As the spring semester wound down, CUNY SPS Academic Director of Communication and Media Dr. Elizabeth Alsop held the program’s first virtual alumni roundtable. The event introduced six CUNY SPS alumni who shared their experiences at the School and imparted wisdom to students who attended the Zoom webinar.
The roundtable introduced the stellar panelists of the night: recent CUNY SPS graduate Ashley Echevarria CM ‘23, Anita M. Samuels CM ‘23, Nori Pérez CM ‘21, Joe Caffrey CM ‘21, and Milan Fredricks CM ‘19 (who is also a co-founder of The Kiosk), who have pursued careers in fields including communications, journalism, publishing, and the nonprofit sector.
The evening began with an icebreaker question for the alumni about their journey from graduation to their current position. Caffrey described his work background and education, and that getting a degree and graduating opened up his world beyond just finding a job to what he was taught to think, learn, and process.
“And that’s something snuck up on me: ‘‘I’m thinking differently, I’m perceiving things differently, I’m communicating differently, and I’m expressing differently’’,” Caffrey said. “[It] all came from studying Communication and Media.”
As someone who started at CUNY SPS in the same program a year ago, the first and second Communication and Media courses offer the exact realization for this reporter as they did for Caffrey.
Samuels expressed having similar stories to Caffrey — she went back to school and did the opposite, having the experience of becoming a journalist before getting the degree.
“So, in taking classes it all came together for me: ‘’Wow! This is what I’ve been doing, writing all my stories, meeting people, networking, interviewing, and all that,’” Samuels said. “It all came back to me throughout the classes like Ethics in Mass Media, and it sharpened my skills more and that’s what’s so great about it — that’s what’s so great about it now.”
Fredricks spoke about working in higher education and knew for her to move up would require a college degree. She talked about how education was important for her, especially to her mom, and how she was determined to go back, but find a way to make it work with her life and CUNY SPS was the perfect fit.
“Similar to Joe and Anita, a lot of the classes I have taken were Communications and Culture and Independent Study,” Milan said. “[They] prepared me for grad school and for my professional life.”
CUNY SPS ’23 CM graduate Ashley Echevarria openly shared the interesting time she began at the School in the summer of 2020. She knew she didn’t want to stay in her original field, working at different law firms. Echevarria’s professional journey allowed her to weaponize her studies every semester at CUNY SPS. She remembers unintentionally taking courses that aligned with her personal life, and she recalled one of the assignments from a Communication and Media course was about Facebook and how the social media platform was aiding or not being on the best side in that situation, while having to write and learn about that circumstance in real-time.
“And, understanding how fast-moving communication is, but also utilizing that and it sharpened a lot of tools in my toolbox to think ahead,” Echevarria said. “It’s interesting to watch all the things I enjoy talking about with classmates and professors manifesting in the real world as well.”
Nori Perez jumped in to share her personal life, education, and professional ambitions prior to joining CUNY SPS. Her two-year business degree gave her an entry point to law school where she obtained a corporate paralegal certification. With her career pivoting, Perez knew something was missing. CUNY SPS allowed her to have the opportunity to complete a degree to further herself in her career both personally and professionally.
Dr. Alsop then asked the panelists for advice to students who are about to graduate, or making their way through the Communication and Media program.
“Always seek practical experiences, whether through volunteering, work opportunities, internships, extracurricular projects, and networking,” Perez said. “It is rewarding to establish connections, and maintain those connections because you’ll never [know] when you need someone for a recommendation letter, mentorship, and advice.”
Learn more about the CUNY SPS Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media.
