Month: July 2021

This summer, the Department of Communication welcomed Hannah Hank, Jackson Moehler, and Abbie Panuccio as UPIC Interns! To celebrate National Intern Day, July 29^th, these interns reflected over their summer and everything that they have learned. Keep reading to hear more about their specific tasks, favorite projects, and why they recommend Clemson UPIC internships!

Hannah Hank:

This summer my main role as a UPIC intern for the Department of Communications was managing the COMMunity Roar blog. My work included editing and uploading my intern teammates’ pieces to the blog. I specialized in creating the International Spotlight series to shed light on some of the great international student athletes studying and competing for the Clemson tigers. I loved having the opportunity to reach out to them, conduct interviews and work to authentically share their stories. I focused on detailing their journeys to Clemson, their adjustments to living in the United States and experiences since being on campus. I learnt about professionalism and workplace etiquette. With respect to content, I developed my journalistic writing by learning to maintain my voice as an author whilst respecting the responsibility of doing someone’s story justice. I hope that my series has exposed members of the Clemson community to our international diversity. I would definitely recommend a UPIC internship to other students to capitalize on this great opportunity to develop professional skills including self-awareness/management, flexibility, communication/collaboration in a workplace setting and receive great mentorship in their field. Thank you, Lori, for the awesome feedback and guidance all summer and to my internship team Abbie and Jackson!

Jackson Moehler:

Working as a UPIC Intern for the Department of Communications was a great first experience in a professional working environment. As an intern, my main role was to control all media sites for the department. This included Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. As the media intern, I was responsible for creating visual content for all accounts and coming up with different topics to discuss. One of my favorite projects for social media was creating visuals to celebrate National Ice Cream day! It allowed me to get digitally creative and also provide some fun information to incoming freshman learning to navigate Clemson’s social scene. I also had the opportunity to work on my writing and communication skills by conducting interviews and turning them into blog posts. I loved conducting the interviews because it allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and work on my adaptability and analytical skills. This also helped me discover how much I love hearing other people’s stories and experiences, and then transferring that into my own writing style. I would definitely recommend a UPIC internship, specifically with the Department of Communication, to everyone because it is an amazing opportunity to expand your skills to a whole new level and work with amazing people. My mentor, Dr. Lori Pindar, helped me grow so much, not only as a professional in the workforce, but as a human being. Working alongside other interns as well gave me a new perspective on a professional working environment because you really have to focus on being flexible, collaboration, and time management. If you have the chance to become a UPIC intern, I would 100% recommend!

Abbie Panuccio

Coming into this internship, I was excited to work under a professor I have always admired and to also have the opportunity to grow as a young professional. I spent a majority of my time reaching out to young Clemson alumni who had graduated from the communications department so I could share their stories of success and show the endless possibilities ahead for current undergrad students. I also had the ability to begin coordinating a series that highlights the impact of students, particularly student athletes, serving the Upstate community. Community service has always been a passion of mine, and I was incredibly lucky to have a mentor that enabled me to run with my passions this summer even if they were not a part of my original job description. This internship pushed me to grow in ways I truly never expected. I was given the chance to collaborate with an incredible team, connect to Clemson alumni, and connect Clemson to several non-profits. But I think my biggest take away from this experience was that even as young professionals in undergrad, we should have the confidence to be bold in what we do because we have been given these opportunities for a reason.

If you were inspired by their summer experiences with the Department of Communication, or with UPIC as a whole, the department is looking for more interns for Fall 2021! Below is the link to the UPIC website that has a list of all on-campus internships as well as how to apply!

UPIC Internships Link: https://career.sites.clemson.edu/internship_programs/UPIC_program/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlHAvweZzAc

Welcome to our Student Spotlight! We regularly highlight current undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Communication to showcase their unique endeavors and contributions to our department, campus community and the world.

Driven. Compassionate. Authentic.

These three words only begin to describe the dynamic Malaysia Barr, a senior Communication major (English minor), who hails from Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina. Malaysia majored in Communication because she is an aspiring journalist. She loves to write, but more importantly, loves to tell and hear other people’s stories. In her own words, she says: “I want to tell good news in a world that has so much bad.”

Continue reading to learn more about her involvement on campus, experience with the DIVE IN program, and her advice to college freshmen!

Around campus, Malaysia’s maintained involvement with different clubs and organizations for the last four years. CONNECTIONS Peer Mentoring Program aims to support students through peer mentoring and a unique living-learning community. This program for historically underrepresented students pairs first-years with an upperclassman leader who serves as a mentor and role model. For her senior year, Malaysia is serving CONNECTIONS as a senior peer mentor. Malaysia also serves as the chaplain of the Clemson University Gospel Choir, a student run organization that aims to minister through music. Additionally, Malaysia works with the Clemson REACH Program which aims to tell the stories of the important work Clemson University does in the field of agriculture. Links for CONNECTIONS, Clemson University Gospel Choir, and The REACH Program are embedded and provided below.

