ebookfinalproduct

Foreword
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versity of Baltimore under the direction of professor Roger Friskey, fall semester, 2016.
Class members were mainly Digital Communications majors and English majors in the professional writing
specialization.
We conceived of our project as an eBook, which could be downloaded from the Klein Family School of
we feel about the joys (and frustrations) of writing. See why we believe good writing is fundamental to
digital communications. And get some valuable tips on how to approach a writing assignment, and how
We hope you will enjoy our articles.
Table of Contents
Hassan Abdale: Why Writing Matters
Sarah Boies: So You Want to be a Writer: A Look into the Publishing Process
Jessicka Cue: Death Knell: Resume Mistakes Could Be Killing Your Opportunities:
Paul Didwall: Digital Communication: Essential to Contemporary Marketing
Savannah Garrison: How Writing Ruined Me, And Why it is still My Career Path
It’s not just a shoe.
LeQuita Harrison: Writing Blah Blah Blah for Yourself: My Five Ways to Getting into the Writing Mode
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Cynthia Hunter: Visual Marketing Strategies
Diane Lane: Variations of Design
Taylor Lynn: Oh, no! Not Writer’s Block!
Amanda Marquez: Writing to be a Millionaire: How the University of Baltimore Helped Me Monetize My
Writing Skills
Teresa Morgan: College Cubbies: Where to Write, Study and Eat at the Same Time
in Academia
Steven Scott: Good Writing, Good Writer?
Career Around
Jalesa Vincent: Interview Jitters: 4 Strategies To Make Interviewing Easy
Geneka Young: Essentials for Working Remotely
By Ana Hart
a poetry workshop with the wonderful Kendra Kopelke. A simple sentence from Professor Kopelke forev
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to quality writing; but it was a brand-new concept to me back then, even though I had been stretching
my wordsmithing muscles since I was a child. As writers, we tend to show with language instinctively,
long before we ever hear this phrase. However, having these three words always etched in the back of my
mind helped propel my writing to the next level.
writing long before being admitted to the University’s Creative Writing program, now that I am at the
end of my studies I can honestly say that the success I’ve had as a writer is in no small part thanks to the
techniques and insights shared by UB’s English professors and students alike.
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A Room of One’s Own
expands our vocabularies—something all aspiring writers should strive toward.
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vorite authors, the essay’s theme is women writers and their place within the literary world. It also argues
for physical space necessary to write successfully. Dense and cerebral, “A Room of One’s Own” still makes
me think every time I pick it up, although I have read it many times.
In my opinion, the physical setting that Woolf speaks of is immensely important when it comes
window. A shelf with my favorite books (and including the Oxford English Dictionary, a thesaurus, and
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tractions fall away. It is a place I’ve dedicated solely to writing (of all kinds), and creating this habit helps
with both intention and concentration when I sit down to write.
Writer’s Block
I don’t believe in writer’s block. Sure, it’s not always easy to get started when it comes to writing,
I am fully aware of it, but that doesn’t matter. I do it to unclutter my brain so to speak, to get whatever’s
writing groove.
Inspiration is fantastic, of course, but you can write about anything once you’ve researched the
gaining knowledge you will able to use in a pinch later down the line. I freelanced some marketing work
this summer thanks to my internship in Baltimore Style magazine (which was facilitated by another fantastic
UB English professor and Style’s Editor-in-Chief, Betsy Boyd), and I learned about topics as varying
as cultural happenings across Carroll County Maryland, getting home ready for sale, and the newest
breakthroughs in hair restoration techniques.
Writing Workshops
Workshops played an important part of my Creative Writing focus here at University of Baltimy
work with (what I thought was) the sole purpose of others’ critique. But the feedback I received
turned out to be incredibly useful for both editing my work, and practicing to always keep my intendhiding
between the sentences, encouraging me to explore unexpected feelings my writing stirred up and
to spend more time developing characters that particularly resonated with them. I found workshopping
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advantageous because I knew that when several people expressed the same sentiment about a passage, it
obviously needed addressing. I would like to encourage the reader to share her work with fellow writers.
It can only help in the long run.
I’m sure you’ve heard it before: be relentless when it comes to editing your writing. Even simply
reading what you wrote out loud can help you pinpoint the areas that need improvement or the ones that
meaning (see under: nice). Can you convey the same meaning using only one third of the words? Do
Tolstoy, very few people are going to read your 1,200-page novel.
about 500 words long and would only take about a minute and a half to read. Most people will spare that
much time on something that grabs their attention.
Give It Time
Writing is a process. It gets better with practice, and best when you give it time to ripen. Write
of days, and next week too—if you have the opportunity. Each day will bring its own insights and a new
Ana Hart is a writer and a senior in University of Baltimore’s Creative Writing Program. You can read her
blog, “Growing Pains,” at baltimoreschild.com.
Why Writing Matters?
By: Hassan Abdale
Student
University of Baltimore
B.A Digital Communication
Introduction
Why writing matters? Imagine you were a one of the smartest individuals in the world and knew
how to cure HIV/AIDS but the only problem was that you lacked the communication skills to persuade
weren’t one of the smartest individuals in the world. Writing matters because writing equips individuals
with communication and critical thinking skills. Plus, you wouldn’t be able to read this concept idea. In
this ebook, I will discuss my journey with writing and how it played a role in the stages of my life.
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fan of writing. I didn’t enjoy the preparation of writing an essay such as searching for articles and apply
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out with friends and partying till morning. I was living in a dorm, which meant I had all the freedom I
want to put the work in. Like many individuals in the world, they want plenty of success but don’t like the
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ful individuals have failed, but learned from their experiences.
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Life is a Feeling Process
you. One thing that I’ve helped me overcome failure was being honest to myself by accepting them. My
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ence others like myself to get interested in writing. All these life lessons made me excited and motivated
to enter my second year.
In my second year, I changed my major to communication. I couldn’t wait to start a new major
my time on bettering myself. Since all of my classes were full year, I focused on the early steps of writing
an essay like I learned during the summer. If we had full creative control on essays, I started with brainstorming
my idea by using Google scholar and the university’s library. Once I found my idea, I would go
to my school’s library or database to get information for my topic idea. During the year, I started to enjoy
reading books, something I wasn’t used to. My older sister who loves books always told me “if you don’t
read book, you’re dumb.” At the time, I thought she was just expressing her own love to books to me but
she was actually right. She always argued that books make you a better communicator, writer, and thinker.
By reading books, I would learn from masters like Robert Greene by emulating him then through him,
me. My grades improved tremendously, which helped myself, get enrolled at the University of Baltimore.
Everything I learned from York University and writing encouraged myself to take my talents to the University
of Baltimore. Going to the University of Baltimore meant fresh start and Iooked forward to the
challenge.
New School, New Skills
Coming to the University of Baltimore, I remained a digital communication major with a focus in
to utilize the writing lab throughout the semester. From the jump, I felt at home. I enjoyed having the
the University of Baltimore, this school taught me the most about myself as a student and a person.
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During my years at the University of Baltimore, I continue to apply the skills I learned previously,
met with my professors, and attended the writing workshop at campus. All these tools gave me the
ability to perform my full potential. For example, I’ve made the dean’s list every semester since attending
shown me to always give my all in everything I do and positive results will show.
Good writing skills are a primary asset at every stage in your life whether it’s school or your
career. In the workplace, employers place a high value on sharp writing skills. For example, employers
choose their future employees by reviewing their resume and cover letter. If your resume and cover letter
you an interview. With my experience, I applied to Morgan Stanley as an operations analyst through the
serious. For example, there was questions asking for my SAT/ACT writing portion scores, how well I can
but in your future career. During the interview, I had two one on one interviews and a group presentation.
When I gave the interviewer my resume and cover letter, they were both congratulating on how
I critically analyze how the mainstream media controls and manipulates society to follow ideologies by
giving inaccurate information. To resist media manipulation would be to understand a text’s structure
structure. With Twitter, users are restricted to 140 characters to send as tweets. Twitter was inspired by
SMS messages that only require 160 characters, but Twitter wanted to leave 20 characters for the username.
Although there have been many frustrating reviews regarding the 140 characters, it also allowed
for users to condense their stories well by getting straight to the point. Another positive is that the charidentifying
the main point of my message in a creative way. Twitter helped avoid unnecessary words by
condensing my words to build on my writing skills.
invest in is “Kurzweil 300.” It is an education platform used to provide individuals who struggle with
literacy to build on their comprehensive skills. It helped me pronounce words, check grammar, and build
on my study skills. When I study for exams, I would copy and paste my notes on a note pad, where a
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sions. I also have scanner, which scans any paper material such as documents, papers, and books to my
computer. Once the scanned document is downloaded to my computer, I’m able to transfer it to Kurzweil
for the computerized voice to read the document to me. I believed that for myself to improve my literacy
skill would require to invest in technologies to help to reach my full potential in college.
Conclusion
Overall, this ebook showed how far I’ve came as a writer. My journey with writing is an ongoing
progress that I will continue to work on everyday. Writing is one of the most important skills to have and
I believe it’s important for all individuals to practice on their writing skills to show themselves that they
are capable of doing anything they put their mind to.
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So you want to be a writer: A look into the Publishing Process
By: Sarah Boies
Do you ever look around at all the editorials, books, features, and personal essays and wonder
how the hell they got published? Wherever we look it seems that everyone is publishing something, in
fact the term published author or professional writer has seemed to become synonymous with anyone
with a blog, social media account, or personal journal.
publisher? How do you get articles published? Who do you talk to? What helps publishers take you seriwell-guarded
by published authors, who wanted no competition from fresh wordsmiths.
Incase this whole degree thing doesn’t work out; I decided to seek out the answers to these questions,
in hopes that someday I would be able to be a lucrative freelance writer. I decided to look at the
process of traditional publishing and self-publishing (both electronically and in print), to gain insight on
the tips and tricks of the trade, and seek justice for all of my fellow aspiring authors.
Getting Started
Before you are published, you are going to have to prove to agents that you are worth betting on.
you need to demonstrate that you have an audience that is willing to support you, that will follow your
push; buy your book, follow your link, promote your publication, join a community, etc. Having a Twitter
following, Public Facebook page, Instagram, personal website or blog with user statistics will all show
that you have an audience and an established name.
