How to succeed as an athlete at SC State University?

Between homework, campus clubs, internships, and many other college related situations that athletes have to focus on, I wanted to know how they stay successful at football while dealing with all these other important factors in college. According to exactsports.com, "You can balance your academics and athletics by mastering your time management in college, reaching out to your teachers, using every opportunity to study, utilize your campus resources, learning from your academic mistakes, and schedule classes that fit your athletic schedule." Also, according to ncaa.org, "An NCAA Student-Athlete Well-Being Study released last year, the number of student-athletes reporting mental health concerns is 1.5 to two times higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. An NCAA Student-Athlete Well-Being Study in the fall 2021, which was released in May 2022, examined the experiences of 9,808 college athletes. Respondents reported elevated rates of mental exhaustion and anxiety. Mental health concerns were highest among demographic subgroups commonly displaying higher rates of mental distress (e.g., women, student-athletes of color, those identifying on the queer spectrum and those reporting family economic hardship). I asked three

I asked Patrick Jenkins, who is a senior Communications major, how does he balance school and athletics. He said, "You have to have the mindset in your mind that priorities come first with playing sports while in school. The way I think about it is if I want to play any sport I must have the grades, or I won’t even be able to play. I’ve always been active and loved playing sports so I just had to find a way to manage my schoolwork in order to continue playing." I asked him what keeps him motivated to go to football practice. He said, "I love sports and football has been my game since I was a little kid. I played basketball and football in school until it was time for college, and I knew football was where my passion was. Some people don’t like football practice, but I like it because it helps you compete and get better every day. " The last question that I asked him was if he must maintain a certain GPA to stay on the football team. He said, "You don’t need a certain GPA but to be eligible to play you must meet NCAA requirements. I can’t remember the exact requirements but I do know you have to maintain at least a 2.5 GPA and be a full time student."

I asked Jared Kirksey, who is a senior Communications major, the previous questions. Here are his responses. "Balancing school and athletics are all about time management. Some weeks are harder than others depending on assignments and also game schedules along with practice but you have to try your best to balance it; My motivation for practice is I plan on going to the NFL and I know that takes hard work and dedication. Practice is just another part of that work to get better each day; You must avoid failing classes in order to stay eligible. If not, you won’t be able to play the next season depending on how many classes you fail, so you have to pass as many classes as possible."

I asked Lawson Danley, who is a senior Communications major, the previous questions. Here are his responses. "Coming into South Carolina State as a freshman, it was difficult getting accustomed to my schedule with athletics in college. It was an immediate difference from when I was in High school, having a block style schedule and only having practice after school. Now being in my Senior year, what I’ve learned is that in college, you’re doing way more for football and more in school. Time management is a very crucial thing as a college athlete. You’re going to be doing a lot during the day and throughout the week, and if you don’t manage your time well you won’t be able to get your work done; What keeps me motivated to come to practice is honestly just my love for the game. I’ve loved all sports my whole life and growing up that’s all I ever wanted to do. I knew at an early age that whatever I did in this world, it would have someone to do with athletics. My dream was always to go to the NFL like my father did back in the 80s. The older I became, the more realistic my dream became and I understood the chances of me getting an opportunity to play professionally someday are slim. So, everyone doesn’t get to play the sport they love forever, so I take advantage and enjoy every next practice, meeting, or game because it won’t last forever." 

For the last question he said, "Yes, you have to maintain a certain GPA as well as passing a certain amount of credit hours each semester to be eligible to play that season. Each University has their own policies for their program, but every Division 1 University has to have the minimum requirements by the NCAA. To be eligible to play in the fall season, you have to maintain a core GPA of a 2.3 or better to be eligible, and you have to of passed at least 12 credit hours."

Patrick Jenkins

Jared Kirksey

Lawson Danley

Breaking/Spot News Story - Extra Curricular Activities of SC State Students

College campuses around the country offer students various activities to do, such as clubs, sports, marching band, choirs, student government, and community service activities. Knowing that SC State offers students these activities, I asked three SCSU students what do you do for fun while at college, what campus organizations are they a part of as well as what activities does that organization do, and what are their hobbies. I asked Amauri Allen, who is a senior communications major, what campus organization is he a part of/what activities does that organization do. He said, "I am a part of the Beta Delta, chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. My fraternity is all about serving our surrounding communities and making the world a better place." I asked Chantelle Simpkins, who is a junior communications major, what she does for fun while at college. She said, "Some things I do for fun on campus are hanging out with my sisters. I usually go to events on campus like meltdowns or even games with them. I also enjoy going to the café with my sister because it gives us time just to talk."

