Year: 2022

Happy Fall, everyone! It’s about time you learn more about our Fall interns, and our wonderful Mentor, Dr. Pindar:

Dani Medvedeva 

What is your Favorite Food and why?

Dani’s favorite food is sushi. She loves fish and rice separately, so together they make her favorite dish. If you want to try a great Sushi place in the Clemson area Dani recommends Tokyo Sushi Grill.

What is the most exciting thing you did over the summer? If you did it with someone, who was it with? 

Dani completed her very first internship with the Department of Communications. She values how much she got to learn about being in a more professional work environment. She also enjoyed immersing herself in something that was not related to athletics and something that helped her in regard to professional development. 

What are you looking forward to this semester? 

Dani is most excited about being back in a routine. She prefers being in a routine and balancing school, practice, and internship. She is very excited about competing with her teammates, and representing Clemson University through tennis. 

     Sophia Wilkins

What is your Favorite Food and why?

Chicken Tenders because you can almost never get them wrong, and they taste good at almost every restaurant you go to! She loves their reliability. 

What is the most exciting thing you did over the summer? If you did it with someone, who was it with? 

Sophia got the opportunity to go to an amazing music festival in Alabama. She was able to go with a close friend and bonded over the unique experience with her. A highlight of the festival was seeing one of her favorite artists, Post Malone,  and singing her favorite song, circles. 

What are you looking forward to this semester? 

She is looking forward to figuring out her career path and fall. Doing all fun seasonal things like apple picking, trying the seasonally flavored treats and beverages, and all of the fall holidays. 

Maylin Lindsey 

What is your Favorite Food and why?

Maylin’s favorite food constantly changes. However, she really enjoys Japanese fusion or contemporary asian meals. Her favorite restaurants from her hometown, Philadelphia, include Sampan, Double Knot. 

What is the most exciting thing you did over the summer? If you did it with someone, who was it with? 

The most exciting thing Maylin did over the summer was travel to Mexico with her close family to celebrate a family member’s wedding. She also got the opportunity to have two amazing internship opportunities. One was with the Department of Communications here at Clemson and the other was with an amazing Homeownership Education company.

What are you looking forward to this semester? 

Maylin is looking forward to learning more about her major as the classes are getting more specific. She’s also looking forward to football games and Clemson Game-days. 

Dr. Pindar

What is your Favorite Food and why?

I absolutely love lunching at Sunnyside Café with the Bacon Fontina Sandwich with fries, grits or a biscuit. This is one of my favorite meals because I usually am having lunch and catching up with my best friend and colleague, Lindsey!

What is the most exciting thing you did over the summer? If you did it with someone, who was it with? 

I spent my summer relaxing out on Hartwell as often as possible on a boat. When not on the lake, I traveled to see friends and celebrate their achievements (babies, weddings, you name it!) and caught a music festival or show here and there. 

What are you looking forward to this semester? 

I’m looking forward to finally getting back into a real groove this year—seeing students, teaching classes, and engaging with colleagues across campus in meaningful ways.

Now that you know more about those behind the scenes, we look forward to sharing more content with the Department of Communication. Don’t hesitate to say hi if you see us around!

How to find us online:

LinkedIn: Department of Communication-Clemson University

YouTube: ClemsonCOMMChannel

Instagram: @Clemson_Comm

Twitter: @ClemsonCOMM

Facebook. @ClemsonCOMM

Online: www.clemson.edu/communication

Who is Colleen Hoover? 

 As school started winding down, Colleen Hoover was the first author I picked up. Since then I’ve been on a reading spree. I’m currently reading my 5th book by her and by the time this is published I’m sure I’ll be finished by now. Colleen Hoover is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of over 20 books. Her books cover a variety of genre’s including, young adult contemporary, romance, indie, even thriller. She’s the third most followed author on Goodreads, behind Stephen King and Bill Gates. Good reads is the “world’ largest site for reader and book recommendations” it allows readers to share books they love and find books that they’ll love. I love reading, especially in the summer. It’s one of my favorite forms of relaxation and entertainment. It forces me to slow down, be present, and enjoy the moment. While I love a good movie or tv show, sometimes I get tired of looking at a screen or just don’t want to at all.

Her most popular book right now “It Ends with Us” was written nearly 6 years ago, but has experienced a “surge” in popularity in 2021. All because of Tiktok! Tiktok has quickly become the new generation’s most used app which does wonders for propelling the success of young entrepreneurs, content creators, and even authors.

