I grew up believing that USC was the best college ever. My grandfather played football at USC so growing up, my dad was always a fan of the school, and that’s how we were raised. For a person that might not seem like she has that much of a connection to the school, I loved it in a way that might have seemed extra. Once I entered high school and realized the grueling process of college application and acceptance season, I was quickly brought back down to reality. No matter what connection I had to the school it would not matter if I didn’t get in. So I buried my love for the school deep deep down and did not think about it. That was until these three weeks. I have had an amazing experience these last three weeks that have brought my love for the school right back to where it was in 2017 when my family and I watched USC win the Rose Bowl. The campus, the environment, the pizza, the bus ride, the village and the teachers all helped to make this a priceless experience, but the most important thing I took away from this program has been the knowledge and hands on experience.
Week 3 has by far been my favorite week of this whole summer. The previous two weeks of AYA have been incredible in their own right, teaching me theory and laying down the foundation, but nothing compares to the satisfaction of being able to put everything I have learned to action and to be able to see what me and my team members have created. I am very proud of all the work we have done the whole program but specifically this last week. We were able to choose topics that were important to us and we worked hard to research, format, and create a zine and a podcast about said topics. Even though I am not new to the creation of media, I have never been this intentional and precise about my decisions as I was while working on our projects. My favorite part of this whole process has been being able to put everything we have learned in our comms class to use, and I can’t wait to continue to create media with this new lens and see the evolution of my work as an ethical civic media creator.
On the first day of our program, Professor Rogelio emphasized the importance of “USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism,” as opposed to “USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.” Although at the time I did not know what that meant, through my experience at AYA I have come to learn that everything has a meaning, so I asked Professor Rogelio. He told me that the school being “for” communication and journalism and not “of” communication and journalism puts extra importance on the school’s job to uphold every student’s right to communication and journalism. According to Ambassador Annenberg’s founding vision, “Every human advancement or reversal can be understood through communication. The right to free communication carries with it the responsibility to respect the dignity of others, and this must be recognized as irreversible. Educating students to communicate this message effectively and to be of service to all people is the enduring mission of this school.” To me, this means that the school was created for the advancement and protection of communication and journalism as essential rights, not just a major. That one word shows the commitment that the school and faculty members have made to serve not only students but also society by teaching students to be ethical and impactful and recognize the power and responsibility that comes with that.
Every minute I spent at Annenberg I am grateful for. Being in a place that had so much respect and love for its specialization is something that I experienced for the first time during this program. I could feel in every reading we did, lecture we got, assignment we turned in, and conversation we had with our professors how much they cared and how much they would do to support us. I would not change my time at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism for anything and I hope that I can be back in the future.
Communicating Change 