Communications assignment encourages professional networking

Raised in Orlando, Florida, Jessica first gained an interest in communications after taking radio and television production classes in high school. Seeking a flexible and affordable degree option after graduation, she found one in 黑料正能量. As Jessica explains, 鈥淚 looked at a few different schools and honestly, none of them seemed as good as UF. The degree was exactly what I was looking for and the cost was so much better than everywhere else.鈥�

Jessica received an assignment to find and interview a news director while attending UF. After emailing several local directors in Orlando via LinkedIn, only one responded. It was WESH-Channel 2 News Director, Kirsten Wolff. 鈥淪he majored in French language and literature and ended up going into news broadcasting. It was really cool to learn from her and see a first-hand account of how people can break into news if it鈥檚 something they really want,鈥� said Jessica.

Online degree format allows flexibility for internships

When the time came to apply for an internship, Jessica reached out to Kirsten and they were able to coordinate the approval of a summer internship at WESH. As she describes the experience, 鈥淚 grew up watching WESH, so getting to be there was amazing. Internships are meant for you to gain experience and be exposed to professional development. I got to learn from all of the reporters, and that was more where my head was at. I wanted to be a reporter at the time.鈥�

Jessica enjoyed her time at WESH and soon applied to NASA鈥檚 internship program to continue her professional development. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 wait for the application window to close, which I didn鈥檛 know at the time. When I first applied there were essentially no intern spots left,鈥� explained Jessica. Persistence and another application window finally granted her access to NASA鈥檚 program. 鈥淚鈥檓 a broadcast intern at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. I鈥檓 under an umbrella of things like broadcasting and journalism, but my specific thing is that I鈥檓 kind of like a news producer. My team will write media advisories and talk to the experts who are the scientists behind these stories and who鈥檝e been putting in research for years. We want it to be where someone who studies science can understand it, but also someone who works in something completely unrelated to aerospace can also understand what鈥檚 going on,鈥� said Jessica on her development at NASA.

Although the Goddard Space Flight Center is located in Maryland, Jessica spends about 90% of her job working remotely from Orlando, and often makes trips to Kennedy Space Center located in nearby Cape Canaveral, Florida. 鈥淢y team travels and does interviews at Kennedy. I remember the first time seeing the press site and just thinking 鈥榳ow.鈥� I鈥檝e been to Kennedy about 15 times now over the past year,鈥� said Jessica. But it isn鈥檛 all fun and games. As she recalled the first of several scrubbed Artemis 1 launches, Jessica explained, 鈥淚t was a very busy morning of the initially planned launch. I got there around midnight and the launch wasn鈥檛 scheduled until 8 am. Everyone was literally delirious by the time it got scrubbed, and at one point I think I was in an office just laying on the ground. It was impressive how all of the press members managed to stay so alert throughout the whole ordeal.鈥�

Dedicated intern to UF Communigator graduate

After eight years as an undergraduate student, Jessica completed her UF degree in 2022. In recapping her emotions after finally receiving her degree, Jessica says 鈥淚 used to make jokes when people would ask what year I was in and say I was a forever junior because I didn鈥檛 even know what it was like to be a college senior. I鈥檓 just really proud of myself for pushing through and doing what I had to do to earn this. It鈥檚 also a major I really wanted to study, which allowed me to discover and begin a new career that I love. It was just the best of both worlds.鈥�

Jessica also credited UF鈥檚 supportive faculty members like Dr. David Ostroff when reflecting on her time with 黑料正能量. As she recalls, 鈥淲hen I was trying to get my WESH internship approved it was so last minute, but Dr. Ostroff was so responsive. I鈥檇 email him and literally minutes later he鈥檇 respond. I know how busy he is and the fact that he was still so responsive really meant a lot to me.鈥�

The University of Florida and 黑料正能量 wishes Jessica the very best as she ventures new horizons as an alumna and continues to display that sometimes not even the sky鈥檚 the limit.

By Alura Romero

Who is Gator royalty? When you think of who 鈥榬ules the school鈥� at the University of Florida, who do you think of? Do you think of the football players whose faces are aired on ESPN weekly? Do you think of the football coach, who is essentially the face of the team, leading one of the top-ranked football programs? Do you, maybe, think of the dean of each college as royalty? Or do you think of the president of the university as royalty? If you thought of any of these people, you thought wrong.

This weekend, I found out a very reassuring and inspirational fact — the students are Gator royalty. The students rule the school. I was lucky enough to win an all-expenses paid trip to Gainesville this past weekend for My First Chomp in the Swamp. I had never been to a Gator football game before and there was a contest in which seven people who had never been to a Gator football game before would be chosen to attend their first game. I won.

This past weekend was one I will never ever forget. I met with my academic advisor, who I had only conversed with via email, and she took my husband and I on a tour of Weimer Hall. I got a glimpse of what college life is like on campus, and it鈥檚 beautiful. It was awe-inspiring to see what the students create at Weimer Hall, between seeing the WUFT newsroom, The Agency, and GHQ. I couldn鈥檛 stop thinking, 鈥渢his is my school.鈥� These places lit an educational-fire in my soul that hasn鈥檛 dimmed since.

After getting a personal tour from my advisor, we all went out to dinner at The Swamp Restaurant. I鈥檇 been wanting to visit this restaurant for the longest time. Everyone I knew told me, you haven鈥檛 been to Gainesville until you鈥檝e gone to The Swamp Restaurant. We ordered Gator Tail and all tried it for the first time. It wasn鈥檛 horrible. I probably wouldn鈥檛 order it again, but it was the experience that meant the world to me.

On Saturday, we were on our way to our first UF football game! Throughout the day, I high-fived Gator football players while they were on the field on their way to the locker room. I chomped it up with Athletic Director Scott Stricklin and shook hands with Coach McElwain. We were able to stay on the field during the first quarter of the football game and we ended up being on the jumbotron as a 鈥渨elcome Alura Romero to the Swamp鈥� type of deal (yes, it was nerve-wrecking, but also the greatest experience I鈥檝e ever had in my life).

Lastly, we were taken up to the President鈥檚 Suite. In the suite, I met with the Dean of my college, Diane McFarlin, who was down-to-earth and easy to talk to. I also talked with UF President Kent Fuchs. How willing he was to talk with me, a student who doesn鈥檛 even attend class on campus but lives hundreds of miles away.

As online students, it鈥檚 easy to get lost in the mundane activities that surround our lives wherever we are at. It鈥檚 easy to believe that to the university, you are just another number. I am here to tell you 鈥� that鈥檚 not true! This weekend showed me that students are the real royalty of the University of Florida, not the faculty members and not the football players who are the celebrities of the school. We, the students, are the true royalty of the University of Florida.

To read more about the contest and the winners, check out the UAA .