Below is my summer reading list and a great start to dive in to Hoover’s work. Check out more about this author online and through her storytelling–she’s amazing!

Summer Reading List: 

1. It Ends With Us 
2. Verity
3. Reminders of him 
4. Ugly Love

-Maylin Lindsey, Fall 2022 Intern

Follow our work here and be sure to check-out our work in these locations:

LinkedIn: Department of Communication-Clemson University
YouTube: ClemsonCOMMChannel
Instagram: @Clemson_Comm
Twitter: @ClemsonCOMM
Facebook. @ClemsonCOMM
Online: www.clemson.edu/communication

Hi Everyone, my name is Dani and as a student-athlete (women’s tennis) at Clemson, I’ve had the unique opportunity to work with Student Athlete Development to build my network and leadership connections beyond the tennis arena. I’m thrilled to share my recent involvement with POWER Leadership Academy.

This past June Clemson athletics, together with IPTAY, took a group of women student athletes and staff to a POWER Chicago trip. POWER is a group of women athletes and staff at Clemson who work on ensure the female student athlete’s college experience is enhanced through ensuring women collegiate athletes at Clemson are provided the same resources and opportunities as the male sports. We spent three days in Chicago and while difficulty parcel down into one post, I will walk you through our trip and the greatest takeaways that I think will benefit all students as we work to become young scholars and professionals.

DAY 1: Style

As soon as we hopped off the plane, we swung by Nordstrom to shop for business professional attire. We all had our own stylists who helped us find the right outfits for us. The biggest take away from there was that one should never be afraid to be yourself, even when you are dressing for professional events. Everyone has their own style and way of expression and that we can channel that expression for multiple settings. For example, I felt more comfortable and worked with my stylist to find brightly colored and fitted clothing while my friend appreciates more muted colors that are bit more breezy. No style is better than another, it just means we all bring something different to the table and can look professional in our own ways.

DAY2: Drop the Doubts

As our first activity, we met with two women who work at IMPROV company. We did various games and talks in order to get comfortable with each other and the work we would be doing.  What I didn’t realize until the end of the session is that I was learning so much about myself, too, because some of our activities really enabled us to open up with one another. The biggest lesson learned there was to never be afraid to be yourself, to show your personality or your emotions/worries. Being a woman, I sometimes believe we think we need to close-up and be the calm one in the room and control our emotions at our best, however, if expressed in the right way, you will see how many people share the same thoughts as you. 

We also had a networking session with a variety of successful women who were top in their fields like marketing, management, law, and so much more. To be honest,  I was worried before talking to them; I did not think there was going to be a flawless conversation or that they would even be interested in talking to me. However, once they walked in and I started conversation with a couple of these wonderful women, my nerves went away, the conversations were quality, and they wanted to know about me. During our conversations they  saw and pointed out so many great skills and characteristics that I knew I had but I didn’t think they were a big deal.  I have learned to not be so critical towards myself and take pride in all the assets that I have and not to doubt myself. I walked in there with so many insecurities, which turned out to be my best qualities, so never doubt yourself!

DAY3:

We visited Gatorade headquarters and our tour guide showed around the offices, explaining that it was emptier than normal because COVID protocols only dictated that employees be in-office for meetings. However, we were able to ask those in attendance many question about the work environment, the skills relevant for the job and the pathways they took to arrive where they are today.  What I realized that so many of these women didn’t even know that they wanted to be in marketing or in whatever they’re doing now. The whole point is that it does not matter where you are now or that you are undecided with what you want to do, it is all about trying and seeing what you like, what you’re best at and exploring until you find what you truly want to keep doing for a long time or as a career. They did not say that college degree did not matter, not at all, however they did say you can work almost everywhere with any college degree if you are someone who is hard working and wants to learn. 

Although I am an undergraduate student, I think the greatest lesson learned is to never be scared to network and we all have valuable qualities and skills–we just have to believe in ourselves–and that can make all the difference.

-Dani Medvedeva, Summer 2022 Intern

Follow our work here and be sure to check-out our work in these locations:

LinkedIn: Department of Communication-Clemson University
YouTube: ClemsonCOMMChannel
Instagram: @Clemson_Comm
Twitter: @ClemsonCOMM
Facebook. @ClemsonCOMM
Online: www.clemson.edu/communication

Also follow Student-Athlete Development on Instagram: @Clemsonsadev

My Experience at Hangout Music Festival 🙂

Picture this; it’s a random day in April. I’m sitting on a bench in front of Daniel Hall (because where else would I be) when I receive a call from my cousin with an offer that I couldn’t refuse. 

