Making the COM Connection

By: Alyssa Payne

Hey!

Hi everyone! My name is Alyssa Payne and I have been the “man behind the curtain” this semester running the COM Media social media sites and managing the blog! I am a senior at UNCW majoring in COM (the best major) and am currently completing a directed independent study for COM Media. I have been tasked with researching and creating a digital media strategy to implement across their digital media platforms.

(Just a fun fact about me, since we love those so much: I love coffee and going to cool coffee shops in Wilmington…if you couldn’t tell by the picture below!)

I really didn’t have a ton of knowledge on COM Media or media production in general going into this, but now that it is nearing the end of my study, I have been able to make some connections with my “usual” area of study to COM Media.

My time in COM

My area of study in school is Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and I have taken classes such as message design, campaign design, and graphic design. On top of this I have also had a few internships which involved social media management, graphic design, blog creation, and promotions. I feel like all of this experience set me up well to tackle managing the social media sites for COM Media. On top of this, I conducted research prior to implementing my digital media strategy which helped inform me as well (there is really NO research done on digital media strategies for university sub-departments...smh).

Making the Connection

I already knew that the COM major was very comprehensive and inclusive, offering a world of possibilities both while in school and post-graduation. After immersing myself into the COM Media world, I really understood the extent of the work they do. Attending golf tournaments in the wee hours of the morning to film, interviewing popular political figures in the Leutze studio, having the creative freedom to create their short films, and even getting to attend the TedxAirlie event last spring to film. Like...they do it all! 

Not only does IMC require video and media production for certain jobs, but media production also requires IMC practices. What is the point of having a great digital media strategy...but no content to fill it with? On the other hand, what good is having a bunch of really cool content but no way to get it out there to your audiences? 

Being able to work with COM Media this semester not only reinforced my feelings that COM is the best major there is, but it showed me how talented COM students are, how much you can learn and accomplish in COM Media, and also how much Dr. Bolduc and Professor Pernell care about their students and what they teach (shout out to y’all).

I have loved working with COM Media and I hope that the department continues to grow and thrive in the years to come!