Getting started, create professional social media accounts and a website, and ask your friends,
family, coworkers, and family friends to follow you. Begin posting appropriate content: small updates of
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ers that you enjoy and communicate with them and they will be more willing to help promote your voice.
Traditional Publishing
aware of.
Advantages
• Designed to help writers with editing and design
• Allows writer to focus on the writing process
• Publishers have contacts with print distribution centers
• Books published through traditional publishing have ability to become critically acclaimed
• Potential to become house-hold name
• Payment Advance and Flat Fee from Publisher
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Disadvantage
• Time consuming process
• Lower acceptance rate
• Loss of creative rights and control
•
• Fewer royalty checks than Self-Publishing
But if traditional publishing seems like the right route for you, here is what you can expect to happen.
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tion houses do not accept unsolicited submissions, meaning that an agent is required to get in the door;
to the writer until publication; the agent will then take a percentage of the money given to the writer by
the publishing agency.
genre. As mentioned, agents receive a percentage of commission, so be sure to search their terms of ser
vice for “Terms of Representation” which outlines their commission in domestic and foreign sales, as well
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lished work, awards, or associations. Pay careful attention to the agencies submission requirements, as
of your agreement, your agent will work on getting a publishing agency to sponsor the book using inside
knowledge of editors.
If a publishing house decides to publish your book, the rights from the writer will be bought, and
a payment advance will be issued based on future royalties (part of which will be given to your agent).
to the public.
Self-Publishing
Self-publishing has become increasingly popular among writers, enabling them to be both writer
and publisher. With the help from top companies like Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble self-publishing
has become an easier process. One thing to note, is that self-publishing is not limited to eBooks,
there are many organizations who also specialize in print publishing. With self-publishing, it is extremely
important to look at the advantages and disadvantages before deciding whether it is the right path for you
and your work.
Advantages
•
• Possibility of larger return on investment
• Freedom of Control on cover photo, cover format, fonts, and distribution format
• You do not have to rely on an agent
• Freedom on rights and pricing
Disadvantage
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• Marketing of book is dependent on you
• Strong reliance on fan-base and following for sales
• Lack of Creditability- much harder to obtain
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layout, and look of book
• Less channels of distribution
• Writer is responsible for cost of physical copy sales, cover photos, and writer photos
If self-publishing works best for you, here is what you can expect to happen. Firstly, decide whether you
would like to publish electronically, in print, or a combination.
Electronic publication is a growing market; nearly all published books have an electronic edition
ing, because there is no cost for printing the book. And the book is usually available for sale within 24-48
availability for consumers, and (barring they have internet) can reach a larger range of audiences who
may not be able to get to a certain distribution location. However, this means that writers must focus
more on marketing, in order to boost awareness about their product. Writers must also choose to learn
formatting skills or make the decision to outsource, which can then limit future editing of the product.
When choosing electronic publication, the only cost is in the setup of the book. Depending on
the company you choose to publish with, your cost will vary. While neither hosts cost money strictly to
publish, writers should keep in mind the cost that goes into pre-publishing and the amount the server
will take from royalties. For example, Amazon requires the publisher to format their book so that it is
expect to see that cut into their initial investment. With amazon you must also provide your own cover
photo, which again adds into the initial investment. However because of these additional costs to the
costs and time that goes into pre-publishing, you will come to a decision on which company to use for
the text, setting the pricing, choosing a look, and writing a summery page to go on the about page. Each
30-60 days, you will receive a check and be able to analyze how your book is doing online.
can use the print copy as a marketing strategy by creating an online conversation where select audience
members receive a signed copy of the book. As the reader shares this information with their friends,
an author.
allows you to use their tools to create format and design, or use their professional publishing services.
print publishing through Barnes & Noble’s, users can expect to pay for the publication based on the type
of cover they choose, the length, paper color, and text/image color. All of the tools to make these choic -
es are available through setup. Like Amazon, Barnes & Noble will distribute your books through sales
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direct deposit.
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son prices (higher pricing for print and lower for electronic) which can than boost sales in the electronic
market. Readers who may have read the book and loved it, can then buy hard copies to share with friends
who may read books online (whether due to accessibility, age, or preference), further boosting sales.
Hopefully this description of the traditional publishing process and self-publishing process has
answered some of your questions about the publishing world. As students, we tend to focus on the wriṯ
ing and editing process, and completely fail to address the steps beyond; and without paying for semi -
nars, books, or associations. But with the right information and contacts, we can take the steps necessary
to break into the publishing world on our own.
Sarah Boies is a Digital Communications major. She is interested in writing, communications, and web de -
sign and hopes to pursue a career in copywriting or public relations.
Death Knell: Resume Mistakes Could Be Killing Your
Opportunities
By J. Cue
Near the end of every UB’s student’s college career, they will have enrolled in a seminar course.
Students in the Digital Communication program at the University of Baltimore will take the Seminar in
Digital Communication Course which is designed to help students simulate or complete work in their
and resumes as well as demonstrate practical experience.
Now rewind to the days of old (early in my junior year) when I had a killer resume. I mean— any
errors, and needless mistakes. Not to mention the language was downright dull. As a Digital Communi -
cations major I found it shameful that my resume was not only a killer, it had become serial. Failing to
communicate anything other than regret. Instead of giving life to my accomplishments and my goals, I
had written the obituary for my career—my resume was the ultimate dream job killer.
I’ve learned that the quickest way to kick yourself out of the competition for a job is to submit a
dull resume with littered avoidable mistakes. Amid watching my future crumble in the distance, I aṯ
use language that accurately describes my roles and contribution while focusing on future positions. I
descriptive language now listed on no more than two pages. My resume had become my advocate—com -
municating in my voice.
Career Coaches are available by appointment through UBworks.
Although Digital Communications majors are well prepared for the workforce, competition is
will notice on your resume, one of the main criteria used to qualify or disqualify you for a position. Simi -
larly, grammar errors and avoidable mistakes are the most common reason for rejection. It will serve stu
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dents well to avoid current resume and cover letter mistakes. Find creative ways to utilize your resources
stellar resumes, here are a few highlighted tips as well as couple of missteps to bypass when putting your
best foot forward.
1. Word Match
nothingness. An article on Big Interview stated Applicant tracking systems reject 75 percent of candidates.
Failing to include key terms in your resume and cover letter may result in your resume going
un-noticed. Your resume should contain the same keywords as your desired job listing. If not, you may
man hands.
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2. Eliminate errors and misspellings
Grammatical errors are the #1 resume killer according to Brad
Hoover, CEO of Grammarly, an online proofreading service. Remembering to spellcheck and proofread
seeking process. However, for better results, have your documents reviewed by someone else. E.g., a career
advisor, professor, co-worker, friend, or family member. Having someone else scan your documents
ensure you are ready to submit, free of common blunders that could cost you an interview.
Cover letters/Cover e-mails should never have abbreviations or emoticons. Using all capital letters and
text language like “lol, WTH, and Idk” have no place in professional correspondence.
3. Get to the point
Your resume is your “branding” document— you get to determine how far back it goes. However,
it’s essential to remember to limit your record to 1-2 pages. Don’t waste precious space telling your
readers about every job you’ve ever had. Focus on the relevant information. You can still demonstrate a
lengthy work history with useful formatting techniques like bullets points and short paragraphs. Illustrate
you rallied your editing team to elicit 75% more journal submissions than last year. “Consider your re-
4. View from the other side
Like most candidates, your resume may go through the applicant tracking system before it lands
on someone’s desk, and if you’re fortunate, it will eventually get viewed by a hiring manager. If that hap-
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pens, be the one who shows consideration. What would make his/her job easier when it comes to evalu -
ating you as a job candidate? Try communicating your experiences as precisely as possible. Organize and
Finally—Avoiding common resume and cover letter mistakes is about remembering the basics. Your goal
is to get your resume scanned by human eyes. Watching for these errors should not only get your resume
into human hands but hopefully land you an interview as well.
If you are concerned that your resume will extinguish your opportunities, following these tips are
an excellent starting point. Good luck!
Written by Antoinette Dais
A Detailed catalog of how to write an assignment and the process a writer goes through when writing.
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tion, and a need to succeed.
You have a writing assignment due but you have no idea what you want to write your assignment
on or what you want the topic to be. How do you come up with the inspiration to write let alone a good
procrastinated, waiting until the last moment or you were waiting for inspiration to hit you in the face
easier. Research can lead to forming an argument for your assignment and making your topic more solid,
and maybe blogs that will help you with your topic. You start typing up ideas using a spider diagrams
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erences to go through so that your ideas have solid backing and examples. But before you do that, you
have to organize all your thoughts and ideas plus make the paper interesting enough to keep your reader
involved.
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through Facebook, you come back to your paper. Now you are stuck. You are struggling with coming up
this journey that you were forced to start.
Using your amazing writing skills and remembering your time limit, you start to brainstorm some
check your citations. You also get a phone call from your best friend so you take some time to chat while
also trying to stay inspired enough to continue writing this paper.
Now it is midnight and you still have not come up with a decent ending to your paper. So what do
you do at this point? Well, look at your check list. Cry about the assignment? Check. Procrastinate until
the last moment to write said assignment? Check. Procrastinate by listening to music and watching cat
oh. FINISH YOUR PAPER! At this point you are probably bullshitting the last few sentences due to lack
of sleep or concern for your grade. You just want this paper DONE with.
Making sure all your references used are cited correctly and you avoid plagiarism. Checking for grammar
and punctuation errors that would give your reader(s) a headache. By this time, it must be 2 in the morn -
Good job. Now go to bed with your alarm clock set for 6am and get the little bit of sleep you can sneak in
Antoinette Dais is a Junior that attends the University of Baltimore. Antoinette is majoring in English and is
planning on graduating in the spring of 2018.
Digital Communication: Essential to Contemporary Marketing
Paul Didwall
My Digital Communication Reasoning
Digital Communication is one of the more popular programs at the University of Baltimore, and
yet it is one that I found almost by accident. I had initially planned on majoring in Business, with a con -
Community College (HCC).
At the community college level, there is not much in the way of specializations. Given my inter -
est in marketing and advertising, I took a slew of business classes that would prepare me to transfer to a
four-year institution and major in Business, with a focus on marketing. I truly thought this was exactly
how I wanted to proceed with my education, and it was not until my last semester at HCC that I started
degree brought to light the simple fact that a business degree was not what I actually wanted.