“Would you come with me to Hangout Music Festival if my mom buys you a ticket?”

While in utter confusion because I’ve never heard of Hangout Music Festival, I tell her that I’ll call her back. My first move is to look it up. I see the names “Post Malone” and “Doja Cat” and I immediately call her back and say yes without hesitation. Believe it or not, I have never been to a concert other than Bruce Springstein with my mom (ugh) so this was really exciting for me! My aunt wanted me to come because my cousin is 17 years old, and she needed someone to watch over her.

Fast forward to May 19, 2022– it’s time to go! Hangout Fest is in Gulf Shores, Alabama. My cousin lives a few hours away from there, in Fort Payne. On the

Thursday of May 19, I flew to her house, where I was warmly welcomed by her adorable cats. 

The next morning, we drove down to Gulf Shores. We stayed in an RV park, which was something I never thought I’d do, but it was actually really cute and convenient– a 5 minute walk from the festival! After spending 2 hours covering ourselves in makeup, bubble braids, and glitter, it was time to go. It had to be 90 degrees out, but we didn’t care. As soon as we walked in, I was shocked by the atmosphere; the entire festival was on the beach! There were food stands everywhere, 4 stages, a DJ tent, hammocks, and so many people. We started at the Surf Stage where Oliver Tree performed. I was really excited to hear him because of his song “Alien Boy.” The crowd was ecstatic when that song came on! After this, we went to the DJ tent for quite some time. Though it was blazing hot in there, it was probably the most fun little tent to be inside. We were dancing our butts off for hours while multiple DJ’s came through!

We can skip the rest of these little performances and start talking about the headliners. Zedd was amazing, with a strong start and lots of flames. Following Zedd was my favorite artist, Post Malone. We didn’t leave the crowd during the hour break between Zedd and Post Malone, and we spent this hour shoving our way to the front. We got pretty close! Post Malone was amazing– his performance was so meaningful and you could tell that he cared so much for his fans. I even cried when my favorite song, Circles, came on.

The next day, we were supposed to see Doja Cat, however she unfortunately canceled due to issues with her tonsils. On the bright side, Lil Yachty had to be the most fun performance ever. He handed out water bottles for his performance, and made everyone open them and throw them in the air at the same time– it was awesome!

Overall, Hangout Fest was the experience of a lifetime and I will definitely be returning next year. Not only was it so much fun, but it also brought me so much closer to my cousin!

–Sophia Wilkins, Junior, Communication

Three new interns are working under the guidance of Dr. Lori Pindar as media communication and engagement interns this spring. Their internship experience in the Department of Communication will include content creation for the departmental blog, YouTube Channel, and other social as well as alumni outreach and interviews, external communication management and upkeep of the departmental newsletter. Learn more about Sophia, Maylin, and Daniella below!

Sophia Wilkins ‘24 | Communication (BA)

Sophia is a rising junior Communication major with a double minor in Brand Comm and Italian! Though she has not been to Italy yet, you’ll catch her there one day speaking the worst Italian you’ve ever heard! This is now her third semester as an intern for the Department of Communication, so you can find her previous work in the blogs, weekly newsletters, and social media posts! Sophia is from New Jersey and will be spending her summer at the Jersey Shore (don’t worry, it’s not like the TV show). Obviously with a Jersey Shore summer comes a passion for tanning, along with fitness and art!

Maylin Lindsey ‘24 | Economics (BA)

Maylin is a rising junior from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and she is majoring in Economics with a minor in Spanish Studies. Although she is an Economics major she loves branching out and trying new things which is what led her tobecoming a Department of Communications Intern and this is her second semester interning with Dr. Pindar. Maylin loves staying active, coffee, and taking care of her wellness, physically and mentally. One of her other favorite hobbies is reading! So, you can catch her reading all of Colleen Hoover’s books this summer while tanning on the beach in Mexico! 

 Daniella Medvedeva ‘23 | Management  (BS)

Daniella is a Junior from Kaliningrad, Russia, however she spent most of her life living in Mallorca, Spain. She is majoring in International Management with a Brand Communications minor. Daniella forms part of the Clemson women’s tennis team. She is very energetic, positive, goofy, and hardworking. This isn’t only her first internship with Dr.Pindar in the Communications Department, but also her first internship ever. Tennis has taken Daniella all over the world, giving her the opportunity to meet a lot of friends, see different cultures, and explore more than 30 countries. This has also helped her be fluent in 4 languages (English,Spanish,Russian, and Catalan) and understand a couple more. This summer Daniella will be spending in Clemson working out, so you can catch her at the Duckworth Tennis Facility.

