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Student Testimonials

Need a student’s perspective?

We asked our graduating seniors to share their thoughts on our program and the TCNJ experience.

 

Michael Condiracci ’22

A message for the Department:

To Prof. Faust: Thank you for having me in your Spring 2020 audio production class. Even when the pandemic shutdown forced all of us online, I’m proud of what I managed to create remotely …  I wish the best for you and your students in the coming years.

To Dr. Ryan: Thank you for having me in your Spring 2019 TV Studies and Fall 2020 Film History classes. As a nervous freshman “trying to do better,” I looked forward to TV Studies every Tuesday and Friday. I loved how we hit it off when discussing television history and the class’s favorite programs, no matter how obscure! I wish you and your students only the best.

Last but definitely not least, to Kay and Kevin Potucek: Thank you for your help throughout my time in the COM Studies program. If it weren’t for you two helping the tall-haired, nervous freshman pre-register for classes and run the TV Studio for LTV meetings, I would have been a goner long ago. When we returned in-person last semester, I’m glad I could pay it forward by assisting RTF faculty, and of course, helping commandeer the famous Room 30. I wish the best for both of you in the future. When you see a pink memo-slip in Room 30, just remember: the batteries MUST be returned! 😀 

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ? Pre-enrollment for classes, whether it was virtual or in person! 


Alexa D’Aiello ’22

A message for the Department: Thank you to every member of the TCNJ faculty that have helped me along the way!

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ? All the kind and funny professors! 

 


Sean McQuown ’22

A message for the Department:  I’m incredibly thankful for the guidance and support of my professors over these years at the college. The skills I’ve gained during my time at TCNJ will be invaluable to me as I continue moving forward.


Wandally Vargas ’22

A message for the Department: Thank you for supporting and allowing me to grow as a better version of myself.

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ? The creativity and love!

 


Ilana Weinberg ’22

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ? Taking all the special COM 370 classes, they were each very interesting and different, it allowed me to venture out of my mandatory courses.  


Isabella Ciccone ’21   headshot

A message for the Department: Thank you for much your guidance in the communication department and enriching my educational experience.

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ? The professors’ passion for the subject of communications.


Daliah Ouedraogo ’21   headshot

A message for the Department: I want to express that I am so grateful to have become a Communications Major and I want to thank the faculty and staff of the Department for continuing to inspire students like myself to develop and pursue Communications.

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ? The best thing about the Communication Studies department is the courses offered. They are very diverse and very applicable.


Sydney Smith ’21  headshot

A message for the Department:  Thank you so much for everything you have all done for me in my college career! The faculty at TCNJ has been more than helpful in guiding me through the undergraduate experience, and I’ll miss your friendliness and your indispensable advice.

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ? The department has always been very welcoming and encouraging of us to to the best work that we can do!


Rebecca Silverman ’21   headshot

A message for the Department:  I can’t thank the Department enough. My time at TCNJ has been so memorable because of their guidance, kindness, and constant support. I can’t wait to come back and visit once it is safe and classes are on campus again!

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ?  I know everyone and have worked with a majority of them. Especially in RTF (Radio/Television/Film), we’re all close and that’s what I love; the community and shared passion.


Beth Kraus ’20  headshot

A message for the Department: Big THANK YOU to the department for everything they have done!! I cannot be more thankful to be part of a department with staff who care so much about their students and are willing to go above and beyond to help their students succeed.

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ?  The Communication Studies department gave me the opportunity to hold many leadership positions which helped me to prepare for my first job after graduation!


Casey Hendrickson ’20

headshotA message for the Department:  Thank you all so much for providing an enriching and transformative education. I have truly grown here throughout my time at TCNJ and owe a major portion of my success to the Communication Studies Department. I will miss you all so much!

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ?  The best thing about the Communication Studies Department is the sense of community. The relationship-building within the department makes the educational experience more meaningful. I’ve had multiple classes with the same professors, which has given me the opportunity to work with them and develop my skills without starting at square one with a new professor every single semester.


Gianna Calandra ’20  headshot in grad cap

A message for the Department:  I had an incredible time learning from each faculty member. Everyone in the Department was super helpful, kind and welcoming.

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ? I transferred to TCNJ after my first semester at Ramapo. I switched my major 3 times and managed to find the right spot for me. COM Studies has been eye opening and helped create a path to the rest of my professional career and personal growth.