Malaysia had the opportunity earlier this summer to participate in the Erwin Center for Brand Communication’s  . This weeklong program is an immersive experience for college students interested in the field of brand communications. DIVE IN is dedicated to advancing diversity in brand communications by enhancing skills and abilities of future brand leaders. Malaysia worked on how to better brand her own podcast called “The 20 Something Christian in 2020.” Malaysia launched her podcast a few weeks before the program, so DIVE IN helped her figure out how to market her new brand. She explained how the program improved her ability to pitch her podcast to people and “completely changed how she views the marketing program.” In light of learning more about her own brand, Malaysia’s favorite day of the program was hearing about the work fellow students had been doing the past week. She explained how cool it was to see how everyone put a little piece of themselves in their own project.

As mentioned above, Malaysia has started her own podcast called “The 20 Something Christian in 2020.”  She explained how 2020 was a hard year for everyone and how she feels that many things that we saw as normal have now shifted. One of the biggest shifts that have taken place in her own life is the atmosphere of the church. She believes that there need to be more real conversations and bigger space for grace, so she is using her podcast to do just that. Through her podcast, Malaysia is touching on real conversations and real experiences in order to create a space where young Christians feel welcomed, heard, and even inspired to learn more about the gospel. “Life doesn’t have limits, so nothing is off limits,” she says. Her podcast can be found on anchor.fm/thetwentysomething where it provides all of the streaming sites available.

Throughout her time at Clemson University, Malaysia has realized that while college comes with a lot of freedom, it also comes with a lot of pressures. This is why Malaysia’s advice to all incoming Freshman is to “be your authentic self.” Clemson University provides a space for all types of people and hundreds of different ways to express yourself. She believes that the best advice anyone can hear is that what’s meant for you will come to you as long as you remain true to yourself.

In addition to reading contemporary Christian fiction and binge watching the television show Criminal Minds, Malaysia will be spending the rest of her summer planning a family trip for a week in July, working at a summer camp, and capturing interesting stories that she is surrounded by for her future newsreel.

Learn more about the program’s Malaysia is involved with by clicking the links below:

CONNECTIONS: https://www.clemson.edu/studentaffairs/case/connections/index.html

Clemson University Gospel Choir: https://sites.google.com/a/g.clemson.edu/cugc/?fbclid=IwAR15cRSu-mPXRB3orj4Rf_uUizfrRvcvsnLQHrAynmPLj3yLbtaRpvVwZbY

Erwin Center’s DIVE IN Brand Academy: https://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/erwin/dive-in/index.html

“The 20 Something Year Old Christian in 2020” Podcast: www.anchor.fm/thetwentysomething

International Spotlight

Intern Insights allows current departmental interns to share their perspective on topics relevant to their experience as an undergraduate student. Italicized terms will appear in glossary at the end of the post

Part 3 Nini Dica

When I met Nini Dica I thought to myself, this kid has to have one of the sickest accents I’ve ever heard. If you don’t catch his accent, you can’t miss him burning through campus on his notorious electric scooter between the dorms and athletic facilities. Nini was born and raised in Timisoara, Romania. His hometown is one of the biggest in Romania due to the economic benefits found there which means there is a greater influx of people and cultures coming to Timisoara from eastern Europe.

Timisoara, Romania.

Nini began playing football at the age of  two because his father, Nelu, had a coaching and management role for the professional team, Poli Timisoara. Nini’s journey with tennis began one night when he was seven while his father, Nelu, was hanging out with some friends, including a tennis coach. Nini started messing around with the racket and ball that was available and football was replaced with tennis.  At 12, Nini became more serious about his tennis career after he won the Nike Junior Master competition and had the opportunity to travel to the United States and compete in a larger competition. After visiting the United States he “knew the tennis was great here.” Nini moved to Belgrade, Serbia, and spent the last five years training where tennis greats like Tiravic trained.

Timisoara, Romania

It was Nini’s Mother who pushed him to pursue an education in the United States whilst continuing his tennis career. As we all know, mother knows best!  With her encouragement, Nini began his US college journey and was caught between two college choices, Pepperdine and Clemson.  Ultimately, Nini said his decision was made easy because he “…came to Clemson because of the coaches and the tennis team.” He knew this would be a great move to continue to develop his game and pursue his goals. Additionally, upon reflecting on his visit to Clemson with his father, he said, “I liked the people and the community. I came when Clemson played Wake Forest, it was the first American football game I saw and the atmosphere was nice!”

Nini competing in Europe

Nini arrived in Clemson in May 2021 on a quiet Friday night. He explained to me how the first weeks here were tough for him because he missed his friends and the spontaneous nature and busy pace of the lifestyle associated with living in European cities. Nini said “[being at Clemson] continues to get better as my teammates return and more people arrive back on campus … I love the nature here, the tennis is nice, the people are nice.” Nini is a man of few words but deeply introspective and grateful to be here.

