Dear, Milligan College--
I love you, but…you’re giving me mixed signals.
Encouraging students to study abroad and then allowing only five (yes, five) students to do so is a tease; a joke--but I’m not laughing. I want to study abroad, specifically in New York City (the NYC journalism program is still in the United States, but nonetheless included on Milligan’s study abroad program list) so I can put the skills I’ve honed at Milligan to the test. As a communications major with a double concentration in journalism and film, I feel I need more hands-on experience. One internship isn’t good enough for me. I want more. And maybe this desire is a bit selfish, but, shouldn’t we always be striving for more, as the great philosopher Kierkegaard once said? Shouldn’t learning and growing be a nonstop process?
I’m blessed to attend a college that has allowed me to explore the world of journalism. My senior year is approaching, and I’m wholeheartedly thankful for the opportunities I’ve already had that have either happened on campus or off-campus because of networking through Milligan.
I realized I wanted to become a journalist upon waking up one morning to a soundtrack of birds chirping as a TV news show hummed in the background. I had a copy of The New York Times on my bedside and I, blurry-eyed and caffeine-deprived, picked up the paper, held it close to my chest and thought, “Ah, alas! This is what I should do with the rest of my life: journalism.”
OK, that’s not exactly what happened. In fact, I truly didn’t discover my passion for journalism until taking my first news-writing class at Milligan. I probably would not have been exposed to some of the great ins and outs of the news industry if I had attended college elsewhere. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think having the flexibility and freedom to personally craft a newspaper alongside a dedicated, lovely, creative team is setting me up for success, as is taking a variety of liberal arts, reporting, writing, and film classes at Milligan. I think working with professors who know my name, who invest in me and each one of their students, helps. At a college that emphasizes the liberal arts and Humanities and asks us to reflect on what it “means to be human,” I feel we should not be limited to one structure or location, especially as we continue to learn and grow.
Twelve off-campus programs, eight countries and only five student slots. Even if a student is accepted into their program of choice by the organization (Best Semester, Disney, etc.) this one restriction placed by the college stands in the way.
So, please reconsider the number of slots for students who wish to study abroad. But, don’t just do it for me--do it for the future students; the ones who seek adventure. Do it for the ones who strive for more in life. Do it for the dreamers.
Sincerely,
Amanda Florian
Editor-in-Chief, The Stampede