Opportunity 'Knocks'

Opportunity might not literally knock on the door for students in the Donald P. Communications, but it certainly shows up — early and often during their careers at Penn State.

It comes with support from faculty and staff. It comes during classes, club meetings, internships and special events.

Opportunities can be found through personal interactions, displayed on digital signage and shared on social media.

No door to knock on? No problem because every student has an email address, and checking their email represents just one way students can find out about opportunities and then work to make the most of them.

Campus visits and connections

For many students, getting connected starts long before classes begin. Campus visits invariably help students feel at home and impressed by the available facilities. In addition, information sessions conducted by the Bellisario College regularly resonate.

Journalism major Avery Hill, a junior from Prince George’s County, Maryland, thought he would pick a college in the South but felt connected and supported when he visited Penn State, which was conveniently close to home for him, for an Accepted Students Program.

“I met (Assistant Dean) Gary Abdullah and he gave me a better sense of all the things I could do here,” Hill said. “Then when I got here, I learned more about all the ways to get involved. I’ve just been seeking out ways to make myself a more well-rounded journalist.

Really it was a combination of joining clubs, knowing people and going after it. I’m not sure I thought there’d be this many opportunities, but I was committed to making the most of everything I could.

Avery Hill

“Really it was a combination of joining clubs, knowing people and going after it. I’m not sure I thought there’d be this many opportunities, but I was committed to making the most of everything I could.”

Hill found a home at The Daily Collegian and took advantage of freelance opportunities and internships.

He’s also found a community of driven, like-minded students.

“There’s definitely a community. A lot of my closest friends are in the Belliasrio College. It’s not just that we’re spending time together, either. It’s that we push each other and support each other. It’s a good group of a lot of hard workers trying to get to that next level.”

Penn State, with a quintessential college setting on the University Park campus, provides a connection point for many students. In addition, state-of-the-art facilities in the Bellisario Media Center help attract those interested in communications majors — even if they’re not going to be working in film, radio
or television.

Manoela Mota Rodembusch, who grew up in Brazil and finished high school in West Chester, New York, as a member of a graduating class with a just 147 students, was impressed with the Bellisario Media Center as an indicator of resources at Penn State in general.

“Originally Penn State wasn’t in my field of vision. I came to campus, walked around the media center and was like, ‘Whoa, that’s cool!’” she said. “The people were really what pulled me toward a big school that felt like a small one, though.”

Rodembusch, an advertising/public relations major, completed an internship with the New York City-based marketing agency StrawberryFrog this summer. She also quickly connected on the big campus, serving as a campus tour guide, a correspondent for Her Campus at Penn State and communications coordinator for the Bellisario Alliance of Multicultural Students.

She also joined the Brazilian Student Association, the Penn State Ski Club and got involved with the Penn State Dance Marathon (THON) as a special events committee member.

She learned a lot during her first year on campus, finding her way aorund campus and finding ways to get connected and focusing on the future.

“People say you’re going to walk a lot in college, and they’re right — you walk a lot in college.

“I think I expected professors to be scary people, but they’re here to help you,” Rodembusch said. “I’ve just enjoyed getting involved. There’s a lot of stuff to do here, and I don’t want to miss it.”

Comfort zones and embracing change

Once students arrive on campus and start meeting people and taking classes, the big school can quickly become a lot smaller. It requires work, though, and it often means a student must move outside their comfort zone.

It almost always leads to success if someone is willing to take the chance.

Isabelle Flores, a junior majoring in advertising/public relations with a minor in digital media trends and analytics, picked Penn State because she wanted a big-school feel. The University was her No. 1 choice because of its plentiful resources and support.

Still, adapting to central Pennsylvania from her home in South Plainfield, New Jersey, took time. She said making friends was difficult but got easier as she joined more clubs and talked to more people in her classes.

“I missed the comfort of being at home. It wasn’t really until the end of my freshman year, maybe even my sophomore year, that I really felt at home on campus — and that came because I got more involved,” Flores said. “I did feel like I was the only one who was having a tough time adjusting, but the more I talked to people I realized that was not the case. College is a big change for everyone.

“Going out of my way to talk to people I barely knew made me feel better. At some point I just realized we’re all in the same situation, and everyone says the same thing – they had a hard time and when they were able to get connected, they felt so much better.”