Having already decided on University of Baltimore for the next step in my college career, I looked
reading about the Digital Communication program, I found a few key pieces of information that helped
me make up my mind.
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to. I like to have options, and a Digital Communication gives me just that. In looking at careers in the
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Communication would be something I far more enjoyed.
What to Expect in the Professional World
In keeping with the idea that there are many career paths available within Digital Communication,
I must expand upon some of them. I am currently interning at an advertising agency, and have
found this degree to be suitable for a variety of the functions within this type of organization. For instance,
there are relevant jobs on the account management team, the social planning team, and the creative
team. Moving outside of the agency environment, there are positions in corporate communications
that tie in to a digital communication degree, and other positions that are very marketing intensive.
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ed me to this major. Marketing does not have the same edginess and excitement that is found in Digital
Communication – at least not from what I have seen. Digital Communication focuses on the fun, creative
side of marketing, and worries less about the strategic, number crunching side. Even with this in mind, it
degree path, digital communication and marketing majors alike will receive a well-rounded education, as
In talking with a senior level employee at the ad agency where I intern, she informed me that both
her and her husband were marketing majors. She went the advertising route, while her husband went into
With this, it seems that Digital Communication aligns more with advertising than a standard marketing
Some schools require students to take a plethora of theory classes, and fewer that are directly applicable
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the working world.
school has many seminars and activities for students to be involved in, but also is accommodating to
most interesting collegiate courses I’ve been involved with. So far, nothing has seemed repetitive; a fact
that is less true when looking at general electives at any school.
I can say that the Digital Communication instructors are primarily industry professionals. I attribute
much of the quality education to the fact that these are people who have not been in academia their enbest
instructions and anecdotes.
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With classes that are diverse rather than repetitive, it makes for a more well rounded education. I
tion major lists many jobs that the track will prepare you for, and I truly believe these are all options.
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thing that digital communication absolutely prepares students for. Being that I was initially on the fence
about staying in a business program or switching to digital communication, I can say with great certainty
that I made the right choice.
Paul is a digital communications major, specializing in public relations. He enjoys reading about cars and
travel, and is always listening to music when he works. Upon graduation, he hopes to pursue a career in
advertising or corporate communications.
3 Ways To Get Inspired When Writing
By: Roxy Flores
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tion whenever my mind decides to stop all work in progress.
Look at your environment
For me, it’s my environment that really gets me inspired while writing. One of the best things
about being a part of the University of Baltimore community is that there is a whole city to explore when
inspiration here then you just don’t know where to look. Being out and around can really help create a
better understanding of what you want to write and the audience you are writing for.
Here are a couple of places that I found that really help me when I’m writing:
Baby’s On Fire located on Morton Street
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fast, lunch and an assortment of drinks. While it’s worth going just for the European pastries, Stumptown
15 minute walk from UB’s campus. If you don’t want to hang out in the shop there is some outside seating.
A perfect spot for when the weather is nice.
For me, there is something about this place that always gets me thinking. I’m not quite sure if
it’s the setting or the people who go there, but many stories have been created at that shop. As a bonus,
write your papers.
Universtiy of Baltimore’s Student Center
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ular are usually quiet, making this place ideal for studying. Something else that’s nice is that there are lots
of outlets for people to plug in their phone and computer chargers.
Move around
the screen for an hour really does nothing productive. Just walking around my room can get my body
stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t walk around the area available to you. Move around, take a break,
Unplug
While writing you can get easily distracted by everything around you. Most importantly, your phone or
TV. When starting a train of thought you can easily lose it when the chime of a text message disrupts
your thinking. When trying to start a paper your mind can easily wander to whatever is on your TV.
Unplug. Put your phone on do not disturb or if you’re particularly bad at constantly checking your
of writing time.
ideas that you might want to explore. You might be surprised how much the technology around you is
something to write about.
Forget being perfect
realize is that strive for perfection can actually be hurting my writing. When I get stuck on an assignment
sometimes I have to actively remind myself that I don’t have to be perfect. Do the best you can with the
time given to you! No one expects you to write a perfect essay in three days. Once I get into this mindset
close to being a full idea, but the point is I wrote things down.
topics you might want to explore in your paper or story. Get a little messy; creativity doesn’t come from
being perfect. Finding inspiration can be one of the hardest things to do, but hopefully some of these tips
really resonate.
Roxy Flores is an English major who is interested in editing and publishing and hopes to pursue a career in
the publishing industry.
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And why it is still my career path
By: Savannah Garrison
Writing is intimately intertwined in every facet of my life. I wake up and go to work as an intern
technical writer where I assist a logistics team edit manuals and training materials. In the evenings,
I commute to the University of Baltimore where I am an English Professional Writing undergraduate
dually pursuing a Master’s degree in Publications Design. Practically every assignment handed out by my
professors involves writing of various genres, word count, and page length. Although writing is integral
to my life, it has also become the bane of my existence. Why would anyone choose to write as their profession?
My Dream
My life revolves around writing. While writing has ruined my life, it has also changed my life.
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love, and for many other moments. My parents and family members read to me when I was a toddler and
reading which has developed into an infatuation with words in general. I plan on plastering quotes and
and sayings. My passion for writing and reading have culminated into my dream of one day opening and
owning my very own bookstore. When you walk inside the doors, it will be as if you have stepped inside
the pages of a book. I envision that quotations from my favorite authors and stories will decorate the
walls, and every person who walks inside will sense my love for words like a palpable cloud.
Without Words
count requirement, I make it about 150 words in - approximately where I am right now in this post -
before all of the vocabulary I have accumulated run like wild stallions out of my mind, and ideas cease
motif found in two novels, or a lab report. Writer’s block is single handedly the worst aspect of being a
Usually that battle involves nothing intellectual. For me, it can be broken by moving away from my work,
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there.
Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is not. It is truly a gamble, and I do not like taking risks. Author
Neil Gaiman had another suggestion that I have also found useful. “Put it aside for a few days, or longer,
just me) as if you’ve never seen it before. Start at the beginning. Scribble on the manuscript as you go
about it and know what the next few words are. And you do it all one word at a time.”
To Sleep or Not to Sleep
As a night owl, maybe it is my fault that my best work is always produced at night. But I still
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lame writing. If my academic career, and therefore my future livelihood, did not depend on writing
For example, two semesters ago I had both an essay for a Shakespeare class and a biology lab report due
on a Monday. I went away for the weekend to celebrate my friend’s birthday so, as you can guess, I did
not touch those assignments. Sunday night rolls around, and I slave over those two papers until 5:30 am.
Unfortunately, I had to go to work that Monday, so I took a 30-minute power nap, made myself a cup of
to work a half day and then go home. I quickly passed out on my couch for three hours and then readied
myself for an evening class. Sleep is extremely important to me, so I am not the happiest of campers when
Moving in Slow Motion
Time. What an interesting little beasty. As I take my crisscross, applesauce position in front of
my laptop, assignment bouncing around in my head, time decides to be a little cheeky with me. I type up
all the necessary information, name, class, professor, date, assignment name, into the upper right-hand
to write, and it is no respecter of genre. Regardless if the writing is for school or my job or personal work
I cannot seem to turn up the dial on my speed of putting thoughts to paper. One possible explanation
the best technique for writing, but it has managed to see me through high school as valedictorian, maintain
a 4.0 in college, and land a sweet internship.
-
grow on me, and I am sure it will eventually become a part of my writing habits. A second factor of my
inability to master time is distraction. I do not like sitting in silence, so I almost always have either music
deterrent from the project at hand. Both of these pieces contribute to the writer I have become.
Savannah Garrison is a senior majoring in English Professional Writing and minoring in Business Management.
She is currently on track to graduate in May 2017, and will transition to a full-time technical writer
position at AASKI Technology where she has been an intern since May of 2015. In the future, she plans on
working her way into the world of editing and publishing and eventually has dreams of opening up her own
bookstore.
Its not just a shoe.
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connected with cultures, evolved into a status symbol, and most importantly attached itself onto people
making the shoe a second nature choice to many. I wanted to explore how the Jordan can be seen as
Peter C. Moore actually designed a prototype shoe called the Nike Air Ship for Michael Jordan, but later
designed for a rookie, Michael Jordan, and in many opinions started the shoe deal wave of today. When
Nike gave Jordan his own shoe many people couldn’t believe this move, but later we see the genius behind
the deal that I’m sure no one could have seen coming.
very reason, the NBA actually put a ban on the shoe but Michael Jordan still wore his shoes. In doing
$5000 every game he wore the Nike Air Ship/Jordan 1, which would have been terrible for the rookie if
Nike bloom into something great! Nike created the Banned Campaigns using the Jordan 1 which only
grabbed the shoe more attention, thus the release of the shoe to the public in 1985 in multiple colorways.
to the stores to purchase the shoe that retailed at only $65 compared to today’s $140-$220. Due to the low
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better than the normal canvas material shoes skaters were used to. Nike created a shoe for one sport that
Honestly, art in general, is always seen as this sense of rebellion and this was the creation of a new genre
in that rebellion. Looking at this current point in time and to the future, it looks like the Jordan 1 will
always be a staple in society and the culture no matter what.
that many use as inspiration. For me when it comes to design, something that is created with propose but
one set of rules and can be used in so many ways, thus making it stronger is something the Jordan Brand
established with the AJ1.
against following the norm and is the result of one’s emotions, feeling, observations, experiences, and so
and most designs have a unique representation that developed into more versions of the original. Both
20

-
ness of a player and fans, emerged as the underdog and won, and gives people a feeling of victory, freedom,
and the feeling of being able to accomplish the unmeasurable.
Baltimore. He was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and looks to gain his bachelors next semester. Once he
graduates he plans on pursing his Masters locally. He specializes in publication layout design, graphic design,
believes once someone can communicate genuine content the world is theirs for the taken.
Writing Blah Blah Blah for Yourself:
My Five Ways to Getting into the Writing Mode
Written by LeQuita C. Harrison
Every step she took towards the cave the heavier the air grew. Sweat dribbled down her temples
and the sword in her grip suddenly felt too light as she approached the unknown. Just a foot away from
the shadows that reached out for her, a low growl slithered ice through her veins. Whatever sat within
Sometimes that’s how I feel when obstacles suddenly pop up in my life of professional and creative writing.
Doubt starts to unravel and I am stuck between decision- making or problem-solving. When I’m
writing a fantasy story I may come across writer’s block and not know where to take my main character.