Jonathan Zobek ’20  headshot in academic regalia

A message for the Department:  Thank you to everyone in the Communication Studies Department. I did not start as a Communication Studies major, but I know I made the right choice switching to Communication. When I was searching for a new major, the COM Department was so nice and welcoming, and I knew that I had found my new departmental home for the next three and a half years.  As my college career continued, all of my COM professors were absolutely amazing, They were knowledgeable, and treated each and every student with respect. The COM Department really played a big part of my college career, and I learned so much that will certainly help me throughout life. Thank you to the entire Communication Studies Department.

What’s the best thing about COM TCNJ? The professors are amazing!


 

As an out-of-state resident of Virginia, and after carefully comparing the quality of student achievement and faculty mentoring with that offered by colleges and universities closer to home, I chose to enroll in communication studies at The College of New Jersey. During my journey in the Communication Studies department, I was not only presented with challenging work but also afforded irreplaceable opportunities. Pushing myself in the classroom, I was able to study multiple facets of communication from an extremely knowledgeable faculty.girl posing with school kids in uniform

Additionally, I completed papers that were presented not only at the New Jersey Communication Association annual conference, but also at a university abroad. Most of all, I was presented with the once in a lifetime opportunity to complete a health communication internship in Durban, South Africa at the invitation of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I learned from other students and world-class scholars as well as programs designed to educate about HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence issues, and I participated in cultural experiences that could not be replicated. From bungee jumping to surfing, shark diving to eating in a pit of crocodiles, feeding elephants to spotting three of the big five animals on safaris, I also enjoyed the unusual experience of meeting students from three high schools in KwaZulu-Natal province. We role-played ways to reduce gender violence and risky behavior, and I was exposed to some of the most beautiful, multiharmonic, a cappella music I have ever heard. This department not only encouraged me to be a better student, but also a more worldly person as well.
– Kelsey Zinck, Class of 2014, Public/Mass specialization and Health Communication concentration


WTSR helped me learn audio production skills, which have helped me get two jobs during my college career – as an event operative and a sound technician. The skills I learned in TV Production and Screenwriting have been extremely relevant when it comes to applying for jobs. I have gotten internships because of the skills I have learned in class, such as video editing and writing. Screenwriting improved my writing by giving me a place to create and grow my ideas; it was a great space to discuss your work and critique the work of others.

Alec Plasker, Class of 2013, Radio/TV/Film


rachelI would recommend being a Communication Studies major to anyone and everyone because it’s so broad; you can do anything from production and editing to public relations to interpersonal communication, and these things are relevant and necessary to other industries as well. Plus, it’s fascinating and the people are nice. My favorite thing about being a Comm Studies major are the experiences I have had–I have done everything from editing a montage to creating a public relations plan, and I have written papers about my favorite movies and written some screenplays of my own.

 

My favorite part of our Communication Studies department would have to be the professors–they make themselves available to you and are helpful in so many ways. I’m happy to be a Comm major because I am really learning how to be a better communicator, and the things I am learning here are things I know I am going to use, whatever I choose to do.

Rachel Chlebowski, Class of 2014, Radio/TV/Film


At the end of the fall semester of my freshman year at a different institution I knew I wanted to transfer to TCNJ, not merely because of its overall academic prestige, but also because its Communication Studies students had been officially recognized as the best in the nation. Like any student, I wanted infallible proof that my academic commitment (in whichever school I ended up graduating) would allow me to earn more than simply a degree testifying that I completed all the required courses, but also professional and scholarly recognition beyond the classroom or even campus community.

I ultimately joined TCNJ’s Communication Studies family because I believed it provided its students the skills and motivation to set the standard for other undergraduate and even graduate communication studies students in the nation. During my junior year, one fellow TCNJ Communication Studies classmate and myself were the only undergraduate students in the nation whose co-authored research papers were accepted for presentation at the D.C. Health Conference. Last spring, there were more students from TCNJ than any other school who were accepted to present papers at the New Jersey Communication Association Conference. Now as a senior, I will be representing TCNJ as the only undergraduate student in the world accepted to present a paper at the International Communication Association conference in Shanghai that I co-authored with one of my professors.DC Health Communication Conference spring 2012 L-R Jordan Kohn John Pollock Sally Milnes

I would and do recommend TCNJ to any prospective freshman or transfer student. I still find it unbelievable that this school and Communication Studies Department have made it possible for a transfer student like myself (who had even switched majors) to not only graduate on time, but also to feel accomplished. I don’t believe I would have had the same encouragement and opportunities had I decided to study communication studies anywhere else.

– Jordan Gauthier Kohn, Class of 2014, Public/Mass specialization

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