Flores found her connections working at Happy Valley Comm, a student-run organization that helps local businesses, nonprofits and student organizations with their communications needs, and at Valley Magazine, a student-run life and style magazine.

She initially checked out several clubs and organizations, sampling to find connections and experiences that worked for her. Connections and friendships with students emerged from those experiences.

At the same time, she found support from faculty and staff in the Belliario College.

“The people, not only the students but especially the advisers, faculty and staff, are so helpful,” Flores said. “I didn’t think I’d find that much support at a big school. It surprised me.”

Even after she settled in on campus, more new experiences revealed opportunities for growth. The Bellisario College conducts three communications-specific internship and job fairs each year — one on campus (JobExpo.Comm), one in Washington, D.C. (Comm Careers in the Capital) and one in New York City (Success in the City) — and attending her first such event in New York City prompted another moment of concern for Flores, simply because it was a new experience. She understood she was not alone, though, and that made it easier.

“I was really nervous going into it, I think everyone was,” she said. “It’s hard to pitch yourself. You have to be confident but you don’t want to sound full of yourself. It’s a challenge. It was another opportunity that was important, and something we learned from. It seems like there are so many of those experiences here.”

Opportunities abound at Penn State in general, but Bellisario College students feel their chances come with a little more individualized attention and support because advisers and faculty members know students and invest in their success.

Junior advertising/public relations major Amanda Milholi had become so accustomed to the Bellisario College approach that it was a friend, a student not majoring in communications,
who noticed.

“I walked into the Bellisario College Involvement Fair with her and everyone in the media center was saying ‘Hi!’ and having conversations, because I know a lot of people and they know me, and she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I walk into my college and nobody says a word,’” Milholi said. “That made me feel so good. The small-school feel is something I’m very
grateful for.”

Research and reality

Like many aspiring college students, Milholi conducted research and scoured the internet to inform her college choice. As a high school volleyball player from Queens, New York, she knew of Penn State, and she supplemented what she knew by watching student-produced, day-in-the-life videos.

As a freshman, she “signed up for everything,” eventually narrowed her list of activities and found her fit. At the same time, she dealt with all the challenges of adapting to college life that every other student faces. “It was definitely hard,” she said. “I’m an outgoing person but when I got here, I didn’t know anyone. Going to club meetings and events by yourself is not easy, but everyone else is doing that.You learn to talk to the person to the left and to the right of you. We all have the same majors and interests.”

Milholi has especially enjoyed her time with the on-campus chapter of the Association for Women in Sports Media. She’s also embraced the art of balancing a busy schedule. Because of the variety of opportunities, and because many students are driven, those students are also reliably busy — and every student has a way to deal with those kinds of schedules while keeping themselves grounded and organized.

For Milholi it’s a mix of paper and online organizers, and learning how to balance time and be productive with the independence college offers that helps develop important lifelong skills. “When I have too much time, I don’t feel like myself,” she said. “I like to be busy.”

Adrianna Gallucci, a junior broadcast journalism major, also likes to be busy. She has an organizer on her computer and started writing things down, often reminders, anything from class to-do items or shopping lists, as a complement to the more high-tech approach so she stays on schedule. “I’m pretty much busy all the time,” she said. “But I’m grateful for it and wouldn’t want to change it.”

Gallucci, from Andover, New Jersey, serves as one of three student general managers for CommRadio, the student-led streaming station housed in the Bellisario College. She hosts a podcast about pro wrestling and covers Penn State men’s hockey. She hoped to get involved early when she arrived on campus and CommRadio made that possible. She’s also active with PSN-TV, the student-led network that produces more than a half dozen shows each semester.

Plus, she’s experienced something many Bellisario College students have when pitching an idea to a group adviser or as part of their expedience overall. Last season, with the Penn State men’s hockey team playing on the road, not that far from Gallucci’s home, she suggested an on-location student broadcast — and that became a reality after little pushback and a lot of planning.

They’re great experiences, things I’m proud of having the opportunity to do, and probably would not be possible if I were not at Penn State. I’ve gotten more comfortable and confident in so many ways, and I really enjoy telling people’s stories. Best of all, though, the faculty members are so supportive of real-life experiences and helping us develop. It’s not just me, it’s all of us.

Jade Bramwell

She’s motivated to seek out those kinds of opportunities, but she’s also conscious about the whole Bellisario College and Penn State experience being bigger than one person. She’s confident about what makes a good day in her world, and it’s not just about her.