It is similar in my professional writing as an intern for the Johns Hopkins University Press, making sure
the information in a journal’s article is correct to continue for publishing.
Writing has its perks. It can be enjoyable, informative, or plain uneasy. Regardless of the direction
you wish to go, remember creative writing is just that- creative.
You may have read or watched interviews of great authors who some say ‘write to please people’
towards the latter. I always tell myself when I’m indulged in my fantasy book-in-progress, “LeQuita, if
you’ve been caging up inside like that dragon who can sing or your theories about Area 51 cover ups.
Weird? But who cares.
Here I will give you a few personal ways on how I prepare myself to getting into the writing mode.
Find a place you feel most comfortable.
“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”
- Mark Twain
Is it a library where you can hear a pin drop? Is it at a café where there’s people and the great
sit down, and write. Well, you don’t have to go at this exact moment, but go to that comfort place to free
your mind.
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a mile a minute. Sometimes whenever I’m on the campus of University of Baltimore, where I am studying
for an English Degree in Professional Writing, I like to sit in the Student Center’s Quiet Room which has
a fantastic view and nice lounges that helps me focus.
Eat or Listen to Music
Pizza loaded with green peppers, onions, mushrooms, black olives, peperoni, sausages, and extra
tomato sauce. Nachos and tortilla chips. A family size bag of Doritos. A bowl of cheesy pasta slathered in
why not eat while you write?
I enjoy eating. It comes second to my passion for writing. When I’m not eating, I am writing, and
when I’m not writing, I’m eating. Don’t be ashamed, if that is how you can concentrate. Again, do something
that keeps your mind active, and alert, yet in peace.
“We are a thousand miles from comfort. We have traveled land and sea, but as long as you- WRITINGare
with me, there’s no place I’d rather be…” (I’d Rather Be by Clean Bandit). Here is a peaceful upbeat
song, one of many I enjoy listening too while I write. From Tasha Cobbs to Bruno Mars, music has always
Read what you like
“Write. Rewrite. When not writing, or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.” —Larry L. King
If you don’t read, how will you learn anything? Take advantage of the moment to sit back and
relax and while you are at it, butcher the book, magazine, or article. What do I mean? While you read,
highlight, or take notes on your favorite quotes, lines, parts, chapters, or even characters so later you can
Do research as well because having knowledge about the genre or style of publication you are
writing may depend on what you learn. Make sure you do not let this preside over your own style and
imagination, because this is a very easy trap to fall into. I have learned from many author interviews that
that take a break and write down your wishes, goals, and ideas for your work and stick to that for a while.
Or simply just pick up your favorite publication and read it for pleasure.
Just Write It
—Joyce Carol Oates
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a cliché but a true one. Take the time to write your stories, your articles, your essays, your poems, or that
surprised on how much you can accomplish when you refrain from over editing your work.
Take Breaks
author of “Why Your Life Sucks
reduce writer’s block which are the devil incarnated to us writers and can reduce stress. Everyone faces a
period of stress in some point of their life, especially, when your daily task involves mental cooperation.
Go on a trip to Hawaii or around the corner at the new Rainbows clothing outlet to let your mind take a
breather.
Many people enjoy rock climbing, reading books, spending time with family and friends, or just
staying wrapped in the comforters eating an ice cream cone. Your mind is a treasure of gold, so protect
crazy. So, stop what you’re doing for a while and take a break. Go to sleep for an hour and wake up prepared
to journey on.
“I think all writing is a disease. You can’t stop it.”
—William Carlos Williams
are bold and challenge themselves can succeed in whatever is their heart’s desire. Don’t worry about the
time that sulks by or the many people who dislikes your work, because at the end of the day it’s all about
you. You control what you write. You control what you think and what you imagine. You control the eyes
you want to shock and you control the smile upon your face. Write blah blah blah for yourself and watch
the world bow at your feet.
LeQuita C. Harrison is an English in Professional Writing major who is interested in professional and crelequitacharrison.wordpress.com.
Visual Marketing Strategies
Cynthia Hunter
In this day and age, people have a jumbled sense of why branding and marketing are so important,
so I feel the need to set the record straight!
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Listen Up: 90% of the information our brain process is visual. It’s no shocker that online success
really boils down to getting viewers to pause. You need to move people in a way that intrigues them
enough to want to learn more. Be that moment that catches the audience’s attention or that “thing” they
stop long enough to take notice of. And what is it that’s causing them to pause, you asked? You guessed it,
visual content!
want to stand out in the online world. You do want that, right? Yes, I thought so. To help you on your
journey to instantly recognizable status, I’ve gathered together the best visual marketing strategies for
your social media or blogs, in one place so you can gorge yourself on a heaping serving of visual amazingness.
Our eyes are overwhelmed with text!
We’ve become a society that’s too busy to invest in devouring words as a means of communication.
It’s why we shorten everything to acronyms. It’s why we rely on scanning headlines and sub-headlines
as means of determining if deeper exploration is warranted. Being swallowed in a sea of bright lights
even realizing it. More than ever, visuals are superior form of ‘pattern interrupt’ to the textual and bright
light ridden overwhelm of this technological era. Without realizing it we’ve come to rely on visuals to
communicate with one another.
And why not? I mean, if a picture can say in a brief moment what it takes 1,000 words to convey, why
wouldn’t we?
fraction of the time reading text would take. Visuals are the least inhibited way we have of conveying our
message, while simultaneously being the easiest for others to consume.
For these reasons, among many others, visuals have become an intricate piece of business success.
and time again with each new visual-based social platform that shows up and quickly grows in popularity.
Pinterest got the ball rolling but Vine, Instagram, Snap Chat, SlideShare and others that have sprung
about in the past couple of years are capitalizing on the same premise.
Visuals garner more attention!
surprising seeing as 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual.
of videos or images.So let’s get real, you’d be a fool not to leverage them to build awareness for your
keting strategies in your business. True story!
Who better to learn from than the legends already out there dominating the visual scene.
I reached out to 5 visually savvy bloggers and online superstars at University of Baltimore and asked
them:
-
“What’s your favorite visual marketing strategy and why?”
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YOU can bring this strategy to life for your brand.
Jane
Visual Marketing Strategy: Templates for all my visuals
Tools Used: Canva & Pic Monkey
Why: I recently was talking to Cynthia – I invested in her one on one brand mentorship – and one of her
recommendations was that I create 7 templates in Canva or PicMonkey to use for all of my social media
• It saves time
• I don’t have to be creative every time I make a new visual
• I know my visuals will look awesome
• My brand is represented consistently everywhere I have an image
Jill
Visual Marketing Strategy: Twitter Lead Generation Cards to increase email newsletter sign ups
Tools Used: Mail Chimp (or other newsletter service)
Why: I use Twitter lead generation cars to boost the number of relevant sign ups to my email newsletter.
cantly.
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Mike
Visual Marketing Strategy: Multiple “pins” per post
Tools Used: Pinterest, Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop
Why: I started creating multiple pins (graphics used on Pinterest) for the same post as an experiment. I
was trying to see what type of pins performed better than others + discover my style. What I found in the
Mary
Visual Marketing Strategy: Add branded logo on every blog image
Tools Used: Canva
Why: I really like this strategy for three main reasons:
• For brand recognition on all social platforms for visual consistency
• It helps me to stand out on a Pinterest user’s home feed, I’m instantly recognizable
• A powerful, obvious signature look helps prevent my work from being stolen
Adrian
Visual Marketing Strategy: My visual Marketing Strategy is using beautiful, pinnable images with my blog
post titles
Tools used: I use a mixture of Photoshop, Canva, and PicMonkey as well as gorgeous fonts and graphic
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kits
Why: It’s my favorite strategy because my images usually catch people’s attention on Pinterest which in
Hand claps to this great resource!
Seriously, if you want to grow your business and reach new levels of success do yourself a favor.
Choose one of these strategies right now and go for it. You’ve got no excuse!
entrepreneurial dream. Choose the right visual special sauce for your business and drizzle it all over your
brand.
Cynthia Hunter is a senior Digital Communications student at University of Baltimore. Hailing from Bal
timore City, Cynthia uses the people and environment surrounding her in her everyday life. Cynthia’s sole
-
purpose in life is creating jewelry and using it as a tool for women empowerment. Her current obsessions
include noise canceling headphones, rose quartz crystals, and tree hugging. Cynthia strives to get an excellent
education inside and outside of the classroom.
By Justin A. Johnson
As a kid I had a many problems to deal with: cleaning up my room, taking the trash out, going to
school and listening to my teacher. One might say that at the time I was a child that had a bit to deal with,
I know I would. However, no matter how many bags of trash my father made me take out, or how long
I had to sit pretzel position listening to my teacher talk about whatever I should have been listening to,
of us see as a job, particularly if you are a student or an individual who writes for a living. Yet, the essence
of writing allows you to indulge yourself in your day-to-day fantasies by expressing yourself freely on a
piece of paper, or on a computer.
through middle school, high school, and now my years at the University of Baltimore. I realize the thera
peutic processes of writing that you gain for a lifetime. Furthermore, just from my own experiences with
-
writing, I have noticed what writing has done for me and could certainly do for you:
• Release tension.
Physicians around the world proved that people tend to hold more tension in their shoulders and
back. Nonetheless, I believe that we hold most of our stress in our brain. When we are stressed, we release
by Canadian Biochemist in 1936 named Hans Seyle. His ideology proved that when we humans experi
ence fear, panic, or stress our sugar levels along with our awareness, and heart rate increases rapidly. And
-
though you might assume that this is a good thing (and it could be at times), it does depression, weight
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should put time in your schedule once a day to write down any thought you have, or anything that has
been bothering you consistently; just to release that built up tension on you brain muscles.
• Figuring out the problem.
Writing down your emotions or your tangled thoughts can help you liberate any built up tension
that is having a nice nap on your mind. However, that is not the only great thing that writing does.
Russian-American novelist Ayn Rand stated, “Words are a lens to focus one’s mind,” which is quite true.
Each word you decide to make a part of your story is jotted down because, that word means something
-
ly how you feel, and sometimes you stumble across a feeling that you probably did not know you had.
• It can help you recover memories.
