By Malone Graham, Special to the Hub@TTU
The College of Media & Communication at Texas Tech provides students with hands-on experiences and faculty that prepares them for life after college.
The college’s tagline — “Any industry. Anywhere.” — is designed to reflect the flexibility its seven degree plans offer in the job market. Students can also choose between six undergraduate minors and five certificates within the college. Each program allows students to select courses that interest them to tailor their degree program to their career goals.
According to the college’s website, there are 129 full-time faculty and staff that oversee all undergraduate and graduate programs.
Brooke Galvan is the Administrative Coordinator of Student Success and Recruitment for the college (Courtesy of Brooke Galvan).
Brooke Galvan, the Administrative Coordinator of Student Success and Recruitment for the college, said the administrators and professors she had as a student impacted her time at Texas Tech. She graduated from the college with a public relations degree in 2020 and received a Master of Arts in Mass Communication in December 2021.
“Through my experience as a student and undergrad to grad school, I really loved the community and the support that I received from staff and faculty,” Galvan said. “It was absolutely tremendous.”
Galvan initially started a job in Dallas after graduate school but wanted to work with students in higher education after serving as a student recruiter.
One of the reasons she chose academia instead, she said, is because she appreciates her coworkers’ dedication to their job and the positive work environment within the college.
“It feels definitely family-oriented and supportive,” Galvan said. “I think it’s always an all-hands-on-deck-kind-of approach to different projects and different goals and the mission that we have here at the college as a whole.”
Ada Hagan is a junior digital media and professional communication major (Courtesy of Ada Hagan).
Ada Hagan, a junior digital media and professional communication major from Arlington, Texas, said she experienced the kind and welcoming atmosphere within the college’s faculty and students.
“I think the people are my favorite part. I always love coming here no matter what time of the day it is,” Hagan said. “Everyone is just so helpful and fun. You can just tell that [the staff] really care, and that makes me feel good because I’m not just a number to them. I’m an actual student that they know and care about.”
Sabrina Ritchie is a senior public relations and strategic communication management major (Courtesy of Sabrina Ritchie).
Sabrina Ritchie, a senior public relations and strategic communication management major from Amarillo, Texas, said the people within the college is what is most special to her.
“You really do find friends here,” Ritchie said. “I wasn’t really expecting to get that through classes apart from regular social things. It’s just great community.”
A research study by Affordable Colleges states having solid social support – a network of friends, acquaintances and mentors to turn to, especially in times of need or crisis – positively influences academic performance; benefits overall wellbeing; and eases the anxiety that many students face as they transition to college.
Galvan said, in addition to advising students for their future career, she also enjoys having conversations about what matters to them.
“It’s always about the student,” Galvan said. “It’s serving the students academically, but also, helping them prepare to be young professionals — but also all the life things. It’s really fun because I feel like at times, I’m not just talking about academics, but we’re talking about lifelong dreams and things that are happening in everyday people’s lives.”
Galvan added that the college creates a personal and inviting environment for students, which sets it apart from other colleges.
“Apart from the academics, I really do you think we are a super community-driven college,” Galvan said. “We have a lot of fun. We always have fun things happening, and we want to get to know you as a faculty member. I think you truly feel that it’s genuine that we love our students, we support them and want to see them succeed.”
A Modern Psychological Studies article reports the amount of time a student spends becoming more involved in their college is affected by their sense of the college’s values and their perception of the college’s concern for students. Students will be more content with their college experience when their goals and personality types are compatible with the college services and environment.
Additionally, the research states by providing a greater amount and range of opportunities for involvement, a college can show a greater concern for students and their needs.
Ritchie is a member of RaiderComm, a student-run, full-service public relations firm, and served as the project manager for the internal account team last spring. In this role, she handled all content creation and social media management.
Ritchie said her experience in RaiderComm and learning from their advisor, Debbie Davis, benefitted her professionally.
“I think actually going into a student learning course set me to be confident in my capabilities in the communications industry as a whole,” Ritchie said. “[Our professors] really know what they’re talking about. It’s not just kind of like, lectures being thrown in your face. It’s professional experience talking to you.”
Hagan said she feels prepared to enter the workforce after she completes her time at the college because of the hands-on projects she has done in her classes. She said because of her course work, she understands how to excel in a job in her industry.
Both Ritchie and Hagan are a part of the Dean’s Student Ambassadors program, which Galvan leads. The group of around 30 students from different majors recruit students, meet with the dean of the college, connect with alumni; and lead as peers in their classrooms and at events that the college puts on.
Galvan, a former DSA, is in her second semester supervising the organization and said she loves watching her students work together for the betterment of the college.
“It’s really cool to see all of these different dynamics, personalities and people from all across the board come together to represent our college and to also help and serve in the areas of helping their classmates or working with prospective students,” Galvan said.
A School Money article states even if students don’t have extensive work experience when they graduate, getting involved in a club or organization at a leadership level can help demonstrate to potential employers their ability to plan, organize, communicate and execute events or initiatives.
Galvan said the college is trying to rebrand the stereotype of a degree in communication to show students the opportunities available to them when they graduate.
“We’re trying to break the mold of the traditional mindset that ‘You’re a COMS student; you only work for a newspaper. You can only be on TV,’” Galvan said. “You can do so much more. Our industry is continuing to shift, and it’s important that we share that with our students coming in because a lot of them don’t know.”
Galvan said she wants each student to experience everything the college has to offer.
“We provide a lot of different opportunities for hands-on experience,” Galvan said. “We have over 30 student organizations to help students get real client work under their belt to make sure that when they’re graduated from us, they’re setting themselves apart in the industry.”
Setting themselves apart in any industry, anywhere.
For more on the College of Media & Communication, visit its website at https://www.depts.ttu.edu/comc/.
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