Amauri Allen

Chantelle Simpkins

Extra Curricular Activities of SC State Students

College campuses around the country offer students various activities to do, such as clubs, sports, marching band, choirs, student government, and community service activities. Even though this story is based on college student activity interests, here is a link to 100 Epic College Event Ideas for Students on Campus [2023]. Some of the ideas from this website link include, "Host a music concert, a trivia night, movie night, service project, or charity walk/run." Knowing that SC State offers students these activities, I asked three SCSU students what campus organizations are they a part of/what activities does that organization do, what do you do for fun while at college, and what are their hobbies. 

I asked Amauri Allen, who is a senior communications major, what campus organization is he a part of/what activities does that organization do. He said, "I am a part of the Beta Delta, chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. My fraternity is all about serving our surrounding communities and making the world a better place." I also asked him what he does for fun while at college. He said, "For fun, I usually just hang out with friends, enjoying small road trips and discovering new music. Sometimes I may dance at the dance studio just to release some stress and just for the fun of it. I love to do contemporary dancing as well as hip hop." The last question I asked him was what his hobbies are. He said, "My hobby is fashion. I love finding new clothes and styling them in different ways. I found my love for fashion form my mother. My mother and my brother have a nice sense of style."

I asked Chantelle Simpkins, who is a junior communications major, the previous questions. These are her responses. "One organization I am apart of is Kinks N Curls. Kinks N Curls is an organization where we bring awareness to different types of hair and hairstyles. We hold forums like hair porosity and protective hairstyles. We also hold fairs to sell different things to raise money; Some things I do for fun on campus are hanging out with my sisters. I usually go to events on campus like meltdowns or even games with them. I also enjoy going to the café with my sister because it gives us time just to talk; When it comes to hobbies there’s not much that I do but I do like working out. I also enjoy eating a new place when I have the time. One more thing I like to do is sleep because a lot of the time I am tired from the things I do doing my day.”

Strategies to succeed academically at SC State

In order to succeed in college, there are certain strategies that you need to have. You need to know how to study well, get to class on time, organize your homework, as well as prioritize your study time for quizzes, tests, and exams. Also, as the semester progresses, you might be showing up later to class rather than on time. I wanted to know what strategies that SC State professors, as well as a student, would suggest to the university’s student body. According to lpsonline.sas.upenn.edu, "Setting goals for each semester can be a highly effective strategy to help you keep your academic priorities in check. The SMART approach involves ensuring that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Here is an example of a SMART goal: Specific goal: Set aside at least one hour a day to read assigned course materials. Measure your progress daily by tracking your time through a study app (measurable). Ensure your goal is attainable by letting your friends and family know that you are unavailable during this set time and, if possible, turn off your phone. This goal is relevant because it will allow you to consistently stay on top of your readings, so you're prepared for class discussions and other coursework. This goal is timely because it allows you to track your progress daily, weekly, or monthly."

I asked two faculty members these questions: how students can organize themselves to complete their homework on time, besides faculty, who else can students ask to help them with their homework as well as study for quizzes and exams, and how can students prevent themselves from missing their classes. I asked a student these questions: how you organize yourself to complete your homework on time, who do you usually ask to help you with your homework and studying for quizzes and exams, and how do you prevent yourself from missing classes.

I asked Mr. Smith, who is a communications professor at SC State, how can students organize themselves to complete their homework on time. He said, "Make sure that you map out what you need to do and prioritize certain things, such as what I need to do most first, and then afterwards. I also asked Mr. Smith, besides faculty, who else can students ask to help them with their homework as well as study for quizzes and exams. He said, "At SC State, there are a lot of different resources, such the office of student success and also asking peers to help them. You can create study groups, use library resources as well as online resources." The last question that I asked was how students can prevent themselves from missing their classes. He said, "That's a hard question. I would say that students would have to prioritize coming to class. Once you prioritize that, then everything else will fall in line."