Most of the time when you write, you may come across a sentence/word that sticks out to you; It
may bring about a memory. Although, not all memories are amiable, recalling something from the past
-
ful in my everyday life not just as student, but also as an ordinary person. I have dealt with little to no
stress and have always learned something about myself each time I write. Writing is an activity that does
not require an excessive amount of time. It is a process that does require you to be honest with yourself.
an individual. In one of his studies, participants were asked to write for 15-30 minutes for 3-5 days; some
illustrated that people who wrote about their emotions experienced better mental and physical health
compared to individuals who did not.
-
ers in the late 20th century said, “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” We have
to get back the reality where a pen is more deadly than a sword, to the extremity where words are louder
-
thors, bloggers, copy editors, freelancers, even people who job does not require them to write. Moreover,
writing styles you can scope out while still gaining aid of writing therapeutically:
1. Free Writing.
Normal prose that allows you to form ideas without any formal/academic writing structure. With
this formation of writing your thoughts are your playground.
2. Poetry.
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haiku, limerick, ballad, sonnet, etc.
3. Letters.
We live in the era of technology now, so when it comes to a good ole letter from the heart it may
self a pat on the back here and there.
Are you motivated now to write your way to that dreamland of yours, where there are no prob
-
lems awaiting you? You have the power, the strength and the urgency to improve your life by simply writ
-
helps you relax. Go ahead and give writing a try.
-
Justin Alexander Johnson is a junior at the University of Baltimore who is majoring in English. Justin is an
Johnson believes that anything is possible if you are willing to work hard and become the best-unknown
version of yourself.
audience
Be especially mindful of the don’ts!
By Henry Kenny
Imagine starting your own business. You already went through the process of brainstorming,
creating a business plan, and getting the necessary permits. Now you’re ready to create buzz about your
those in your neighborhood. Posting an ad is also a great idea but very likely outside your budget. So, the
last option is… Social Media.
that would be interested in your content. If you’ve ever been on Facebook, I’m sure you’ve seen advertise
-
ments for an item you may have googled once just an hour before. Let’s say you’re on Amazon looking for
-
while also promoting your brand. I will be covering Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram. I will go more in
depth into the power of hashtags, gifs, and geotagging.
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Tumblr
Tumblr is that somewhat hidden gem. Not a lot of people know about it or use it but at the same time,
the website has millions of users. It is even used by major companies and celebrities for various reasons.
Beyonce, for example, uses the website to post pictures from her travels and daily life. It is seldom used
to interact back and forth with fans. Another example is the major restaurant chain Denny’s. They
adopting the same humor as the users of Tumblr usually have.
best move. Instead, you should consider making posts that are more serious. For example, you could answer
questions regarding the law and steps to get a lawyer. As for posts, you could provide tips for certain
legal issues and resources that could help whatever their situation may be. A good idea would be to post
the resources on your main website then post a link onto the Tumblr blog so that interested viewers will
inevitably check out your website and learn about your resources.
Tumblr has a lot of features that really maximize engagement including a post feature that lets you
post quotes. You can also post videos, photos, gifs, audio, and chats. Tumblr is a very versatile website
Twitter
Twitter is the 3rd most used social media site in the world. With nearly 310,000,000 monthly
users it’s no surprise it’s one of the main places to see targeted ads. Twitter is the ultimate place to blog
and get information out to people in real time. Used by almost anyone that’s anyone, interactions happen
literally every second.
For businesses & brands, this place is great to talk with clients, consumers, customers, and fans.
Another way to utilize twitter posts is just by tweeting about your brand and what you have to
restaurant you may want to tweet pictures of what your food looks like with a caption that reads, “Fresh
which is a hashtag-driven medium. People do check out the hashtags to see what other people are saying
Instagram
Instagram & Facebook, these two social media behemoths are run by the same people and most
likely consume 90% of your social media time. On Instagram, you have the chance to look into the world
of celebrities, YouTubers, that old friend from high school, and pages solely dedicated to someone’s pet
hedgehog. All in all, it opens you to a world outside of your usual space, and it comes with pictures!
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In order to successfully utilize Instagram, you’re going to need followers. In order to gain followers,
you’re going to have to follow people, consistently post content, and use hashtags. Hashtags on Instagram,
your brand. Speaking from experience, the more tags & hashtags the better. Also giving a greeting or like
to other users will let them know you exist.
Do not use services to buy followers. Yes, you will gain followers but they will not really engage
your service. It’s a waste of money. For added exposure use geotagging, which allows you to add the location
of where you took the picture. If someone is looking for your service in your area, they’ll see your
post and check out your page!
Conclusion
Before going out into the world of social media throw away everything you know about writing.
When I got to college I had to get rid of the typical essay writing style that was drilled into my skull since
their isn’t much room for creativity. I understand it may be hard to break out that habit but once you do,
you’ll feel so much better and creative. In order to write professionally or just for social media, your writyour
business, whether that’s fun, serious, or witty. Just make sure you have the ability to diversify your
writing style. Posting to Social Media shouldn’t be a tedious and boring task, have fun!
Henry Kenney, III is a Digital Communications (PR Specialization) major who is interested in Social Media
and hopes to pursue a career in Public Relations.
Variations of Design
How Design is Used in Creating Plans!
By: Diane Lane
Usually when people think of design they think of creative styles or patterns. However, there are
a lot of things associated with design. Design is the creation of a plan or assemblage of an item, system or
measurable human interaction. For example, Architectural blueprints, business process etc. In Particular,
the project, set goals for the weeks to come, and determine metrics for success.”
Blueprints:
require the creativity that you think of when you say the word “design.” people also associate the word
“design” with being cool. Blueprints are cool! For instance, because blueprints are made using a contact
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However, not only are blueprints cool, but they are very helpful. Particularly, if you ever get the urge for
home renovations you should look at your blueprint to see what kind of space your working with, and so
you do not mess up the current electrical system in your endeavors.
Business Process:
A business process is also another form of design, because it includes plans and design elements
-
chart requires one of the design elements; drawing. If you can draw you can use your creative abilities to
Engineering Drawing:
Engineering drawing is another interesting type of design, because it also includes drawing, an
element of design. Particularly, with engineering drawing you can also use your creative design talents
from one mind to another.” Interesting
isn’t it!
My Experience:
direction I would like to go with the project. Also, when writing I also make sure I use the “Design think-
When people hear design they think of creative styles or patterns. However, design involves, “the
creation of a plan or convention for the construction of an object.” So you can create objects using design.
Pottery:
Who doesn’t love pottery? Pottery involves forming clay into an item of your choice. In Particular,
of the clay and a quiet atmosphere is quite relaxing. If you ever want to relax while also being artistic. Design
is used in pottery, because you are creating something. Usually before you form the clay into whatclay
down into even slabs you can use that or using the wheel to “throw” the clay in a spinning motion.
Graphic Design:
Usually when people hear graphic design they don’t think of the physical aspect of it they just
think of logos on the web. However, graphic design involves various categories. One of them being editorial
design. Within editorial design there are magazines, newspapers and books.
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-Magazines
We all know what magazines are, and have enjoyed reading them at some point. Even if you only
read magazines to pass time. Particularly, if you have to you the restroom or when waiting in the dentist
a part in all of them. Magazines are obviously a creation of design just in words on a physical page that
you can touch. Using the design approach, you also have to plan out how you want the information in a
magazine to be displayed.
-Newspapers
Newspapers do not tend to attract younger audiences unless they include word searches or comics. In
fact, because newspapers tend to be factual based. We generally associate them with our grandparents. Or
an adult that would like to know important things that are going on in the world. Magazines tend to be
more “gossipy” which of curse attracts the younger generation, because they are more concerned with being
cool, knowing what’s popular and what celebrities are up to. Newspapers have editors like magazines
and it also involves a planning process. For example, what’s going to be on the front page! what will catch
everyone’s attention! Of course just like magazines newspapers have to go through the process of being
printed. Also, newspapers tend to use cheap paper like newsprint.
-Books
made of cardboard covered in cloth or leather and are usually sewn together. Paperback books have cov-
-
As you can see Design is more than creative styles or patterns, and is used in many things that we commonly
use!
Diane Lane is a talented student at University of Baltimore. Diane is currently in the progress of obtaining
her Bachelors in Digital Communications. Her interests include decorating, reading, music, and traveling.
Later on, she hopes to pursue a career in Interior Design.
Oh, no! Not Writer’s Block!
By Taylor Lynn
Writer’s block, the bane of any writer’s existence. Every writer dreads this moment because it
means that they are at a standstill; nothing seems to be coming out. It’s an unfortunate part of being a
writer, and while some don’t want to admit it, it does in fact, happen to everyone eventually. It’s simple
32

forms of writer’s block and a few possible solutions for each one:
• Ready, Set, Blank…
Sometimes the ideas just won’t come no matter how much you want it to. You end up staring at
beginning, middle or right around the end.
Solutions:
just what you need to get inspired.
-Force yourself to write something. It doesn’t matter what it is just start writing, Maya Angelou
herself said, “What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not
it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.’” Sometimes just going
through the motions of writing can get the brain ticking.
-Start at the end or the middle! Starting can be hard so at times when you know where you want
• Brain Overload!
And at other sides you can have too many ideas to count. When this happens it came become stressful to
choose.
Solutions:
-Bullet point all your ideas from best to worst.
keeper and what will run you into a dead-end soon.
• But Everything must be Perfect!
When you work hard on something whether you admit it or not you want everything to be perfect;
whether it’s the perfect word or sentence, only thing that seems to matter is that it must be perfect!
Being a perfectionist is rough, and can make the writing process even harder at times.
Solution:
can always change it later.
-
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• Lost in the Outline
Solutions:
-Keep writing, even if it might mean it takes longer for you to get to your point sometimes you
swer. Just because it’s not what you originally planned doesn’t mean it’s bad.
-
• Mic Drop Fail
look at it, it doesn’t seem nearly as good as you thought it would.
Solutions:
-Re-evaluate the idea. Just to remember why you thought it was a great idea and work from there.
-Talk it out with someone. Saying it out loud or having someone ask questions can help you realize
what you need to executive your idea better or make you realize why it wasn’t as good as you thought.
Writing A Little More Every Day
By Taylor Lynn
have for it. Sometimes it can feel like taking out the trash, you know you need to replace it but instead
you wait until it’s almost spilling out to do it. While writing can be taxing once you get started it can be
all the gross running. So here are some tips to make the process less hairy-grabby:
1. Take a deep breath. Worrying about it will not make it go faster, in fact, it will only make things
more stressful.
