One Year at CSUF Completed

My spring '09 semester began and I admit, I was a bit nervous.

I was uncertain what the semester would hold; whether I would find myself scrambling or struggling with my school load plus my work load.

I've heard horror stories about those working full-time and going to school full-time = don't mix. I was very determined to prove, not only those nay-sayers wrong, but myself wrong. I wanted to show I was capable of doing it.

My classes were:

• COMM 362 PR Writing - Monday 7 to 10 p.m.
• RTVF 385 Radio Operations - Tuesday 7 to 10 p.m.
• COMM 468 Corp and Nonprofit PR - Wednesday 7 to 10 p.m.
• RTVF 370 World Cinema - Thursday 7 to 10 p.m.

At first, I felt a bit overwhelmed and somewhat intimidated by my COMM 362 course because my professor was brutal - she made you work, and work hard. Writing was key to the class, and as long as you enjoyed writing, even a little bit, you did well in the class. I challenged myself and I think it did a world of good to get a head start on my assignments. I literally kept one week ahead of schedule throughout the semester, and kept our group on task with their individual contribution to our final project. We finished one week ahead of schedule and were the first to present to the class last week. We set the tone for the rest of the night with our presentation. I was pleased. In fact, I receive preliminary feedback from my professor and she said we did extremely well! Kudos!

RTVF 385 Radio Operations was easy. We had a reading assignment every week with a midterm and an upcoming final. I got an 97/100 on my midterm. For our group project, we presented first (naturally) and got an A+. We submitted our individual projects last week. Hopefully we'll received our results this Tuesday. I enjoyed the class and recommend it to anyone.

COMM 468 was an upper division course which counted toward post-bacc credits. We learned the differences between how corporations and nonprofits handle public relations. We studies cases and role-played during in-class assignments as start-up business owners on how to promote our business or how we handled crisis management. We had three writing assignments with no midterm and no final. Our last class was a potluck party and after the festivities, we shared what we enjoyed about the class and what we will take with us as we embark on our journeys into the real world (most people in the class were seniors who will be graduating this week).

RTVF 370 World Cinema wasn't hard but very time consuming because you were required to watch three foreign films a week, and each week followed with a quiz to test your knowledge on the previously viewed films. It was a tactic to ensure you watched the films. There were 14 weekly quizzes which my professor said he'd drop the two lowest quiz scores. There is no midterm or final, but a final analysis paper on one of the films you watched or a compare/contrast report of two films you watched. There was a handout the professor passed out stating the criteria for each assignment from which we were to select. I have a greater appreciation for foreign films, but was quite disturbed with many of the films' content because it dealt quite a bit with nudity, psychological issues, infidelity, adultery, and religious conflict. If nothing else, it solidified my faith as a Christian.

I have one final this week - RTVF 385, and after that I'm officially done for the semester, with an exception of submitting my final paper either hand-delivering a paper copy Thursday, May 21, or as late as May 26 via e-mail. My plan is to have it completed this week to submit Thursday. Amibitious, aren't I?

I was an active member of the Multi-Cultural Mentor/Mentee Leadership Program where I met a terrific mentor, Ruth and my fellow-mentee, Helen. They were fabulous. We attended a CSUF Titan Baseball game one Friday night and had a blast, despite the fact they were non-baseball fans! Unfortunately, we never did meet our faculty adviser. Perhaps next year?

I attended COMM WEEK for the first time and found it to be very imformative and fun. I listened to two speakers and attended my first Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) mixer. Nichole and I had fun because it was Casino Royale Night -- it's always fun to gamble money especially when it isn't yours!!! I didn't win a single door prize! Boo!

My semester wasn't all blissful and a bed of roses, either. It had its share of ups and downs, sleepless nights or long hours working on homework. It was quite tough to juggle my schedule but if it weren't for my planner, I don't know how I could've done it all. I lived and breathed my planner, my Blackberry and my mac laptop! We were inseperable.

I couldn't have done it without the help of my husband either. I know he will never know this but I really really really appreciate his support. He took care of the kids and Panther! Thank goodness.

So, to end this journal entry, I must bid you goodnight. I will start on my final paper tonight.

5.0 Quake Shook Southland

A 5.0 quake shook the southland at 8:39 p.m. according to U.S. Geological Survey it centered one mile south east of Lennox, Hawthorne area in Los Angeles.

What felt like a graduated shake, it began low-grade, lasting for approximately 15 seconds. The quake was felt as far north as Hollywood and as far east to Palmdale and farther south into the San Diego County.

No reports of structural damage or injuries as of 9:54 p.m.