I asked Dr. Luke, who is the Director Office of International and National Student Exchange Programs, the previous questions. These are his responses. "Students need to develop a weekly schedule of all their activities from the time they wake up, to the time they go to bed for each day. They should designate specific times to do their homework, knowing that each hour for class they should be putting in two hours of study, including completing homework; Students should go to the student’s success center and seek help from tutors. There also some faculty that offer tutoring in their departments or recitals. and some departments have students support units in their departments; Students must be dedicated and committed to their classwork. Its a personal discipline commitment situation when it comes to students going to their classes. Students have to be committed to going to classes knowing that they are going to do better if they go compared to if they don't go."

I asked Emanuel Washington, who is a senior communications major at SC State, the previous questions. These are his responses. "I plan out the work that I have to do for the rest of the week, and then I see the due dates that their on so I know the pace that I want to do it at, or which class that I want to prioritize over another class. Then I make sure that certain household things are taken care off, so when its time to do my homework their are no distractions, or anything that would prevent me from doing so. I just need to take care of this stuff, like taking out the trash and cleaning the dishes, so that I can focus on my homework; My go to when I need help with homework, as well as studying for quizzes and exams is my classmate, Chantelle Simpkins. She is a very resourceful person and very smart, so when in need that is the first person I ask for help. The second person that I would see for help is you. You’re a person who maintains your grades well, you take school seriously, so you and Chantelle are my go to people when I need help with my homework; I set alarms in order to wake up on time. Since I work out, and have other prior commitments, waking up on time for certain things is definitely number one priority. Another thing that I do is plan my day ahead of time. For example, today is Sunday, so I have already planned Monday and Tuesday, between work, school and working out. This way, I know when I'm going to get stuff done. Also, I check my emails. Sometimes class gets cancelled and other things are subject to change, so I check my emails a lot and try to stay updated on things and try to maintain my schedule. Since I'm busy at times, checking my email can be resourceful."

Click this link to listen to the audio story

https://on.soundcloud.com/29X2P 

Breaking/Spot News Story - Strategies to succeed academically at SC State

In order to succeed in college, there are certain strategies that you need to have. You need to know how to study well, get to class on time, organize your homework, as well as prioritize your study time for quizzes, tests, and exams. Also, as the semester progresses, you might be showing up later to class rather than on time. I wanted to know what strategies that SC State professors, as well as a student, would suggest to the university’s student body. I asked Mr. Smith, who is a communications professor at SC State, how students can organize themselves to complete their homework on time. He said, "Make sure that you map out what you need to do and prioritize certain things, such as what I need to do most first, and then afterwards.” I asked Dr. Luke, who is the Director Office of International and National Student Exchange Programs, who else can students ask to help them with their homework as well as study for quizzes. He said, “Students should go to the student’s success center and seek help from tutors. There are also some faculty that offer tutoring in their departments or recitals. and some departments have student support units in their departments.”

Mr. Smith

Click the link below to hear the audio version Mr. Smith's interview

https://on.soundcloud.com/xtZyz

Breaking/Spot News Story - How to maintain and increase college students health and wellness

Many college students know that college life is stressful. Between assignments, projects, quizzes, final exams, and not getting enough sleep, college can be a lot to deal with at times. Knowing how stressful college can be at times, I asked two SC State students a few questions considering their health and wellness. I asked Jared Toby Kirksey if he considers his health and wellness an important aspect of his life. His response was, “As an athlete my health and wellness are very important parts of my life, I have to maintain a certain weight and try to limit myself with going overboard regarding bad foods because I know depending on what you eat you can feel like that in your next game or practice. I asked Emanuel Washington if he considers his health and wellness an important aspect of his life. His response was, “Yes, I consider health and wellness important in my life. I think it’s imperative that one takes their health seriously, especially while still young. The older we get the more we have to maintain our bodies, but if you never did that when you were younger it would be much harder. Overall, being healthy promotes longevity, less joint pain, better cardiovascular health, etc."

