A Narrative Journey: Hope for more

Before starting this class, I had no experience in editing audio or creating podcast content. It was nerve-racking for me to record myself speaking and format it into a podcast.

When I began writing my notecard story, I wrote like a always do. I write how I think my voice sounds. After my first attempt to record my story I realized I was completely wrong. My written words may sound good in my head but it is nothing like how I speak to other people.

After some peer revision and rewriting, I tried to record my story. Listening to it for the first time, I realized there was a lot of background noise and that I sounded like a robot. Then I talked to my classmates and my teacher to get more advice on how to sound more natural. While I don’t think I’m a professional podcaster, I think my voice and tone significantly improved.

When doing my final recording, I spoke to myself in the mirror. Yes, I felt like a crazy person. But then I listened to the differences between my first and second recording. My voice was much more relaxed and conversational, and I took more pauses like I would in a normal conversation.

I think this is an area I can still greatly improve in, but I am glad to see how far my abilities have come.

Family fun with Ariel

Spending her whole life with her family, Oakland University student Ariel Whitely loves to travel and spend time with them. I was able to sit down with her to discuss her memorable experiences and her life at the Whitely house.

Click to listen to the story via SoundCloud. 

 

The one where Jessica graduates

Quickly approaching graduation in April 2018, Jessica Provo reflects on her time at Oakland University and her experience in the communication and journalism program.

“Journalism has helped me become a better writer and I am constantly on the learning important newsworthy information,” said Provo. Going through the communication and journalism program at OU has helped her step out of her comfort zone and realize what her dream job is.

Oakland University senior, Jessica Provo, walks to Vandenberg dining hall to grab a snack on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. She often has classes in this building because the Journalism program is housed on the first floor.

“I want to work in social media, writing and marketing for a big brand,” said Provo. With her graduation date set for April, she knows that the skills she has learned from OU will set her apart from the crowd. OU offers a unique experience to their students because the campus community and classes are so small. The difference between a lecture hall of 100 or more students and a small class of 20 or less is  immense.

“I like that OU is a big commuter campus that offers various programs and gives you the option to live on campus too,” said Provo. Living in Macomb, Provo drives about 40 minutes to campus each day for school. She currently lives with her family to save money and works at Habitat for Humanity in Macomb.

“I am so excited to graduate, but I do love the campus and community at OU,” said Provo.

Walking towards their 10:00a.m. class, Jordyn Dimaso (left) and Jessica Provo (right) chat about their upcoming assignments on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. Both are currently taking multimedia journalism to learn more about the many ways to tell a story.

The Drive to OU: A commuters story

On Tuesday September 25, we asked Oakland University students questions about commuting. We wanted to know the opinion of students, and the reason behind why they commute to school. We asked a range of 7 questions:

1. What’s your name and major?
2. What’s your class standing?
3. Do you live on or off the campus?
4. Do you live at home or rent locally?
5. Where do you commute from (city)?
6. How long is your commute?
7. Why did you decide to live off campus?

The amount of students who answered the questions were 67 in total, it was one freshman, nine sophomores, 14 juniors, 32 seniors, and 10 senior +.  Majors ranged from communication, business, nursing, engineering and more, which gave us a better pool of students. We were able to get a large spectrum of commuters. We had some students on campus, but many lived off campus. The closest off campus were Rochester, Auburn Hills, and Pontiac which is 10-15 minutes away. The farthest were Romeo, Armada, and Heartland which range from 40-60 minutes away.

 

“It was much cheaper, and I wanted more privacy than the dorms,” Senior Liz Starnes said. “I would have lived in the on campus apartments but the age cut off is so early I wouldn’t have been able to live there until my senior year. Also the food options were very difficult for me as someone who was trying to get healthy.”

The majority of students live at home because it’s cheaper, and some students have jobs near home. It’s simply more convenient for most. Others pay rent since it’s more feasible, and one student just wanted to live on their own rather than living with parents. Below we have a map that shows each students location, and it gives you a visual of where and how far OU students commute.

To see a map of where our respondents came from and how long their commute takes, click here.