“If I can walk out of a class knowing something I didn’t before it started, if I can spend time with people I care about, if I can help somebody else at CommRadio or in my classes get better at something. If any of those things happen, then it’s been a good day,” Gallucci said.

She’s not the only Bellisario College student who feels that way. Even though every student’s background and experiences shape their outlook, more than a few Bellisario College students champion a bigger-than-me mindset.

After starting her career at Penn State Altoona and transferring to the University Park campus early, Jade Bramwell, a senior majoring in broadcast journalism with a minor in African-American studies, has gained confidence from the experiences and opportunities she’s found in the Bellisario College.

She’s known she’s wanted to be a journalist since she was 6 years old and she honed her skills as a reporter and anchor on “Centre County Report,” the award-winning student newscast, during the spring semester. She then completed a summer internship at CNN and was a member of the student multimedia project team at the National Association of Black Journalists covering its recent convention in Chicago.

“They’re great experiences, things I’m proud of having the opportunity to do, and probably would not be possible if I were not at Penn State,” Bramwell said. “I’ve gotten more comfortable and confident in so many ways, and I really enjoy telling people’s stories. Best of all, though, the faculty members are so supportive of real-life experiences and helping us develop. It’s not just me, it’s all of us.”

Another focus for Bramwell has been revitalizing the NABJ student chapter at Penn State. The group was active in the past, and she has been a driving force to help revitalize it and ensure another opportunity for those who follow her in the
Bellisario College.

Near, far, wherever you are

Will Bond, from Lower Moreland, Pennsylvania, has two parents and a sister who went to Penn State. He had visited campus a few times and knew about the University about 195 miles from his hometown long before he made his decision to attend.

Kawthar Almahdi, from Saudi Arabia, had never traveled internationally, and never seen snow before, when she arrived at the University Park campus in January 2022, some 6,600 miles from home, for her first semester as a communications student.

These days they’re both film production majors who spend a lot of time in the Bellisario Media Center.

Bond, a sophomore, found out about his on-campus job as an editing lab assistant, an opportunity that keeps him close to his major and honing necessary skills, thanks to Julie Miller, the Bellisario College’s manager of internships. At first Bond picked film production and was only “trying it on for size,” but he said the community and opportunities have made him confident about his choice of major. He completed an internship with Keystone Pictures outside of Philadelphia this summer.

“I’ve been surprised by how tight knit of a community it can be once you get involved,” he said. “I assumed a big place like Penn State would be like a city and things would get lost in the shuffle, but I’m surprised how much time I spend in the buildings, how friendly people are and how many people I know.”

Almahdi picked Penn State sight unseen. She wanted to travel abroad and thought the University was the best place to provide opportunities that do not exist in her country.

Adjusting was a challenge initially, but it was more about the new country than Penn State. Her sister, who lives in Florida, drove to Pennsylvania and stayed for a week to help with getting settled in an apartment, opening a bank account and
much more.

Almahdi participated in Penn State’s World in Conversation program, served as social media chair for the Saudia Arabian Student Association and steadily gained confidence in classes and with production opportunities.

She said her mother worries about her college-aged daughter on the other side of the world, and Almahdi sounds like any other college student when she admits she’s made some between semester trips to, say, Los Angeles, and told her mother only after the trip happened to prevent her from worrying. “I did tell her I was going somewhere and it would be a long flight,” she said. “She knew from the pictures.”

Almahdi said the version of the United States she got from movies and television is not exactly what she’s found in a collegial and supportive film production community. She’s interested in the major because she appreciates the power of films and enjoys storytelling. And, while she admits she gets homesick, she believes she’s in the right place.

“The homesickness will be worth it. I’m here to learn and try new things,” she said. “When I’ve collaborated on projects, people have listed to my suggestions, and I listen to theirs. It’s good to have someone who appreciates my ideas and what I’m suggesting.”

Although she’s entering her junior year, she’s not in a big hurry to get home, indicating she might add a degree or some minors to enhance her studies.

She’s like many other Bellisario College students that way, too. With all the opportunities available, either they’re in no rush to get to the finish line, or they realize things are happening faster than
they expected.

“The No. 1 thing that surprises me is how fast it goes by,” Flores said. “I’m only two years in and at times it feels like two months. You just have all these resources here and you want to make the most
of them.”