 Jared Kirksey

Click the link below to watch his interview 

Jared Kirksey - Health and Wellness

            Click the link below to hear the audio version of this interview

            https://on.soundcloud.com/4H6mf  

How to maintain and increase college students health and wellness

Many college students know that college life is stressful. Between assignments, projects, quizzes, final exams, and not getting enough sleep due to some of these things, college can be a lot to deal with at times. As time goes on, especially if we don't focus on our health and wellness, having more mental breakdowns will become our new reality. According to usnews.com, "In a Gallup poll that surveyed more than 2,400 college students in March 2023, 66% of reported experiencing stress and 51% reported feelings of worry "during a lot of the day." And emotional stress was among the top reasons students considered dropping out of college in the fall 2022 semester, according to findings in the State of Higher Education 2023 report, based on a study conducted in 2022 by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation." Knowing how stressful college can be at times, I asked two SC State students if they consider their health and wellness an important aspect of their life, what do they do to maintain their health and wellness, and which year of college do they think made their health and wellness the most unbalanced.

I asked Jared Toby Kirksey, a senior communications major, if he considers his health and wellness an important aspect of his life. “As an athlete my health and wellness are very important parts of my life, I have to maintain a certain weight and try to limit myself with going overboard regarding bad foods because I know depending on what you eat you can feel like that in your next game or practice.” I also asked him what does he do to maintain his health and wellness. " In order to maintain my health and wellness’s exercise and try to eat and drink in a balanced way." The last question I asked was which year of college does he think made their health and wellness the most unbalanced. "My freshman year of college of the year because of Covid I wasn’t able to work out the way I wanted so I gained weight and was eating very unhealthy and I turned it around my sophomore and junior year."

I asked Emanuel Washington, who is also a senior communications major, the previous questions. These are his responses. “Yes, I consider health and wellness important in my life. I think it’s imperative that one takes there health seriously, especially while still young. The older we get the more we have to maintain our bodies, but if you never did that when you were younger it would be much harder. Overall being healthy promotes longevity, less joint pain, better cardiovascular health, etc. Personally, for the maintenance of my health and wellness I work out 4 times a week. I try also run or do some form of cardio twice a week. Ever since I started lifting and running, I’ve felt better, look better, and I’m more confident as a young man. Being obese/overweight is detrimental to your health, if you can fix it in any way possible, I would encourage anyone to do so. The year of college that made my health and wellness the most unbalanced was junior year. Even though I lift and run consistently, my diet is not the best. Currently I am on a bulking phase, meaning I’m eating everything in sight to gain weight. Honestly eating healthier would be better but at this point I just want the scale to move up.

Are SC State University Students Safe on Campus?

Sharlene Luke

Dante Mozie

Online Journalism

9/14/23

 

Are SC State University Students Safe on Campus?

 

At South Carolina State University, every few months or so off campus, there is some form of shooting. Sure, these shootings do not happen directly on campus, but still, sometimes it makes me wonder if students at SC State are truly safe? Between school shootings in America as well as your local grocery stores, I am wondering if SC State is doing enough to keep its students and faculty safe. According to washingtonpost.com, “More than 356,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine. There have been 386 school shootings since 1999 and there were more school shootings in 2022 — 46 — than in any year since at least 1999.”

One major thing that I noticed this university is not doing on annual basis is active shooting drills. I got an alert from my phone from SCSU alert saying that in late July 2023 they were going to have an active shooting drill at 9 am. Personally speaking, this is the first time I heard that the university was having an active shooter drill, and I wasn't even on campus during that time. Between shootings off-campus, and not having active shooter drills, I wanted to know the opinion of the campus police chief, as well as two students on the safety of our university.

I asked Delano Whitfield, who is Mr. SC State, if he believed that SCSU is truly a safe campus. “I do believe that SCSU is a safe campus, but there also needs to be more security on some of the gates near off campus housing areas. Protection is more than just checking students ID card,” Delano said. I also asked him what could make students feel safer on campus. “The university should implement a schedule where twice a week, there is security checks from the head of the security and have on campus discussions about how students feel about this campuses security and how to make changes to it. The university should develop the area around the school so it can make students feel comfortable. Also, the university should get a higher level of security, as well as more emergency blue light boxes on certain areas of campus, such as one near the softball field, the basketball court near Mitchell Hall, and one at the student plaza.” The last question I asked him is if he thinks SCSU should have annual active shooting drills. “At least 7 times out of the year, the university should have active shooting drills specifically on Wednesdays. I chose Wednesdays to do active shooting drills because that day is usually when campus has the most activity.”