Follow our work here and be sure to check-out our work in these locations:

LinkedIn: Department of Communication-Clemson University

YouTube: ClemsonCOMM Channel

Instagram: @Clemson_Comm

Twitter: @ClemsonCOMM

Facebook. @ClemsonCOMM

Online: www.clemson.edu/communication

Health and Wellness can be an intimidating topic. With its definition ranging from rigorous 7-day programs including 5:00am workouts and counting macronutrients to the contrary, taking simply 5-minutes a day to sit in meditation. While both definitions can be true, starting either can be challenging. In this article we’ll touch on simple things that can make starting your journey to your optimal wellness goal a little bit easier. 

• Figure out what you really want 

Getting clear on what your intention of starting your health and wellness journey really is makes it a lot easier to keep going when it seems overwhelming. Ask yourself some of these questions: 

“What do I want to get out of this?” 

Do you want to improve your physical strength? Do you want to become more mindful? Do you want to show yourself that you can exercise discipline without the help of anyone else? Do you want to become better at cooking? Do you want to just know that you’re completing one task daily that contributes to your overall wellness? Figuring out what your “why” is and asking some of these questions can provide a lot of clarity and help you figure out where you want to begin on your journey. 

• Set manageable and realistic goals 

It’s very easy to say that you want to be the type of person that wakes up early, goes to the gym everyday consistently, eats healthy, and drinks a gallon of water a day. However, those are 5 different changes you’d be making to your daily life. Realistically, incorporating all of these changes will result in 5 different habit changes, and all at once those could be very hard to keep up or will result in failure. If you fail at one of these goals early on it could be very easy to decide to give up early on, therefore setting smaller realistic goals in the beginning is the best way to create these new habits. 

• Give yourself some grace 

Give yourself some grace, changing old habits is not an easy thing to do. I think the emphasis on this whole article should be on the fact that it is a journey. Most journey’s aren’t linear. There will be ups and downs, easy days and hard times, and those where you’re extremely motivated and some days where you’re not at all. Throughout all of them it’s extremely important to give yourself some room to make errors while keeping your goals in the forefront of your mind! 

—Maylin Lindsey, Communication Intern

Follow our work here and be sure to check-out our work in these locations:

LinkedIn: Department of Communication-Clemson University
YouTube: ClemsonCOMMChannel
Instagram: @Clemson_Comm
Twitter: @ClemsonCOMM
Facebook. @ClemsonCOMM
Online: www.clemson.edu/communication

February is the month of relationships. Whether intentional or not we all start thinking about relationships well before the 14th arrives. This can mean celebrating with a romantic partner or celebrating with Galentines. Romantic relationships are not the only relationships to be celebrated this month though. I think in order to strengthen all of our relationships and really understand each other we must understand where we each come from. Black History Month is something that everyone can celebrate, not only just those of us who are black but others as well because we are all a family, especially here at Clemson. Together we can honor the history that has come before us and learn how we can make our present and future better.

 Nationwide, institutions and individuals are celebrating this month in various ways. Below are some of the ways that our Clemson Community is celebrating Black History Month.

The Gantt Multicultural Center is hosting many different events. Some of the upcoming events include:

February 15 Keynote Speaker: Alex Tha Great

February 16 Ancestry Workshop

February 18 Game Night Sweets & Spades

February 20: Call My Name Tours

February 20: Woodland Cemetery Tours

February 22: For the Culture: Open Mic Night | Special Guest: Ebony Stewart

February 23: Black Caucus Meeting

February 24: Guest Speaker: Dr. Millicent Brown

This past weekend, the Gantt Center partnered with Clemson Athletics to host Soul Food Sunday. This event brought students, faculty, and student-athletes together over a delicious meal. There was music, dancing, and games truly giving it a family cookout feel. Everyone gathered and found community through this event. It was special getting to see so many students together who had never seen one another before – all enjoying the afternoon together.