2. -
ter you eat? Or at two a.m. when the world is quiet. I found that I write the best in the mornings. Whenever
this moment of the day comes try to take a moment and write something down.
3.
every day or at the same place. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, do it anyways. Try to repeat these patterns
every chance you get that way before you know it, it will become a habit and you’ll soon be doing it
on a regular basis.
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4. Write whatever comes to mind. Even if it’s not the exactly what you want to say, write it down.
can edit unnecessary things later. Whenever I’m having a hard time with a paper for class I do this. I go
5. Never go back. At least not while you are still writing. Sometimes you’ll want to re-read the paragraph.
DON’T. Resist the urge. All this will do is make you groan over all the mistakes you make so for,
-
6. When you hit a rut work on something else. Sometimes you just can’t think of anything on your
subject and that’s okay! When that happens open a new page and write about something else. Sometimes
a change of pace is exactly what you need.
7. -
ishing a whole writing project, reward yourself for putting the enough in. You deserve it!
Taylor Lynn is an English major who is interested in writing and hopes to pursue a career in Publishing.
Writing to be a Millionaire
How University of Baltimore Helped me Monetize My Writing Skills
By: Amanda Marquez
I absolutely love reading and writing, and to make money I always told myself I would become a
content writer, or write SOPs for a major corporate company. What I was simply trying to do was transnot
even know I had a passion for writing, I just knew journalism interested me, but when I got accepted
to Pennsylvania State University College of Communications at University Park and tuition was 40,000
a year, I had to rethink that. Not because It was impossible but if I was investing that much money in
school it better be for something that I actually want to do. I quickly changed my major to English. Although,
I did not know exactly what I wanted to do, I knew that was the major with which I wanted to
invest my money.
I worked some odd jobs while attending Penn State, but when I transferred to University of Baltimore,
they made it a little easier for full time working students; therefore, felt I could handle a full time
“real world” job, and I applied as “Director of HR and Communications at a larger corporate company
-
cided to take the job, but I gave myself a year, by the time I graduated at University of Baltimore, I would
-
ated for you, create your own space in the world. Break barriers and prove to the world, you can do what
35

you love and make money doing it.
University of Baltimore helped greatly and opened my eyes to how my writing skills could be
-
working events and the English department is very well rounded.When I went to Penn State I learned a
lot of skills, how to write business proposals, APA format, analyzing texts, focusing on themes and more
whereas University of Baltimore helped me to apply these skills to real world jobs and scenarios, while
also teaching me more skills along the way. Now, I work directly with the CEO and can essentially learn
how to be a CEO while using my communication and english skill learned at both Penn State and University
of Baltimore. One major tip for English graduates: Do not be afraid to go outside of your comfort
virtually anything. I am learning HR but, I realize without my english degree, It would be really hard to
successfully do 60 percent of my job description.
What I am doing now is stepping stone to where I want to be, so do not disregard the “nonsense”
jobs.I took my writing skills and have founded my own blog and am now creating a platform to reach
women world-wide. I am now exploring ways to best monetize my writing, and I did that with the help
of University of Baltimore. I applied my passion of writing to my passion of helping and have created a
a youtube channel which has proven to make a lot of money if you have a lot of views as seen with the
many “Youtube famous” stars that completely quit their day job to pursue blogging, or the now contemporary
term: vlogging. As long as you are driven you can make any passion lucrative, just have to be
smart and driven to do so.
You do not have to be 100 percent great at what you love, you just have to have the drive and
dedication to get there. I met a woman who became a millionaire that graduated from University of
Baltimore with a liberal arts degree. Writers are creative, magnanimous, and analytical, which is why we
I have learned that a lot of the awesome “writing jobs” are hidden under names or titles that you would
not search in a typical Craigslist search for a job. To be honest some of the best writing jobs out there are
not tiled “writing jobs” or something similar. Some of the best jobs out there will challenge not only your
writing skills but your people skills, communication skills, and ultimately will make you a well rounded
human being.
Monetizing your writing skills is possible, and can lead to being very lucrative. You just have to
have drive, to do it, and University of Baltimore has greatly helped me with that.
Amanda Marquez Undergraduate Student
College of the Liberal Arts
Senior
“I am an outgoing, curly head with a lot drive! I am a senior at University of Baltimore, and plan to one day
in my family to graduate college in 2017. If I can do it, so can you!”
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By Denise McAllister
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ing a work, school, and home life balance as well as learning new technology that did not exist when the
two-decade absence. I spoke with other students with similar experiences and discovered that my situation
was not unique. It is my hope that this article can help other older students who are returning to
college (or just starting) to meet and overcome these obstacles.
-
low students, Bilal Bahar and Colleen Williams this was true for them as well. Each of us faced our own
personal insecurities with the education system in order to continue with the academic process. Bilal,
Colleen and I are Interdisciplinary Studies (IDIS) majors here at UB. Like many older returning students,
we had a diverse set of interests and experiences and it was hard to pick a precise major so the IDIS proin
my other courses.
students in the same academic program. Rarely does any one IDIS student focus on the same three disciplines
so we see each other in some classes over a few semesters but with less continuity than do those in
we each share some of the same disciplines, our academic paths rarely connect otherwise.
We each have business as a core discipline but I have never shared a business class with either
Colleen or Bilal. Colleen and Bilal both have Community Studies and Civic Engagement as a core discipline
and have more of a relationship but they are not on the same academic path. Bilal has already started
to use his educational experience to move into the social entrepreneurial arena. He started a youth
empowerment foundation, EVOLVE, that already works in some schools in Baltimore County Maryland.
Bilal’s Story
Bilal’s story is powerful. He is a Baltimore native who graduated from Forest Park High School in
1992. Despite graduating, he states that his education was mediocre due to athletic prowess on the footcollege
until a life-changing trip to Nigeria in 2006. He found on that trip that he was not able to maintain
a proper intellectual conversation with his conference peers because of his lack of education and
experience. He also wanted to continue to mentor youth in his community but he lacked structure and
support from local agencies.
Beginning very simply at Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) Essex in 2006, he was
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was a huge obstacle as he explained that he brought that fear and anxiety to the classroom early in the
process. He was resistant to the authority of the professors but needed those professors and peer tutoring
centers because of his academic challenges. It took time for Bilal to advance through some academic
prerequisites at the community college level. He did advance, graduate and transferred to UB. He uses his
core disciplines to advance his foundation and he works as a consultant in the local entertainment induschange
rapidly and new operating systems can be frustrating for those of us who had to learn how to
use them versus younger students that use technology intuitively. Bilal stood up in our capstone class to
to submit work and asked for patience and assistance.
Colleen’s Story
City Community College (BCCC) in that discipline. She transferred to UB but chose the IDIS curriculum
Colleen is a native of Trinidad, graduating from a traditional compulsory school there in 1997.
-
pleting her studies at the community college and will graduate this spring. Colleen’s major obstacle has
that doing well is important to her on a personal level because of her depression and anxiety. Academically
she feels comfortable but the classroom presentations are more challenging. She also struggles with
maintaining a school, work, and life balance that can sometimes be exhausting.
My Own Path, the Journey of a Late Bloomer
I began my college career in the 1980’s but had little direction. I raised a family and decided to
return when my daughter dropped out of a four-year school hoping that it would motivate her to work
harder. She joined the Navy and I motivated myself! It has been a challenge to maintain personal relationships,
work full-time, and attend school full-time. I agree with Colleen, it is exhausting! I have been
insecurities and struggle to maintain balance as well!
I had to take a remedial math class having forgotten most of my high school algebra. I was also
required to take classes not invented until this century. One of those classes was a computer literacy
requirement that has proven to be one of the most important of my prerequisites. I learned operating
system basics and to understand technology vocabulary that I previously believed was too complicated
38

when presenting my capstone project last semester. I would urge new and returning students to take a
similar class upon returning to school.
I was still not comfortable with technology but that foundation course helped me take other
steps to learn newer programs and platforms as my academic career proceeded. I do have issues keeping
current with the newer technology as it changes so rapidly. I am usually a platform behind! Fortunately, I
had a great primary education that allowed me to write well but I had not done formal research in many
love the online access available to UB students. It makes academic research work so much easier. Research
was my least favorite part of writing when I began but now I enjoy the process. Having become
-
and editing a paper.
I chose the IDIS academic path because of its diversity and believed that it would provide me with
a more balanced education as an older student. I gained numerous advantages as an IDIS major. I have
-
path were I to do it all over again. I would major in English or Digital Communication. In the beginning,
the word digital frightened me. I thought that it was too complicated but it just means I am doing
IDIS curriculum.
I would urge returning students to complete the computer literacy requirement before they transas
COSC 100, Introduction to Computer Technologies. It is important to get comfortable with technology
before discounting its advantages. It is a digital world that we live in and we do not have to fear it. It
is not that scary once we master the technology and mastering my own personal bias and insecurity was
will assist me as I make a career transition in the middle of my life.
Denise McAllister is an Interdisciplinary Studies major at UB graduating in December 2016. She hopes to
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dening, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
College Cubbies
Where to write, study and eat at the same time.
By Teresa Morgan
In the midst of your hectic life as a college student, do you sometimes have to forgo a meal to
campus to do both – have breakfast, lunch, or dinner while writing or going over your notes without
-
39

here is that the area is sometimes used by student organizations, so it’s best to inquire at the information
desk in the lobby if an event is scheduled there. If the booths are occupied, there are many smaller tables
with chairs and a few near electrical outlets where you can charge your laptop or phone.
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ter. It’s smaller than the student center areas, but more secluded and much quieter. An additional perk is
-
tor and keep walking.
* Perfect Place #3 is outside the back door of the theatre room (308) in the Liberal Arts and Policies
needs silence to study.
able sofas with large tables to hold everything while you eat and write.
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* Perfect Place #5 suits the student who needs to be completely alone to study. It’s near room 218 in the
one table with four chairs. All yours if you get there at the right time.
301, 302 and 304.
ness. It’s large, airy, well-lit and has sofas, booths, tables, chairs, plus snack and drink machines.
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* Perfect Place #11 for students who appreciate luxury and choices, the Angelos Law School Building
lots of tables and chairs and if you want to enjoy great weather, use the outdoor patio. A computer desk is
a short walk down the hall.
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beyond the Café.
