never hurts!
The Bad
1. EDMS451
Putting a bunch of journalism majors in an upper-level statistics course may not the best idea. I would have been better served taking a math and statistics class specifically for journalists, incorporating data-reporting tools like Excel.
2. Horror stories
We all know journalism is a difficult field to break into, and we all know we won’t be filthy rich at the end of the day, unless we’re Anderson Cooper. But there is no need to scare off half of the JOUR100 students, resulting in most switching to COMM. We’re clearly not here for the money, so lets focus on our shared passion to tell stories.
3. Knight Hall
Yes, this made both lists. The one pitfall of Knight Hall is the lack of private spaces for interviews. Other schools at the university like the business school have private rooms solely for phone or Skype interviews, so students don’t have to worry about a class starting in that empty classroom, noise in the background or their friends distracting them in the news bubble. This goes for job interviews and when students interviewing sources.
4. <CODE>
With the role of a journalist changing to a more digital-savvy storyteller, learning a little more than the obvious basics of HTML should be required. JOUR350 wasn’t enough knowing the new standards of what news organizations are looking for in multimedia reporters. Complete comfort with at least one CMS, and better knowledge and practice of HTML, CSS and jQuery is something I would have loved to get out of here with.
5. Transcribing interviews
I don’t think this is something Merrill can help out with, but I’ll complain about it anyway. When is someone going to invent a gizmo that can transcribe our interviews for us?
Overall, my experience at Merrill has been enriching and memorable. I am glad it’s a network I will forever be embedded in, and I can’t wait to see where it goes in the future. Cheers to one of the best journalism schools in the country.
