A Challenging Journey

Throughout my college experience I have been challenged and tested in many ways. Looking back I remember my high school teachers always lecturing us about how hard college was going to be and that we won't always be able to take the easy route. After being in college for 3 years I completely agree with my high school teachers. Although it's been a tough journey to get to my senior year I realize that it was all worth it. Along the way I have had many professors that have challenged me, but one professor really sticks out in my mind.

Mr. Corso has not only been one of my professors but he is also my advisor. Coming in as a freshman I was a little overwhelmed and not quite sure of what classes I should take, but Mr. Corso was very friendly and helpful when it came to making my schedule. My first class with him was speech and I'm not an extremely outgoing person so when it comes to public speaking, I get nervous. I remember sitting in class the day of my first speech waiting for my turn. My palms were sweaty, I was constantly looking over my note cards, and my heart was racing. Knowing that a lot of us were nervous, Mr. Corso gave us some inspirational advice and told us that the audience can't sense how nervous we really are. From then on I was able to get through the class and I actually did improve my public speaking skills.

Another class that was challenging for me was mass communications my junior year. I was looking forward to this class because it was part of my major, but I found it to be pretty challenging. Mr. Corso had us do 25-minute presentations on a topic that related to mass communication. My partner and I got to present on the history of books, which I wasn't too thrilled about because I wanted something more fun like magazines or movies. I knew it would be a challenge to make a 25-minute presentation on books interesting, but Mr. Corso told us to use whatever tools we wanted to present the information such as the Internet, PowerPoint, videos, etc. In the end I actually enjoyed putting the presentation together because it let me be creative and use my broadcasting skills, and we got a lot of great feedback from students in the class which I was really happy about.

Our final project for this class was also a challenge. In groups of 5, we had to create a 5 minute documentary on someone who has made a difference. Before this assignment I had never made a documentary and I was a little nervous about how it would turn out. My whole group was helpful in the process, but I knew I was crucial in this project because I was the only BC major in my group, therefore I sort of took on a leadership role. Not only did this project teach me a lot about working with others and creating a documentary, but also being a leader. In the end, our documentary turned out great and we even won an honorable mention in the nationwide contest our documentary was submitted to!

Overall, Mr. Corso has really challenged me throughout my college years, not only by advising me in what classes to take, but also by the classes he taught. Not only do I learn a lot when I am pushed to do something, but I also grow as a person. Since taking speech class I'm more outgoing and better at public speaking, and since mass communications, I've learned how to work well with others and take on a leadership role. These attributes have all helped me to get where I am today. I'm currently an EP for Titan Radio News, I'm captain of the Westminster dance team, and I'm Co-President of Dance Theatre. If I wasn't challenged in the past to do these different tasks, I don't think I would have these leadership roles today, and I can thank Mr. Corso for that.