When Jennifer Arzate applied to the College of Communication and Information’s master’s program, she already had an undergraduate degree in sociology with a minor in English and political science, a master’s degree in sociology, and a certificate in applied social research. But she saw an opportunity to shore up her communication skills to help her at her job as a research associate conducting public policy research at the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR).
“I’ve always thought about going back to school simply because I enjoy learning and part of my job is research, so it’s never-ending learning and we always have to keep going forward,” she said. “I thought it would be interesting and this program spoke to me… this one just stood out a little more, and they didn’t have this type of program at any of the closer schools here in Nashville, so I figured this just worked out.”
Arzate, who is in her first semester, is pursuing a CCI master’s degree with a concentration in strategic digital communications, which is a fully online program. The asynchronous classes and assignments are designed for people who need schedule flexibility, as they can be accessed at any time of day, rather than requiring students to attend live classes at set times.
Unsure of what to expect from this type of online program, Arzate has been pleased that there is robust engagement between her and the instructors, as well as with other students. Instructors use various ways to get students to interact with each other, such as creating required discussion boards and peer review groups where everyone can give each other feedback and differing perspectives.
“It being fully online was definitely a positive because I can take classes whenever I can and work ahead if I have the time to do that. A lot of the professors have been very communicative, and you would think with online courses they’d assign the assignments, and you’d just submit them, but they send messages and check up on you,” she said. “It’s basically like being in class, it just so happens to be online.”
While Arzate is the first person in her family to graduate with any college degree, she said courses such as ADPR 542 – Strategic Communication Management and CMST 524 – Interpersonal Conflict will help her in her current position and in any future position she’ll hold. The content of those courses is versatile and transferable to any job and even to her own personal life, she said.
She has set up an ambitious timeline to complete her degree by December of this year and is currently taking four courses. Her last bout with grad school taught her a lot about balance, and she’s finding that between her classes’ asynchronous format and her well-honed time management skills, undertaking such a course load while working has been easily doable.
When Arzate finished her first master’s program, it was difficult to find a job that fit her field and goals, so she jumped on the opportunity when a friend working at TACIR said they were hiring. She didn’t make it through on her first round of applying, but she did on the second, and is coming up on the anniversary of her first year there. She said the work she does at TACIR has been very enjoyable and she hopes to continue growing in her role and knowledge and believes what she is learning at CCI will aid in that endeavor.
“A lot of the people I work with are some of the smartest people I’ve ever encountered and sometimes it’s a little scary whenever you’re surrounded by genius, so I’m hoping at some point to feel on the same level of them,” she said.
In her role, she conducts research on topics assigned to by the commission, which is comprised of a range of people such as locally elected government officials, Tennessee House representatives, and private citizens. The topics they research vary widely, and a couple of the projects she’s worked on include one on public infrastructure needs throughout Tennessee and another looking at how payments in lieu of taxes were distributed by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
These topics can be somewhat complex at times and Arzate said there is often a need to communicate them in a way that the average Tennessee resident can understand. She believes some of the communications and journalism courses in the strategic digital communications concentration will help her learn how to do that.
“I think a lot of the research we conduct at TACIR is very academic and I think the people who can probably benefit from it the most may not understand what we’re writing. It would be useful to analyze the appropriate way we can show our research so that other people can understand it, not just people who have degrees,” she said.