Kevin Thor
Kathy Castle
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05/12/2016
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191
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Creative Producer: Aliza Brugger
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- [00:00:01.653](optimistic music)
- [00:00:08.721]My name is Kevin Thor, and I am a double major
- [00:00:11.901]communication studies and management
- [00:00:13.822]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
- [00:00:16.221]I actually served as an instructional assistant
- [00:00:18.781]for a business and professional communications
- [00:00:20.841]class with Elizabeth Flood-Grady.
- [00:00:23.461]And she, at the time, was really pushing me
- [00:00:26.321]to be a communications studies major
- [00:00:29.239]based off of what we were doing in class,
- [00:00:31.402]everything that we were learning and kind of
- [00:00:33.161]taking all of that into context, and ultimately,
- [00:00:35.861]she really pushed me into adding the major,
- [00:00:38.121]and absolutely loved that I did that.
- [00:00:40.461]I'd say one of my ultimate classes that I took
- [00:00:42.861]was the communication in the digital age,
- [00:00:44.561]so it's all focused on social media platforms,
- [00:00:47.102]blogging, identity, understanding the different
- [00:00:50.638]types of identities that we have and that we can
- [00:00:53.177]present ourselves online and offline,
- [00:00:55.045]'cause that's really relevant with, I guess,
- [00:00:57.215]everything that we're doing now with business
- [00:00:59.249]and in the communication in the professional world.
- [00:01:01.401]So I loved being able to see what it means to communicate
- [00:01:04.996]on a professional level on the, in the digital realm,
- [00:01:08.616]but also how to evaluate and see how that works
- [00:01:10.378]in the professional setting in person as well.
- [00:01:12.906]I'd say the most important thing that I've learned
- [00:01:14.743]in my communications studies courses is how to
- [00:01:18.316]effectively communicate in a variety of settings.
- [00:01:21.916]So whether that's when I'm in business meetings
- [00:01:23.976]or if I'm communicating via Google Hangouts
- [00:01:26.421]or just in relationships on my personal level,
- [00:01:29.554]helping mentor students, coaching.
- [00:01:32.084]Every different avenue has a different way to
- [00:01:33.951]communicate effectively that'll actually add value,
- [00:01:37.016]turn out effective, and allow me to listen
- [00:01:38.476]and actually give positive impact on those individuals.
- [00:01:41.291]So I think it's really taught me how to
- [00:01:43.549]take it across the board to do something that's bigger
- [00:01:46.236]than just one level of communication at all times.
- [00:01:49.708]My favorite thing about being a communications studies major
- [00:01:52.716]is the conversations in the classrooms.
- [00:01:55.836]So it's all discussion based quite often,
- [00:01:58.296]and there's a lot of content put in, but everyone has
- [00:02:00.376]different perspectives that we bring together.
- [00:02:02.776]So the entirety of the class throughout each semester
- [00:02:05.416]you're learning and learning and learning
- [00:02:06.916]different ideas, different notions,
- [00:02:09.176]and kind of just, I guess, seeing
- [00:02:10.599]a bigger picture of what it is to communicate.
- [00:02:13.796]I love the faculty at the communications studies department.
- [00:02:17.133]They're always really open-minded
- [00:02:19.296]and up to a lot of perspectives,
- [00:02:21.496]so each class and each faculty member that we've worked with
- [00:02:24.076]I've always had just a ton of passion with them
- [00:02:27.896]where they're always interested
- [00:02:29.149]in what we're studying, what we want to research.
- [00:02:31.696]If I'm looking into certain projects or avenues,
- [00:02:33.856]they're always willing to help find solutions
- [00:02:36.288]or find ideas to help make sure
- [00:02:37.616]that I get to where I want to get.
- [00:02:39.356]So I really enjoy it.
- [00:02:41.496]With my communications studies degree
- [00:02:43.019]I plan on first moving internationally.
- [00:02:45.836]I'll be living in Vietnam, teaching.
- [00:02:47.916]And then I ultimately plan on getting an international
- [00:02:50.156]relations and international communications degree,
- [00:02:53.536]and working, hopefully within a government sector
- [00:02:57.103]internationally with communication focus,
- [00:02:59.596]whether that's the PR side, or working with mass media,
- [00:03:02.701]working with journalism, or just working
- [00:03:04.476]with internal communication, depending on where that is,
- [00:03:07.296]but something focused internationally with communication.
- [00:03:11.898]The biggest advice that I'd give to someone
- [00:03:14.216]considering a communications studies degree is to
- [00:03:17.790]take every class with a wide perspective,
- [00:03:21.916]and to be very vulnerable to ask questions
- [00:03:24.536]and dig further, 'cause there's always another way
- [00:03:26.956]to look at everything that you're
- [00:03:28.090]learning in communications studies,
- [00:03:29.958]and there's new ideas, new ways to take advantage of it.
- [00:03:33.056]And the faculty is there to help you
- [00:03:34.849]find those new ideas for yourself.
- [00:03:37.971](optimistic music)
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