* Perfect Place #13, also found in the ALSB, is a cubby with one table and chair to the right of the elevator
are long counters with stools overlooking the lobby.
* Perfect Place #15 and I do mean perfect, is a picturesque patio with waterfalls and a multitude of tables
40

the ALSB. A short trot down a staircase and you’re in student nirvana for studying, writing, and eating.
Who could ask for more?
Good Writing ≠ Good Writer
By Steven Scott
You should write more… I hope you read that in your 70-year-old grandma voice then screamed,
“It’s 2016, learn how to text!” And now I hope you feel bad because she probably has some form of arthritis,
and it’s just not that easy for her. Anyway, you should write more… but have you ever heard of nerd
they want $150, and I probably wouldn’t do it anyway.
being a writer, that cute ‘puppy getting distracted by a squirrel’ routine isn’t going to cut it.
Sure, everyone has their stories about how they waited until the last minute to do something, but
more absurd and the word count grows exponentially.
We’ve pretty much made stalling an art. At this point, writers have made a larger contribution to
We showcase our lack of focus and time management like it’s a Pulitzer. I blame high school.
1. Nobody really teaches you the organizational skills needed to handle the increased responsibil-
-
work that needs to be done now. Your friend needs to talk now. You’re trying to handle the present, who
they hell has time to worry about a paper due in two-weeks.
2. It’s kind of cool to be the kid who can get an A on a four-page essay you did the night before.
Your classmates may give you shit about it, but there’s a level of respect there. You’re the kid who can
write.
Fast-forward to college, and again, nobody really bothered to reinforce that foundation of good
habits you need at this higher level. It’s cool though, you’re the kid who can write. You’re majoring in
English. You’re gonna be good.
And, in fact, you are good. It may take you a little longer, but you’re still able to get by with elev-
41

I’m just now building my platform. I had my reasons why it took me so long; my kids, my military career,
and even my education took precedence. I needed a stable income for my family, I needed to dedicate
myself to bettering my soldiers, and I needed to improve my understanding of literature and form to be
successful. All bullshit of course.
My kids are older, my rank is higher, and my classes are harder, but nothing about my situation
has really changed except my perception. And I have my time at the University of Baltimore to thank for
that. Out of everything I’ve learned here from understanding proper form to expanding creative thought,
the most important take away I have is this:
If you love writing the way you say you do, treat it with some respect. If you plan on making it
your profession, take that shit seriously now. Don’t wait until you third year of college to start creating the
structure you’ll need to produce consistently.
when you say you want to be a writer, it’s probably because you haven’t been taking care of business. So…
Stop daydreaming and letting yourself get hypnotized by the blinking cursor on a blank page.
Stop checking your Instagram, your Facebook, and the delivery status of your last Amazon order. Stop
making excuses about why you don’t have time. Learn how to focus and produce before you end up the
most well-written assistant manager at Wal-Mart, Target if you’re lucky.
Have a Plan
A lot of aspiring artists seem to think planning is creative kryptonite. We want freedom and spontaneity,
but the truth is, you have to plan for that. Whether you’re working on character or career development,
you have to have some idea of what you’re trying to accomplish.
What’s your story about? If can’t answer that question in a sentence or two, you haven’t put the
proper thought into your story. Your story outline, however, should be way more than that elevator pitch.
doll of outline ideas, and there are plenty of other resources out there as well including mobile apps.
http://self-publishingschool.com/11-ways-outline-book/
Your characters have direction, but how about you? Where do you see your self in 2 years? How
about 5 years? What do you want from your career? How do you reach your audience and build your
online platform? Will to try to self-publish? Do you need an agent? Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
I got overwhelmed just typing all that. It’s a lot to think about, but a career plan can really help
you put all of these things in perspective. Below are some links I found helpful, but again, these are just a
drop in the bucket.
http://writersinthestormblog.com/2016/02/design-your-writing-career-from-the-top-down/
https://hollylisle.com/designing-your-writing-career/
https://janefriedman.com/business-plans-for-writers/
http://www.macgregorliterary.com/blog/ask-agent-create-career-plan-writer/
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thing down, and put it someplace where you have to look at it everyday.
-
Manage your Time
it comes to managing your time, the most important things to remember are prioritization and assessment.
Take one day and write how you spend each half hour block of time. You can say that writing is
have to plan your schedule around what’s most important to you and set deadlines to help keep you on
schedule for you.
https://medium.com/the-year-of-the-looking-glass/the-sanctity-of-your-calendar-f96415b-
6f3ea#.uusbpujc2
http://calnewport.com/blog/2007/10/15/monday-master-class-how-to-schedule-your-writinglike-a-professional-writer/
Focus
https://pacemaker.press/plans/create/new
By my estimate, lack of focus is the number one dream killer in the world. A 5-year plan or daily
writing schedule is only as useful as the person’s ability to follow-through. It turns out all the mumbo
jumbo about focusing on your breath is true. It’s like exercise for your brain. Mindfulness practice helps
bolster the impulse control we need to actually write. See the links below for articles on mindfulness and
some guided meditations.
http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22
http://www.mindful.org/meditation/mindfulness-getting-started/
your career or dedicate time to produce, it’s ok, I hear Wal-Mart is always hiring.
dent and smart-ass.
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College Tips from an Ex-Slacker:
By: William Stiles
43

Dear Incoming Freshman,
Congratulations on graduating high school and getting accepted by the University of Baltimore,
and if you where like I was when I graduated, congratulations on just barely passing high school and
making it out. I never really cared about academics in high school and my grades where very low but just
high enough to get by. When I got to college I thought I could easily turn my bad habits around and sucto
require you to get rid of many bad habits that you learned in your early academic career. Here are a few
Tip #1: SHOW UP
having to miss because of prior arrangements; this applies to people that just “don’t feel like it” or think
they have better things to do. Unless you are extremely sick or there is an emergency with your immediate
family, you should be in class. Skipping classes is an easy way to not learn the material and start to fall
behind causing you to play a game of catch up that you simply can’t win. Another reason to not skip class
is because attendance is part of your grade. For most classes, if you skip two or four classes, you have automatically
failed which is a huge waste of money. By not being in class, not only are you screwing yourself
over, but you’re also screwing over other students at your university who would have really wanted to
else can get in. So is it fair that you took that spot and committed to that class just so you cannot show up
and fail it,
No. If you don’t feel like actually going to classes you should have never signed up for college in
people to not show up, you should still go to class anyway and make up the assignment later. Your teacher
might let you turn it in later and you don’t want to lose more points just from not showing up.
Tip #2: Keep Track of Your Work
next class in the time remaining. By the middle of the school year, my agenda book would be destroyed
from being crushed by my binders, lost, or just completely ignored. Also I would always leave my book
give you those annoying little books anymore (but I think they sell them in the bookstore somewhere)
because they expect you to take responsibility for remembering what you have to do. With no one forcing
me to write down my assignments like they did in High School, I decided that I would be able to memorize
all of my assignments.
readings, which lead to me failing most of my classes. When I got back to school next semester I tried usall
the time, the apps that had my assignments on them where usually buried by all the social media and
entertainment apps I had and I would never check them. I needed something that was as easy to carry
44

and stick to it.
Tip #3: Learn to Say No
One of the biggest challenges you will have during this time is trying to balance your social life
key to a successful future but you also want to keep your friends and you cant work all the time and managing
this can be very hard. One of the biggest things I had to learn is how to say no to people. You have
to realize that although it’s not totally bad to do certain things from time to time, you can’t do everything.
reevaluate whom you’re hanging out with.
Tip #5: Maybe You Don’t Have to Say No (Balancing your Schedule)
If saying no to your friends is to scary of a thought for you, you have an event you can’t miss such
as a job or family occasion, or you just really want to go to something but have a lot of due dates the next
ahead in order to get the work done in advanced. For example, I planned on going out and having fun
with my friends on Halloween (Monday) but I had a lot of work that was due the next day. Knowing this
I decided to make the Sunday before Halloween a “work-only day” where I would stay in my bedroom
all day and just get work done with breaks in-between each assignment so I wouldn’t lose my mind. By
doing this I was able to enjoy my Halloween without having the fear of having to rush all my assignments
in the morning the next day. I recommend using this strategy more than saying no to everyone because
it allows you to keep your social life while also being able to get your work done for school. Saying no
should only be used if you forgot to plan ahead and have work that has to get done in a short amount of
time.
So that is just a few of the tips that I’ve learned that have helped me be successful during my
academic career. I promise if you follow these steps you will learn to love academics like I did and also be
successful throughout your college career. Good luck!
Love,
William
Skateboarding, Music, and Graphic Design, which he hopes to obtain a career in.
Interview Jitters: 4 Strategies To Make Interviewing Easy
By Jalesa Vincent
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ternships, mentorships or work-study. However, these opportunities are not that easy to attain and aren’t
45

esearcher or social media consultant. Yet, the transition between graduate to working professional is the
run.
Following are four key strategies to improve your interview skills.
1. Dress for the job you want and beyond.
-
days working world has conformed to a casual dress attire, do not fall victim to the same mentality. Many
individuals who are seen dressing casually already work for the company and have been with a company
for a number of years. Whether you wear a suit or something less formal depends on the company
about the company’s dress code. If those options aren’t available, you can also seek help from a professional
clothing sales person with whom you trust.
1.
-
-
sions that can be a great start to your interview. When speaking precisely, always use appropriate language.
Using professional language during an interview is important as it gives the impression that you
know how to conduct yourself in a professional setting. Be sure to steer clear, as well as aware of inappropriate
slang words and avoid foul references to age, race, religion, politics or sexual innuendos. At the end
of the interview, employers are always sure to ask “do you have any questions for us?” Be sure to listen
throughout the interview, and take notes of things you would like to ask and further elaborate on.
Employers love this because it shows that you have been listening and are committed to the job.
1. Organize your portfolio professionally.
When arranging your portfolio, be sure to showcase your range of skills. However, do have your
featured portfolio work arranged in a manner most appealing to the company, with your most releprograms
and always provide both print and digital versions of your portfolio. Having the extra digital
version is for the interviewer as a take away, something to remember you best.
1. Have knowledge of the company
Having common knowledge of the company interviewing you is good to know especially when
-
to know a company’s culture and work environment. Following a company’s social media accounts can
46

conversation and can come across as impressive, showing that you have done your research with a true
interest in the company.
