BY ELIZABETH EDNIE
For her semester-long senior capstone project, Jenna Rohlman decided to plan, record, and edit her own podcast series, and credits the communications major for all of the opportunities and experiences she has had during her time at Stonehill.
“Podcasting is becoming one of the newer forms of media in which people are able to share new forms of information in a unique way, which is why I wanted it to be the basis of my project,” Rohlman said.
In her first episode, Rohlman interviewed Stonehill’s Communications Department Chair, Ron Leone, where they discussed what it means to be a communications major and highlighted some of the extracurriculars communication majors can partake in while at Stonehill.
According to the first episode of the five-part series, Rohlman asked Leone what he thinks the communications major is, and what its importance is in today’s ever-changing world.
“One of the beauties of it, I think, is that it’s such a versatile major. It’s something that works so well for so many, and I think there are some misunderstandings about what the comm major is,” Leone said.
Leone said that the major allows students to explore and learn about both why we communicate and how we communicate.
“I think our students who major in communications really have the opportunities to develop an informed point of view, explore their creative energy and outlets to share that point of view, and also to really learn about how audiences process and are influenced by messages,” Leone said.
Rohlman said that being media literate is so important in today’s world and that the communications major at Stonehill was beneficial in that way.
“A lot of people don’t know or realize just how we are being communicated to from social media, and films and a lot of these courses that we take can be applied to real life,” she said.
In her episode, Rohlman asked Leone what kinds of skills communications majors learn while in school, and why having those skills are effective in making the world a better place.
“The comfort of interactions and I mean comfort in the general sense, the art of conversation is something that is becoming more challenging for people. Understanding the different kinds of dynamics of communication as well. I think communication majors, as much as we spend so much time on our phones and on screens in general, it’s important to be able to understand how much miscommunication goes on and I think students of communication learn about that in every course they take here,” he said.
Rohlman said that it’s underrated to be able to effectively communicate nowadays, because it’s a life skill to have, especially with different types of people and in different situations.
“I think it’s very valuable to be able to have that skill,” she said.
Rohlman discussed the clubs and organizations that communication majors typically are drawn towards because they are able to use the skills they learn in the classroom and apply it to bigger things, a few clubs being The WSHL radio station and The Summit.
“Being a part of the school newspaper, which is not easy, still costs a lot to print rather than having an online version. But, we are preserving that here, and I hope for many more years that we still continue to do a print edition because it’s important,” Leone said.
Rohlman said that she is happy that she chose the communication major because it helped her find her passions, and helped lead her to her desired field of work.
“Choosing to major in communications was one of the best decisions I made at Stonehill and I strongly believe it opened up many opportunities for me to explore within the media industry,” she said. “I have been able to not only become a more effective communicator, but I also have had the opportunity to jumpstart a career in PR and production within various companies because of my field of study.”
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