I also asked Essence Adams, who is a Communications major, these exact same questions. The following are her responses. "I do not believe this is a safe campus due to the fact that there is consistently something bad happening to the point where it starts to feel normal. I believe that SCSU should have annual active shooting drills and educate students on how to handle bad situations like that. Also, the campus police should start to make more connections with the students so that they can feel more comfortable reaching out to campus police."

I asked SC State's Campus Police Chief, Timoth Taylor, what were some of the measures that the campus police department has done to keep SCSU students safe. "The president has invested in additional cameras on our campus. We have someone sitting watching those cameras at night, watching all the activity taken place at South Carolina State University, and that is how we can dispatch officers quick into those areas that we may have problems within the university. We also added 6 DTA agents who are security guards that are patrolling the campus." Another question that I asked was are their future measures for campus safety in the works. "Yes, there are future measures in the works to keep this campus safe. We are planning to hire new police officers. Also, we are going to put stronger gates up around the university, so people can't just come through those gates at night." 

The next question that I asked was did he believe that the university should have annual active shooting drills. "The university should definitely have acting shooting drills. During the summer, I took the whole department through active shooting training so that we can be prepared if we ever have an active shooter on campus. We will know what to do if we have victims shot by an active shooter." The last question that I asked him was what the measures are being taken to prevent an active shooting event on campus. "The university is adding more law enforcement personal as well as monitoring people as they go through the universities gates."

Top 5 Video Games You Should Play Before You Finish College

I have been a video game nerd for the past 4 to 5 years. My love for video games started when I got a Nintendo DS around my 7th or 8th birthday. When I was kid, my favorite games to play were Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009), Sonic Classic Collection (2010), and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010). Since I have a love for video games, I wanted to do a listicle on top 5 video games you should play. These include 

1. GTA 5 (2013) 

If you ever wanted to visit Los Angeles, California without leaving your living room, GTA 5 can give you that luxury. GTA 5 is a an action-adventure game. The characters that you play in this game live in a city called San Andreas which is based off of LA. When you play GTA 5, you can control three different gangsters. These gangsters can carry out three different heists, buy fancy vehicles, outfits, and guns, as well as explore various locations in San Andreas. In your spare time, you can even skydive out of a jet that you stole from the Los Santos International Airport (I'm being serious). You can also bike your way down a tall mountain (just make sure you don't crash.) I love the amount of free will in this game because the possibilities are truly endless! 

Click here to learn more about GTA 5

2. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022) 

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 puts you in the driver’s seat of a military soldier. It is a first-person shooter game, you play as a military soldier in Task Force 141, which is working with the Mexican Special Forces unit Los Vaqueros. Your team is working with Los Vaqueros to find a terrorist named Hassan Zyani, who has American-made ballistic missiles. There is a part in the game where the helicopter your're riding in is shot by a missile, and your solider falls outside and is hanging by a rope. While your hanging upside down, with the helicopter still flying, there are bad guys shooting at you. You have to shoot and kill these guys while your hanging upside down! This is why I love Call of Duty. These unexpected moments that just throw you off guard and force you to do everything you can to keep your soldier alive. 

Click here to learn more about  Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2

3. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) 

When you were a kid, did you ever wonder what life as a cowboy or cowgirl was like in the late 1890s? Well, if you play Red Dead Redemption 2, you can live that childhood dream. Red Dead Redemption 2 is an action-adventure game, and the character you control is Arthur Morgan, who is a member of the Van der Linde gang. Between being chased by the police, other gangs, and Pinkerton agents (Pinkerton is a private security guard and detective agency), the phrase "your're in for a bumpy ride" doesn't even begin to cover it. But besides all this chaos, you can also experience the gorgeous American landscape while riding horseback, hunt, and fish, as well as canoe down a river while you listen to the sweet sounds of nature. What I love about this game is the world that your character lives in. You can ride your horse up a gorgeous North American mountain or across a beautiful pond. 