Lastly, its always good to know a company’s history; past, present and future. While most companies
focus on their growth, knowing their history and how you can contribute, as a growth factor is
employers, making the transition from graduate to working professional an easier experience. Keep in
mind that your versatility and knowledge will enable you to be exposed to additional opportunities. Also,
don’t forget to follow up; whether it be by email or phone call. According to Adler & Elmhorst, a follow
up interview proves your interest with the company and the position.
From my own experience, I have had a number of successful interviews by following these four
basic, yet planned strategies. Many times, within the research portion of getting to know a company, I
culture needs.
Jalesa Vincent is a Digital Communications major. Her interests include graphic and web development
design. She hopes to pursue a career in Marketing and Communications and one day own a Web Design
company based in Bermuda.
By: Christina Watson
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT TAKING NOTES?
How many times have you heard this line “college isn’t like high school” probably enough times to
roll your eyes every single time you hear it, including now. Well, it’s true! College is not like high school
and it’s probably for the better because some of us don’t want to relive those dreadful four years or maybe
you do because you coasted through without a sweat! Here’s the thing, in high school (depending on
where you went) you could sometimes get away without studying, showing up for class or even taking
notes. It doesn’t quite work like that in college, every minute counts for something and if you do it right,
you can have a little bit more free time to do things that you really want to do. For me, that’s hanging out
with family and friends, taking mini-trips and having a good old fashioned lazy day.
the basics of college life. It was in this course that I learned about more about the importance of managing
my time and that included how much time I spent studying, sleeping, working and other various
activities. If you don’t want to be the person who’s up until 3 A.M. doing that last minute cram study
-
portantly, your social time. I’ve found that the better my notes are, the less time I spend trying to re-learn
the information. If you’re the kind of person whose style of notetaking is to just copy down what’s on the
47

well, you’re going to have to do a little better than that. From my experience, most professors don’t write
anything on the board so I had to learn to take better notes, fast.
Retaining information is just as important as writing it down and in order to do that, you have
are saying but your classmates as well. I take notes the old fashioned way, by using pen and paper. Many
college students now are used to having some sort of technology based device that they will use instead.
Typing notes is faster, but a study done by Princeton University’s Pam Mueller showed that writing notes
that “students who were taking longhand notes were forced to be more selective and that extra process
-
DIFFERENT METHODS FOR NOTES
on a graph, how quickly new information can be forgotten based on a 1-hour lecture. We lose about 40%
1.
-
-
od can be used in most lecture classes, keeps the information organized and is easy to review.
Of all the methods listed, this one is my go-to because it just works for me. I’m able to quickly jot
down related key information without having to go into lengthy detail. It forces me to think about how I
want to write the information so that I can recall it the best. I’ve used the outline method in almost every
class I’ve taken at UB because it’s that versatile.
1.
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-
I did not use this method in school because it seemed like too much and as much as I think I’m
organized, I’m not this organized!
1. Mind Map
ideas and subtopics. Grace Fleming, a homework and study tip expert explains that for visual learners
this is that you can be as creative and colorful as you like.
Even though I take notes by hand, there are technological tools that can help students with
CUT YOUR STUDY TIME IN HALF
Studying. Something you’ll never stop doing when you’re in college. It’s just a way of life. You can,
however, make studying not as long, not as hard and not so last minute. Now that you’ve chosen a method
of notetaking that works best for you, you’ve done at least half the work it takes to study. Your study
will come in handy because you don’t want to spend too much time studying that you neglect to get a
good night’s sleep. Keep track of your notes and go over the information that is relevant to your test or
exam.
PREPARING FOR FINAL PROJECTS
Much like studying, this is where time management really kicks in. Final projects are usually due
bite you in, you know where! It’s important to stay aware of due dates, especially if you have a syllabus—
49

yes, these are still a thing in college.
I wanted to focus this chapter on note-taking because of how important it is in school but also in
your work life. We always make little reminders to ourselves about things that are important to us. I use
my phone to remind of appointments, I jot down tidbits of information in my notes app on my iPhone
and sometimes write a sticky note to myself. I hope that you found something useful in one of these
surprise yourself at how much more you can get done in the most productive way possible!
My name is Christina Watson and my chosen major at the University of Baltimore is Digital Communication
with a special focus in Public Relations. I want to pursue a career in Public Relations working with
small businesses.
ESSENTIALS FOR WORKING REMOTELY
By Geneka Young
Books for Inspiration
rapid growth of all three can be simultaneously exciting and overwhelming. Our attachment to theses
and tweets. So I like to start my day reading motivational inserts to prepare me for the day.
Mark McGuiness is a creative coach who has authored several self-help books for the creative entrepreneur.
Some of his work included Resilience: Facing Down Rejection and Criticism on the Road to
Success, Maximize Your Potential and Manage Your Day-to-Day. My favorite books from this author are
Productivity for Creative People and Motivation for Creative People. In this book, McGuiness gives tips
and strategies on how to manage your commitments and get the important work accomplished. He also
motivates you to get sh*t done! McGuiness has conducted plenty of research that proves his solutions
• Organization leads to Creativity
•
•
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• How to get your smartphone addiction under control
•
• Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/
2. Computers & Other Devices
carrying an ultraportable laptop or tablet that’s light weight, has great battery life and packed with features
that will suit your needs will make working remotely easy.
MacBook Pro is extra light for portability and has an excellent battery life. It’s equipped with a 2.0GHz
-
Book Pro also has a voice commanded personal assistant name Siri. Siri can set reminders, conduct basic
searches via the web and within your devices. If you own an IPhone or iPad, you’ll be able to access your
work via iCloud on all your devices. Apple can be pricey, but your investment is proven to last twice as
longer than its competitors. Plus, if you’re a student, you’re eligible for a discount and your purchase
comes with free Beats by Dre Solo headphones.
-
-
es at once. For example, Jackery products have external chargers under $50 that can charge your iPhone,
gets up to 8 hours of use from 15 minutes of charging. I had a co-worker, who was extremely talented at
developing activations for our biggest campaigns. His only problem, was that he would miss important
conference calls, submit his reports late and expect me to catch him up. His favorite excuse was that his
phone or laptop died. He’s no longer on our team. Why? Because no matter how talented you are if your
team can rely on you, you’re no good to them. Besides, “My phone or laptop died” is the worse excuse
you can give a supervisor. Don’t be that guy! Go to Amazon.com and buy a charger here: http://www.
amazon.com/
3. Apps for Working Remotely
browser, mobile and most tablet devices. Its features are customizable project boards, automated work-
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tion with other popular collaborative tools such as MindMeister, Slack, Dropbox and Google Drive.
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tively on projects and meet our deadlines. I also can work with clients and track how much time I spend
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version.
Another app that’s a necessity for marketing professionals is Hootsuite. Hootsuite is a social
and is accessible for remote team management. You can manage all your social media platforms in one
content out into the world for you.
4. Keep a Journal. Yes, a Journal
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I know there are hundreds of apps available for brainstorming and taking notes. But there’s something
about putting ink to paper that’s a better process for creatively. Studies show that writing on paper
sharp, and it will make you a better writer. With that said, get yourself a notebook to outline those ideas
then use your apps to make them come to life.
In this chapter, we’ve discussed all the essentials needed to work remotely—Devices, apps, books
our essentials aren’t cheap. We have expensive devices and million dollar ideas that need protection from
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sions and intellectual property. Since 1997, Incase has led the way with modern and minimalist products
-
that are centered on mobility and protection. Incase’s award winning ICON pack features multiple comout
of durable 840D nylon construction and the padded faux-fur lined laptop compartment can carry
books, laptop, tablet, journal and portable charger on my back without feeling like I’m carrying bricks!
Check out more from Incase here: http://www.goincase.com/
Geneka Young is a Corporate Communication major at the University of Baltimore and currently works as a
marketing strategist for a major recording label. She lives in Maryland with her cat Simba.
Challenging the Status Quo in Academia
By David Pope
tradition of America there’s also an historic saying – Broke College Student. Unless your great granddad
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life through education.
Beyond the novelty of academic pursuits, the reality of the college experience is that it is an inguess
who’s the capital? You are! So, in order to seek the best possible Return On Investment (ROI), the
order to become adept in the nuances and vastness of adobe suite, it takes quite an extensive amount of
practice and applying the range of techniques at the user’s disposal.
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easily than other areas of study. It would be quite the task to monetize Criminal Justice or Psychology
aspects of the program, he or she can essentially operate as a one-person media creation and company
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quirement places an emphasis of developing understanding of page layout/design, illustration and preman,
one band concept. Many individuals who seek to venture into entrepreneurial endeavors may have
the ability to create a business plan and marketing idea of how to bring the company into fruition. Re-
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ment.
A student that has met the graphics design criteria in the digital communications major will have
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compassing all components of ones needs. From logo design, to website design to producing promotional
produce an end product that can meet the needs of small business clientele. Archaic methods of promotion
with catchy tag lines, jingles, and newspaper adds have all but been forced to join the dodo bird in
extinction. Social media is the new frontier of brand recognition. In order to manipulate social media a
can market itself to would not have the means to do such. However, with skills in adobe suite and other
are all areas that should be explored as potential clients.
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Before the student can market his or herself to the outside world, the aforementioned skills
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dividual that can be commissioned to do work for someone else, the presentation should be viewed in a
professional light. All of such requirements are all available through courses available at the school. Along
with the previously mentioned design classes, there are theory courses are intertwined within the program
requirements itself.
decision-making tools for integrating product, price, distribution, and communication decisions and
anorganized approached to marketing a product or service. Communications 391: Public Relations
Strategies is described as: Students will learn the strategies and tactics (traditional and digital) that public
include situation and audience analysis, as well as media mix and dealing with clients. Special attentions
will be given to maximizing visibility via social media. CMAT 391 is another class that provides knowhow
that can place to student ahead of the average individual.
“hustler” part comes into play in regards to how a student manipulates the resources in his or her advantage.
To be rather frank, the shroud of mystique placed upon the academic and the larger world of acaother
business institution seeking consumers. Athletic programs fuel most big name colleges and highly
fall upon deaf ears.
Academic institutions have existed almost exclusively on taking advantage of the student who’s
not seeking direct monetary rewards for success matriculation through a program. Isn’t it time for the
Dave Pope is a Senior Digital Communications Major, with a focus on Public Relations who seeks to one day
create his own Marketing and Branding Consultancy Firm
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