Comments from a Student Who Has Shed Her Journalism, as a Snake Sheds Its Skin and Has Burst Forth Shining and New

Oh not really. Actually she is building on her USF journalism training. Anyway, that's how I choose to see it. Here's part of an email from April Visperas that she has given me permission to excerpt.


Hey Dr. Robertson!

Thought I'd drop you a line and give you a little update as to my own
status. So... I tried the journalism thing for a while, interning at Diablo Magazine then
writing and editing for the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce B2B
monthly newsletter (a side job I did while working as their secretary);
however, I decided a year ago to stop writing about things I wanted to do and, well, just do them Thus, I've been attending The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in downtown SF since last October and I'll be done this December. I'm studying Visual Communication, which entails everything from photo shoot styling to personal styling to event planning to store planning, etc: Basically, anything that has to do with visuals in the fashion" world.

I'm loving what I'm doing right now and I plan to do
his for a very long time, but I still have it in me to eventually go
back to magazines, maybe this time as an Art Director. What actually
got me thinking about going to fashion school was my interest in
working for a fashion magazine. In my research and relentless job
hunting, I realized that publications don't only want Journalism
Professionals, but also people who specialize in a given field.
Computer publications want someone with knowledge of/passion for
computers and technology; fashion publications want someone with
knowledge of/passion for fashion; and so forth. Hence one major
determining factor in my decision to attend fashion school.

I do consider my studies to be an extension of my previous degree since
now I am dealing with the more visual aspect of communication, and
people are always impressed when I tell them I used to be an aspiring journalist!
Actually, it is a widely known and accepted "fact" that anyone who has
strong writing and communication skills can do just about anything in
his world. I believe that my Communication Studies degree will
continue to give me an edge in my newly chosen field and I look forward
to using it more in the future.

Hope all is well with you. I do enjoy reading everyone's blogs. By the
way, the new minor curriculum looks great. Too bad it came 2 years too late...