Click here to learn more about Red Dead Redemption 2

4. Forza Horizon 5 (2021)

Imagine driving near a beach in a Lamborghini, or even street racing at breakneck speed. Both are possible in Forza Horizon 5, which is a racing game. Besides street racing, you can also drag race, dirt race, and do cross country racing. Besides racing, what I also love about this game is that it gives you a huge selection of cars to choose from. Whether it's a Lamborghini, Bugatti Chiron, or even a McLaren Senna, Forza Horizon 5 has them. If you can't own an expensive fast car in the real world, why not in the virtual one? 

Click here to learn more about Forza Horizon 5

5. Fortnite (2017) 

Five years ago, Fortnite was the biggest game on the planet! No matter where you went, no matter what you heard, it was always Fortnite this and Fortnite that. How the game works is that you must to be the last player standing out of 100 players, in order to win a match. Fortnite is a battle royal game, and I was one of those lucky souls to be consumed by its hype 5 years ago. In 2018, I was constantly playing this game on my laptop. In 2019, I started to play the mobile version of Fortnite on my iPhone. The reason why I loved this game when it was at its highest popularity was because it took a lot of strategy. Instead of just being a third-person shooter game, you must to make sure you have certain resources such as med kits, powerful guns (some are more powerful than others) as well as shields.     

Click here to learn more about Fortnite

Human Interest Story on Midrina Tucker

As many of us know, college life consists of many things. Whether it be completing a ton of assignments, keeping our grades up, or applying for internships, college students are busy 24/7. For this assignment, I decided to ask one of my senior classmates, Midrina Tucker, an overview of how her college experience has been, how her senior is going, as well as her future after college. Also, I wanted a personal opinion from one of Midrina's friends about who she is a person. The student that I gave this question to was Benjamin Gadson, who is also a senior at SC State.

Below are some beautiful pictures of Midrina

Thanks to the covid-19 pandemic, Midrina's life at SC State was, in a word, interesting. "During my matriculation at SC State, it's been a whirlwind. These past three years have been something not typical due to the fact that I was in school when Covid-19 first came about. What was very nice was the way that the university continued to maneuver and find ways for education to be continued via online, but still have a very close touch with students to make them feel like they are not sitting at a computer screen; My freshman year molded me the most. That year is when your independent and you don't have someone there to guide you through everything. That's when you have to get your stuff together, and SC State has definitely implemented some more independence and guidance for me."

Midrina's senior year at SC State hasn't been exactly a walk in the park, but at the same time she has enjoyed it. "My senior year has been a whirlwind. I pledged in my junior year, and my senior year has consisted of a lot of school work and Delta. It has been enjoyable and it kind of went by really fast. We are down to the last three weeks before graduation and my senior year has definitely been one for the books."

For some college students, its easy to ask questions. But for other students, its not that easy. This is what Midrina had to say about asking questions in college. "The most difficult part of my college experience would be reminding myself that it's ok to ask questions. For a while, I was not comfortable to ask questions. I just felt like I was annoying my professor or that I should already know the answers. I learned that people are there to help you for a reason. I don't have to do everything by myself, that is why the teachers are here."

Not everyone likes the intership that they applied to, but this is not the case for Midrina."I absolutely love the internship that I am currently doing. I want to be a news reporter, so I went in thinking that this is so strict, there's no laughter or fun, but that was not the case. It has been a very fun, it has a comfortable environment and the learning process is pretty nice. The internship has been relatable. The employees want you to feel welcomed and enjoy what you’re doing so that you can get that everyday taste. I work at my internship three times a week from 9 am to 7 pm, so I spend the whole day there. During that time, I am learning a lot of new things whether its pertaining to producing, reporting or just even editing, things of that nature. I am a jack of all trades and still a master at all of them."

When it comes to plans after graduation, Midrina said, "After I graduate, my plans are to work at a local news station in my hometown Columbia, SC. I would like to dabble as well in producing, aside from being a reporter fulltime. Hopefully after that I would like to relocate to a bigger city and a bigger network."