In honor of Black History Month, Student-Athlete development created UNITY bracelets for our Clemson athletes. The first of this month I was happy to be able to help hand out these wristbands as our athletes walked in the doors of the Nieri Student-Athlete Enrichment Center. As they got their wrist bands we asked the athletes “What do you want your legacy to be at Clemson?”. They each took their time and wrote down a word, phrase, or paragraph explaining what legacy they want to leave behind once they graduate. The answers varied and were each incredibly powerful. 

“Be the best teammate I can possibly be” “I want my legacy to be that I gave 100% in the classroom and on the field” “Make the world a more inclusive place” “Inspire other African-Americans to be great in this world” “Be that dude” “Someone who cared for others”

These are just some of the many legacies that they wrote down. I challenge you right now to pause and think about what you want your legacy to be. Write it down even. It really is powerful to think that each of us will have a legacy and we get to choose what that will be.

As a leader within Tigers Unite – a Clemson student-athlete led organization, I was very honored to be able to help put this event together. MCA, our Multicultural Alliance, was able to connect athletics with the rest of the Clemson community. My hope for the event was that students and faculty from all different parts of our family could come together to just see new faces and make new connections. There was lots of happiness in the air at this event and I am sure that the Black History Month celebrations in the future will continue to be even more unifying. Some questions to ponder this month as we continue to celebrate Black History are “Why do I believe this is important to celebrate? And “What can I do to celebrate?” 

—Eleonor Gunnarson-Wright, Communication Intern

Follow these events and organizations on social through the accounts listed below:

• Student-Athlete Development Instagram: @Clemsonsadev
• Gantt Center Instagram: @cugantt

Follow our work here and be sure to check-out our work in these locations:

LinkedIn: Department of Communication-Clemson University
YouTube: ClemsonCOMMChannel
Instagram: @Clemson_Comm
Twitter: @ClemsonCOMM
Facebook. @ClemsonCOMM
Online: www.clemson.edu/communication

Meet the Interns | Spring 2022

Four new interns are working under the guidance of Dr. Lori Pindar as media communication and engagement inters this spring. Their internship experience in the Department of Communication will include content creation for the departmental blog, YouTube Channel, and other social as well as alumni outreach and interviews, external communication management and upkeep of the departmental newsletter. Learn more about Eleonor, Sophia, Maylin, and Jailah below!

Eleonor Wright

Eleonor is a senior Marketing major and French minor from Nashville, TN. She is on the Women’s Rowing team here at Clemson and this is her second semester as an intern for the Communication department. Eleonor is active within the student-athlete led organization Tigers Unite and specifically the MCA (Multi-Cultural Alliance) affinity group. Eleonor is looking forward to continuing work as a media intern because she is interested in pursuing this type of work after she graduates and hopes that this experience will add to her skills and portfolio. When she is not active on campus you can find Eleonor unwinding pool side with a good book.

Sophia Wilkins

Sophia is a sophomore Communication major with a double minor in brand communications and Italian! Sophia is from Scotch Plains, NJ, and this is her second semester interning for the Department of Communication. Sophia is thrilled to return as a UPIC intern because she is learning a lot about herself and her career goals! You can find Sophia’s work in the weekly newsletter sent out to those in the Department of Communication via email. When she’s not finding GIFs for the weekly newsletter, you can find Sophia watching Grey’s Anatomy and eating the Italian Nightclub sub from Jimmy Johns.

Maylin Lindsey

Maylin is a sophomore Economics major and Spanish minor. This is her third semester as a UPIC intern, but first semester with the Communication department. She currently serves as the Vice President of Clemson’s Chapter of The Women’s Clemson Network and is an active member of Multi-Cultural Alliance and Tiger Leadership Academy. Maylin is looking forward to help her figure out what she wants to do with her career and to continue to form meaningful relationships with others also working with the Communication department. Maylin loves to spend time outdoors working out, hiking, or laying on the beach.

Jailah Zanders

Jailah is a senior Spanish and International Health major from Concord, NC. This is her first semester as a UPIC intern but she has worked before as an intern during her study abroad in Costa Rica. She is a 4th year member of the National Champion Clemson program which participates in a number of community and on campus events year round. Jailah looks forward to the opportunity to learn and expand into a newer field and form relationships in the Department of Communication before graduating this May. She enjoys watching tv with her roommates and their dog and cats when out of uniform!

Follow our work here and be sure to check-out our work in these locations:

LinkedIn: Department of Communication-Clemson University
YouTube: ClemsonCOMMChannel
Instagram: @Clemson_Comm
Twitter: @ClemsonCOMM
Facebook. @ClemsonCOMM
Online: www.clemson.edu/communication