“That was such a hard class.”
“Ugh, that was the worst J class!”
These are just a few of the things you might hear students say when you mention Gateway to Media. The unique, 8-credit, required School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) course sequence gives students hands-on experience exploring storytelling through words, audio, video and photos.
I often hear people talking about how this course is challenging, which it is. I won’t argue with that. It is one of the more difficult courses I have taken. But it was worth it. Here’s why.
Gateway is something you usually take at the beginning of your SOJC degree, whether you plan to go into advertising, journalism, public relations or media studies. This course asks a lot of students and invites them to think critically and creatively. You are learning new terms, technology and storytelling techniques. You are challenged to create text, video, photo and audio stories – all things you may have not done for a grade before.
As a public relations student, it was an opportunity to strengthen my communication skills through interviewing and learning how to effectively tell a story. Whether it was writing the text story or interviewing for the final video project, I was able to develop skills that I could translate into my career.
Because students take the course when they are just getting started at the SOJC, it can seem overwhelming. And that can be a good thing. It can help students decide early if these majors are for them. If by the end of completing Gateway you find out there was not a lot you enjoyed, you have your answer.
Even though this course is difficult, it is also one of the most rewarding classes I have taken. You get to hear stories you might not have heard before. You get to share stories with your classmates and learn about people whose paths you may have never crossed otherwise.
With the help of Gateway, I was able to learn more about my uncle’s story. For the final video project, I interviewed my uncle, who is a firefighter at the station he works at. I learned what he does as a first responder and what he is passionate about. This is an experience I may have not have had without Gateway.
Perhaps most important, you will have an impressive portfolio the minute you finish the course. And you will be able to showcase this work to future employers for years to come.
For me, Gateway was all about working ahead and on time. Being proactive and using time to your benefit are key. This made the creative process a lot more enjoyable for me. I was able to feel like I had enough time to do each story justice.
Sometimes telling a story is not linear. Just like Gateway, it takes time to feel like you are on the right track. Once you get in a good rhythm, work hard, work ahead and take advantage of all the unique opportunities that come with this course, you, too, might feel that Gateway is worth the hard work.
–By Erin Tooley, class of ’23
Erin Tooley, class of ’23, is a public relations major minoring in nonprofit administration. She is also a social media and events intern with the SOJC Communication Team.