Nini is currently recovering from knee surgery on his ACL which he had operated on in January of 2021. He is working with one of our athletic trainers, Donna,  to do rehab and exercises in our basketball facility, Littlejohn Coliseum. It’s great seeing Nini put in the work every day to heal and get ready to compete for the Tigers this year, to which he is “very excited for the season to start.”

Wishing you the best for your freshman season mate and settling into Clemmy!!

Local Terms/Phrases/Slang to Get Familiar With

Sickest: Often used in Australia as a synonym for awesome or cool.

Clemmy: In Australia we give literally anything and everything nicknames or contract words, I don’t know if anyone else refers to Clemson as this lol but I do.

Nini Speaks Romanian

Football: It is common for people to refer to soccer as football.

Intern Insights: International Spotlight

Intern Insights allows current departmental interns to share their perspective on topics relevant to their experience as an undergraduate student: italicized terms will appear in glossary at the end of the post

Part 2 Ousmane Sylla

I met Ousmane Sylla in May 2021. I’d made my way home from my day of class and workouts and was settling in for the arvo when I heard a knock at the door. Seeing as all of my teammates were, for the most part, home for our summer break, I figured I’d open the door to an RA. Nope. Sylla stood at my door after a hand with a math problem. Now I wouldn’t at all claim we share a love of math—and I was hopeless at helping him out with the problem. Since then however, a knock on my door has become pretty standard.  Sylla and I have forged one of the most competitive friendships founded upon introducing him to UNO and a shared appreciation for Chipotle.

Sylla hails from Dakar, the capital of Senegal, Africa. Speaking about his hometown, he shared, “It’s a pretty cool city, I live near the beach. About 16 million people live there.” Sylla started playing soccer when he was only 3 years old.  He and his friends from the neighborhood would play in the streets from morning until what felt like 7 or 8pm when his grandma would yell for him to come back inside.

Sylla home with his grandmother Ndeye Sylla.          Sylla practicing last fall.

First Steps in the US

He first started playing soccer more competitively when he was 15 after moving from Africa to the United State–. Sylla continued his education and played at Montverde Academy after being scouted/recruited to play at a more elite level. Sylla did not speak English when he arrived in the United States which was challenging because he was also experiencing culture shock. In response to his early experiences in the US, he said “it was very hard. It was tough.” In addition to different lifestyles and societal norms, he also was adapting to factors like new foods and acclimating to the weather. Like I said in my last post, grits, they’re weird.

Despite the challenges and adversity he faced, Sylla explained to me why he persists and continues pursue his passion of playing soccer professionally. Simply put, you have to sacrifice and “give what it takes” to pursue your dreams. For him, like myself and other student athletes on our campus, this meant moving away from his parents, siblings, grandparents and friends for an opportunity to compete against some of the best in the United States. However, I can only imagine how alienating it had to be to deal with a language barrier on top of southern slang itself which really is something else.

Sylla shared, “I love soccer, soccer is more than my sport.” He channels his motivation from role models he looks up to like Kobe Bryant for his mentality with regard to sport. His father Ibou Dada, is another big inspiration for him, as he taught him to always be the best version of himself, kind and respectful. The more time I spend with Sylla, the more I pick up on little golden mantra’s like “rest at the end and not in the middle.” Or my personal favorite “the job’s not done yet” to tell yourself when you are really digging in and gassed (exhausted) in a workout. I loved hearing about Sylla’s mindset because it speaks to the courage and determination of international students and, specifically student athletes, to achieve their goals. Like Sylla says “If you have a dream, you have to go get it.”

Sylla and his Father Ibou Sylla.

Dreams Deferred but Looking Ahead

Originally, Sylla was supposed to come to Clemson in August 2020 but he couldn’t get to America from Senegal due to COVID-19 impacting travel. As happy as he was to watch his team win the ACC Championship, he said it was frustrating for him to not be able to be a part of it. Sylla detailed that he chose to come to Clemson because of the great soccer program and coaching staff. He connected with their values reflecting the things he holds as important in his life including community, family and having a winning mentality because he knows this will drive them to future team success. Sylla stated “I am really excited to be part of the Fall [2021] season. I also really enjoy being at Clemson because of all the new experiences I have had off the field.”

Sylla playing last Spring.

From Sylla’s first steps in the United States learning English and experiencing American culture, to having to patiently wait to join his team last Spring to play, he has conducted himself with great character. But don’t be fooled, he is also highly competitive going by UNO as a standard or the card game Ganagui he taught me. So let his journey and the challenges he overcame serve as testament to me telling you, he will definitely be someone to watch this season when he competes in the Fall for the Tigers!

Much love brother!

Diam

At the lake!                                A Chipotle run when we got soaked in the rain, apparently                                                                                neither of us have got the whole South Carolina weather thing down yet.

Local Terms/Phrases/Slang to Get Familiar With

Arvo: afternoon.

After a hand: to help someone out with a task or issue/problem.

Is something else: to say something really is something else, you are probably perplexed by the situation.

Wolof, Translations

The Language Sylla speaks at home.

Ganagui: the card game Sylla taught me.

Diam: peace.