Over the past 3 semesters I have truly developed into a college student. Last year with COVID, I made the best of my experience on campus, and this year, being in person has really pushed me to change the type of student that I am. When COVID started and everything went online, school changed as well. Tests were open note, I could watch classes whenever I wanted, and it was much more flexible. So, switching back to in person was a sort of shock. I believe that scholars gave me a support system to help me through my first real semester of college. I felt that I had friends and teachers who were there to help me in any way that I needed. The class also gave me an outlet to take a break from my other studies and to learn about something completely new and different from my other classes. Along with the support of my classmates and teachers, the peer mentor program was something that played a huge role in my scholars experience. Last year, I asked my peer mentor all kinds of questions about both scholars and college in general, she was always so helpful and was a good resource to have. So, I decided to apply to be a peer mentor. Getting the peer mentor position as well as the peer mentor captain’s position for MSS was daunting at first, but when I looked back at how I conversed with my peer mentor and how helpful she was, I decided that I had to give it everything I had. Being a peer mentor captain was my first leadership role in college. It meant a lot to me because it allowed me to develop my college level leadership skills in a community where I knew everyone, and we all were putting in the effort to advance the program.

​

       Media plays a huge role in our society. In the digital age we are all constantly consuming media whether it be news, social media, videos, music etc. We are consuming media without even knowing it as well. This program allowed me to understand all the various types of media and the ways I could be a better consumer of media. I believe I am now more informed and educated about media, allowing me to incorporate into my day-to-day life. I also learned about the societal impacts of media. Media can be divisive or bring us together. Fake news can cause huge societal problems and media can spread cultures across the world. These past 3 semesters changed my view on the importance of media the most. Because it is everywhere we go, media can be a powerful tool for good or for bad. I can trace back some of my feelings of insecurity back to the media I consumed, and so can many other teens. I also realized that my own role in this is important too. I need to ensure that what I put out there is true and is an effective piece of media. I hope to continue this spread of media literacy in my colloquium project, to ensure that the future generation can grow up just as informed as we are. As a psychology major, I even find myself investigating the effects of media on mental health, group thinking and more. Since media is everywhere, will likely be using what I’ve learned each and every day. Whether I’m reading the news, watching tv, or listening to music, I am consuming media and I now know how to be an effective consumer of it. Though this program is only 2 years long, my learning these past few semesters has been so impactful, and I will consider it one of the most important central experiences of my college life.