Benjamin Gadson, a senior at SC State, gave his oppinion on who Midrina is as a person. Benjamin had many nice things to say about Midrina. "Midrina is the best friend that you could ever have. She is a true friend, very inspiring, and motivational. She is always picking me up when she sees that I am feeling down and she is very encouraging. She doesn't just look on the outside of a person, she also looks on the inside. She is always finding new ways to encourage the people that she is surrounded by and she surrounds herself with people who have goals and motives in their lives. Midrina is a very talented, hardworking young woman and she has a very bright future."

Restaurant Review- Food for Thought!

The restuartant that I chose to review for this assignment is IHOP. The IHOP that my family and I went to is located at 2567 North Rd, Orangeburg, SC.

Here are exterior and interior photos of IHOP

                        Exterior                                                      Interior

Pictures of what I ordered, which was French Fires, Hash Browns, Mac andn Cheese, and a Fruit Bowl.

My family and I ate at around 8:30 pm on April 5th. When my family arrived at IHOP, the resturant  wasn't really crowded. It had at least two or more families seated inside. The first thing I noticed about IHOP's interior is the lighting. The interior lighting was low, but it wasn't so low that it bothered me. The interior design was simple, and the exterior also looked simple as well as the seating. The noise level in IHOP was pretty good to me. The music playing throughout the restarant wasn't too loud or too soft, and the acoustics were perfect. The service at IHOP was excellent and the server was very helpful and respectful. The food wait time was medium, so we didn't have to wait too long to eat. The food that I ordered tasted great to me.

I ordered French Fries, Hasbrowns, Mac and Cheese, and a Fruit Bowl. The drink I ordered was orange juice. The food was presented beautifully and everything looked very appealing. All of the dishes I ordered were warmed at perfect temperature. The fruit bowl that I ordered was missing watermelon and blueberry, but the server explained to me that the restaurant did not have enough of every fruit that was supposed to be serverd, which to me was very unexpected; Between the wonderful food, good noise level, excellent service, and medium wait time, I would recommend this resturant to other people. However, when it comes to sepcial events like birthday parties, graduations, anniversaries, I would suggest finding a differnet resturant to hosts for these special events.

To learn more about IHOP, click this link to visit their website

Click here to visit IHOP's website

Q&A with SC State Professor Harwood

I've wondered what brought my Communications professors towards teaching the different aspects of the communication field. This week, I interviewed Professor Harwood, who is one of my Communications professors at SC State University. 

He was named Professor of the Year in the Department of English and Communications in March 2023 for the 2022/2023 school year. Last fall, Harwood published a new book, his fith book titled "Stories from the Underground: The Churchyards of Charleston" which you can buy at his Amazon's author site.

He also has a blog which you can vist at http://mybirdseyeviews.blogspot.com/

                        

Professor Harwood has taught at SC State since 2014

 

Professor Harwood's book signing in Orangeburg at the Broughton Street Cafe                                                                                                    

Q: What led you to become a communciations professor?

A: This was something that I never thought I would do or plan to do when I was younger in my career. It was when I started working at the college of Charleston in public realtions, I had been in broadcast journalism and my most latest recent position was at Channel 5 television in Charleston. That's what brought me to South Carolina. I was there for only a year or two but I really liked the Charleston area. I wanted to stay in Charleston, and I saw an ad in the newspaper that the College of Charleston was looking for a public realtions person. So I thought, wow, I never thought of public relations but the job description sounded like something that appealed to me, that I could do, so I thought ok, I'll apply for that. 

Long story short, I got that job and ended up working there for 12 years in public relations at the College of Charleston, but early on, probably in the first year or so, I was apporached on campus by Dr. Nan Morrison who was chair at the English Department. At that point, communication wasn't a full blown major at CUC like it is now. It was a minor under the umbrella of English. I didn't really know Dr. Morrison, but she knew a little bit about my background coming from tv news. She approached me and asked, "Would you ever be interested in teaching a college course here on broadcast journalism?" 

I never thought about it, and when I thought about it I said, "Oh sure, I'll give it a try." So for several years, I had my regular staff position. My courses always had to be Tuesday and Thrusday at 5:30 to 6:45, and I did that for several years teaching Introduction to Broadcast News, Advanced Broadcast News, and Radio and Television News. It was an opprutunity that presented itself.

Q: Were you interested in communications in your highschool years?

