Guiding Lights: Professors That Make Media Worth Making

This is my last semester here at Arcadia. Wow, that was both scary and exciting to type out. I can’t believe I made it to the other end of this rainbow, and it’s been quite the rollercoaster. 

When I think about my time on campus, I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to study something that brings me so much joy. The Media and Communication department here at Arcadia has nourished me, challenged me, and helped shape me into the person I am today. Not only that, but attending Arcadia has allowed me to take part in amazing media-related opportunities, and I’m forever grateful for that. 

Many faculty members within this department make it the beautiful space that it is. Faculty members like Michael Dwyer, Gralin Hughes, Christine Mullin, and Lisa Holderman. As a senior, I’ve had classes with each and every one of them, and they made my time here exceptionally enjoyable. 

Michael Dwyer is an inspiring professor who dedicates a lot of his time to his students. He’s funny and casual, but efficient and real. I’ve learned the most about journalism, media production, and digital content creation from being in his classes. My favorite class with Michael was Intro to Media Studies, where we learned about the history of media and how we evolved media-wise as a society. I took this in my first year, and it really sparked my interest in the Media and Comm major as a whole. I ended up taking numerous classes with Michael over the course of the years, in fact, I’ve had him as a professor at least once per semester. I didn’t experience getting close to teachers back in high school, so experiencing that while in college is pretty awesome. 

Gralin Hughes is an amazing professor, and he’s in charge of the video production classes. I took all three of his video production classes, and I fell in love with editing during that time. Keeping my hands on editing software allowed me to strengthen my skills, and I’ve made projects I’m proud of within his class. Gralin gave me the confidence to step outside my comfort zone and try new things editing-wise. His class challenged me to be better, and that’s why his classes were worth taking. Not to mention, he’s a fun, chill guy, so it makes it even better. 

Christine Mullin is a kind professor who teaches many Media and Comm classes within the department, but I took a public speaking class with her that truly helped me get out of my shell. Her public speaking class allowed me to not only grow as a public speaker but as a writer as well. I got to write fun, weird, and entertaining speeches, and I even got a chance to info-dump about my favorite hobbies and shows. Writing about fun things allowed the speeches to feel less stressful, and it gave me the courage to get through the course. Now, I don’t shy away from standing in front of a crowd.

Lisa Holderman has been a guiding and encouraging professor, especially as a senior. She teaches many things within the department as well, but she’s in charge of the senior seminars for Media and Comm students. So as a senior, I’ve been able to get to know her. She makes the senior thesis digestible, and she does her best to guide us to the finish line. She’s been able to give me great advice and insight, and I feel seen and heard. As the stressors of being a senior pile up, it’s great knowing that she’s in my corner. 

These are only a handful of the amazing faculty within this department, and that’s only half the fun. I’m currently taking Photography, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I’m developing and printing film, and I’m learning how to use a darkroom. It’s been the highlight of my semester, especially because I’ve been wanting to use the darkroom since I got onto campus! 

I first saw the darkroom my Freshman year, but at the time, I was still focusing on my general education classes, at the time. I was interested, but when I was told I needed to take Photography to use it, I was bummed. Video production was my focus, so I prioritized that. Eventually, I forgot about it. However, as I was picking classes for my final semester, I realized I needed a couple more credits within my major to graduate. So, with that in mind, I decided to take Photography with the space I had. Now, I’m developing film negatives for my mom, and that’s not something I could do last semester.

There are so many things I love about the Department of Media and Communication, and there are so many things I learned about myself by working within it. This major is everything that I am, and it was a privilege to be able to experience it. I’m never going to experience being a first-year again, but nevertheless, I’m excited to live out my last semester here at Arcadia.