A: It was almost like a process of elimination. Writing was something that, since I was in gradeschool, I think I put effort into it and my teachers repsonded. I'd get compliments that I wrote well, so I kinda thought about maybe sports journalism. It really wasn't until I started looking at colleges that it narrowed down to either study communications or journalism.

Q: Does anyone in your family also have a job in comunications?

A: My younger brother actually followed me to Radford University and Virginia Commonwealth University. He also got a Mass Communication's Degree at VCU but he never worked full-time in that career. He ended up making his way to California after he graduated and worked at a post office in Southern California for 28 years or so, and he recently retired. My sister worked as an airforce officer, and she worked with her airforce base newspaper.

Q: What has been your favorite aspect of the communications field?

A: I would say that all aspects because I've done differnet things throughout my career. Starting out as a tv news reporter, even before that working in radio when I was in college in Richmond working in a radio station assiting the news director, a lot of technical things as far as recording and editing, typing scripts. Then television, news, being a reporter and then an anchor, and then working in public relations as I mentioned at the college of Charleston, and then having the chance to teach these things that I worked in for a number years. I have loved all aspects of the communications field.

Q: Besides majoring in communications, was there any other major that you considered in college?

A: I was always interested in History, especially American History. I took a lot of history courses especially at VCU. I don't know if I had enough to minor in it offically, since I never persued it, but I did taka a bunch of history classes. I would say that if Mass Communications wasn't my major, then it might have been History beacuse I always did really well in the History courses. Those coureses helped raise my grade point average overall. 

Travel Feature Story on Topgolf

During Spring Break, I went to Topgolf in North Charleston, SC for the first time with my mom. Topgolf isn't just for golf fans, but its also for people who don't consider golf to be their main sport or activity, such as myself. Topgolf balls have trackers inside of them that let you know which ball is yours. When the ball enters any of the ten targets, which all vary in size with the largest ones located further down the field, the tracker tells the screen that you are standing next to how many points you get from hiting that target. 

Also, there are many differnet games at Topgolf that you can choose from. These include Topgolf (which is my current favorite) Angry Birds, Quick 9, TopScore, TopShot, Jewl Jam, as well as many others. There are 14 Topgolf games in total. You can also play minigolf at Topgolf, but in my oppinion I liked Topgolf (the game) way more than minigolf. In order to get a highscore in Topgolf (the game) you have to hit golfballs towards the farthest targets. The closer the target, the lower the points you will get.

According to https://topgolf.com/us/charleston/, "Prices are per hour, per bay. Each bay accommodates up to 6 players. Prices do not include tax." For my mom and I, I paid $19.95 for 2 hours of gameplay. For lunch, I ate two sets of french fries which equaled $9.05, and my mother ate a Black Bean Veggie Patty which cost $12.05. To learn more information about the Topgolf Menu, you can visit https://s3.topgolf.com/uploads/pdf/menus/Topgolf_Menu_TierA_National.pdf.

To learn more information about Topgolf in North Charleston, SC, you can vist there website https://topgolf.com/us/charleston/.

Below you can see some photos from my first vist at Topgolf

A wideshot view of one of the Topgolf bays as well as the targets players can aim for.

Here are a few Topgolfer's taking a swing. One of the players next to me way swinging so hard that the sound of the ball being hit scared me lol.

This is me taking a swing. When I did a practice session, the screen that tracked the golfballs told me that I got 222 points, so I felt pretty good about my score, especailly since it was my first time going to Topgolf!

My mother took a couple of swings and we both had a great time watching each other do our best to get as many points as we could. I even gave my mother a few pointers that I learned in one of my highschool PE classes when it came to swinging the golf club the right way. 

Notice the golfclub that is circled in this picture. After I hit a couple of golfballs, I noticed that a golfclub was laying onto the course one floor below us. Either someone could not control the power of their golf swing, or they threw their golf club onto the course in frustration lol. 

Below you can find photos of differnet parts of the Topgolf building in North Charleston, SC. 

If you want to see more photos, you can find them at https://topgolf.com/us/charleston/gallery/.

Hitting Bays with Lounge Seating 

First Floor Bar

 

Bar Restaurant 

                             

  

Outdoor Patio

Rooftop Terrace